# chain bit



## huntergrl (Nov 26, 2007)

The horse I am getting has had a chain bit used. I don't want to use a harsh bit. I only have the snaffles, can I just change to those or should I step him down to them slowly?


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Change, he'll probably thank you.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

That kind of depends on the horse. He may be using the chain bit because they cut corners and cheated on his training which would necessitate the use of a harsh bit on their part.

If that was the case then you'll have to kind of start over from the beginning as if this horse has little training and do a ton of circle work, serpentines, directional changes, halts and backs etc. But you should be able to retrain the animal. 

The other possibility is that the horse is very trained which would mean a switch would be fairly simple, but usually that type of bit means cheats and shortcuts.

I geuss try it and see what happens. His mouth is probably very, very tough right now......


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## huntergrl (Nov 26, 2007)

Poor thing  The guy and his wife rode him alot out on trails/roadside and roundpen. Hopefully he is very trained. I guess we'll see how it goes.lol


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

There's just so much I could say here from personal experience that it very possibly would take me an hour or so to type all of it out. 

I have a mare now that I got last November, she had been ridden in a bicycle chain bit. She's also a barrel horse, so when you put those two things together you have one hard-mouthed horse. I didn't put Lark on barrels for months because I wanted to soften her mouth and bring her back from it. She had just been cowboy'd to death and her mouth was ruined. I tried many different bits before deciding on a chain hack combo. There are different types of chains, soft chains and then chains like the bicycle chain.. The chain hack is a soft chain and she works well in it. If I were to try to tell you the events of the past year with her it'd take me forever to get it all out. 

You can retrain a horse that has been ridden in a chain mouth piece. It just takes time and a LOT of patience. Consistency and building that trust back up in your best bet, just try different bits and things until you both find something your comfortable with, don't hesitate to try a soft chain bit. 

Lark is now a really great horse at home, she's a baby sitter and I can ride her bareback through anything, even barrels at home.. But she won't ever be a barrel horse again. We've had a few recent events that have made me take her completely off of any type of competition work. Not saying she isn't a great horse, she's just not a horse that should be in the arena anymore. 

Good luck and I hope things work out for you.


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## spurstop (Mar 22, 2012)

There is a huge difference between a bicycle chain or mule bit and a chain bit. 

A plain chain bit is not as harsh as you might be imagining unless you are constantly hanging on his face. Try it before you change him.


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## PunksTank (Jul 8, 2012)

Is it a chain bit like this:









What type of rings does it have? If it is like that I'd personally classify it as milder than a twisted wire bit. It would just sort of collapse inside their mouth and not do anything. It may be a bit pinchy but other than that, to me it looks fairly useless. If you're referring to a bicycle chain or mule bit Please get that out of their mouth. 
I'm a huge advocate for using the gentlest bit possible, a smooth mouth is better than anything else. But use what works. You could work him in a snaffle but I'd look into a french link - I don't think a transition from a loose chain bit to something with only a single joint would really be a great improvement.


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## Adenfire (Dec 2, 2010)

PunksTank said:


> Is it a chain bit like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My gelding was ridden in a chain bit like this for years before we got him, personally I thought it's because it was easier then teaching him to slow down and listen...he is a retired roper and now gaming horse who would get excited and not stop. THIS made him stop. But you put any pressure on his mouth and he'd gape and hang his jaw wide open, obviously disliking it and in some pain. After we bought him we started on a drill team. His "running through" other bits would have been a problem, so we stepped him down slowly over the last year from THAT ^ chain bit to a jointed "wonder-bit" and now he goes in either a d-ring snaffle or full-cheek. And hasn't tried to run through them yet.

We HAD to step him down slowly because his mouth was so hard that just sticking the snaffle in his mouth did nothing...he completely ignored it. Over the last year he's gotten more supple and doesn't need you to exert so much pressure to get him to respond. He's even started running faster gaming times 

My advice is it's probably safer to step them down slowly...just incase the chain bit is covering some holes in their training like my guy


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Chain bits (NOT mule mouths or bike chains, chains like the one above, with links) I find are often love or hate. I have had horses LOVE, I mean LOVELOVE, chain bits. Never worked good in anything else. Then I've also had horses who absolutely hate the full mouth feel. We had a colt in training once that flat out would not go in a single jointed, twisted, dogbone, french link, lifesaver or mullen mouth snaffle. Desperately tried every bit we owned. Cowhorses, sweet sixes, etc. He would fight, throw his head, gape his mouth in anything, but he didn't respond to a hack either. My trainer took him out one day and just slapped a chain mouth snaffle on him and holy cow, it was a whole different horse. He salivated, he softened, he relaxed, and he worked. Of course that is an extreme case with someone who know how to use her hands. Obviously if someone is yanking and pulling and jerking the horse's face, it will sore the horse and make their mouth hard.

The moral of the story, chains are not a harsh bit. They do bite more than some mouthpieces but just sitting in the horses mouth it is not painful and it really conforms to the horses mouth. Horses with shallow palates love this. Just because a horse is in a stronger bit doesn't mean they aren't soft. These bits were made for refinement, not control.


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

I agree with sorrel there is a girl we ride with occasionally who has her younger guy in a short shank chain mouth bit( a barrel horse) and he loves that thing or seems to. No gapping runs a gorgeous pattern and doesnt fight her. 
It does depend on the horse and the rider though definitely.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

What follows is a question, not advice...I know near nothing about bits:

I recently switched my mare to a waterford bit. She seemed to be bracing against the plain snaffle, and I had read a waterford is harder to brace against. Based on 1.5 weeks, it seems to be doing well for her. When putting the bridle on yesterday, she opened her mouth and acted like, "Let's get going!" And she doesn't spit it out the way she did with a 2 or 3 link snaffle. I'm guessing it bends easily in her mouth, and the only time I really pull is if she thinks she is racing another horse down a trail. That seems to be so exciting to her that she isn't much interested in slowing without my working very hard at it.










So my questions:

1- Is that a harsh bit?

2 - With regard to the OP's question, would that make a natural progression down in harshness?


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## PunksTank (Jul 8, 2012)

BSMS Thanks I was just thinking the same thing.
I'm torn with waterfords and chain bits. They're wonderful because they completely conform to the horse's mouth with no nutcracker action. They're practically nothing in a horse's mouth when not being touched. But when 'in action' they can be very pinchy, Waterfords and chain bits both centralize the pressure onto a number of small points, chains having smaller edges, so my thinking would be slightly more intense. But Waterfords have the lumps for pressure points. 
Having nothing solid, there is nothing solid for a horse to brace against, but I'd attempt using a loose ring french link before a waterford. The loose ring makes it more difficult to brace against too. I'd also probably try to find what's causing this behavior in the horse before just making the bit more difficult for them. Bit changes are often band-aids in that sense, not fixing the actual problem, just the symptoms of the problem. 

I'm curious to hear more opinions on the positives and negatives of chains and waterfords.

One other bit I'm greatly interested in are those all leather bits?! It has the same idea of waterfords and chains, where it's got no solid form, just conforms to the horse's mouth. But it has no joints or pressure points to increase the strength. I feel it'd only work well for a well trained horse. Kind of like the flexible rubber ones but don't get sharp edges if chewed a little.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I think I know what is causing the behavior in my mare: she thinks it is the Belmont, and her inner Secretariat is taking over! Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of options for working on it. She only does it on the trail and with another horse to compete against. In a arena, she doesn't try it even with a couple of horses. By herself, she'd just as soon be lazy. But with another horse and a trail stretching out before her...canter becomes gallop, and she doesn't want to slow.

And I only have a couple of places not much more than 1/3 mile long tops where the terrain allows her to safely canter outside the arena. I'd love to have a couple miles of dirt road, but that isn't in the cards right now. I've already tried a 3 link French snaffle eggbutt, and she doesn't like it. After a couple of rides, she tries to avoid having a bridle put on. Doesn't do that with 2-link snaffles or the Waterford. I normally ride her one-handed with slack in the reins, including at a canter or gallop, unless she decides to ignore me...:-x

I'll be curious as well about what folks think. Wish there was someway I could just ask Mia. But trying to peel back the layers of the onion in her head is what got me interested in riding!

Also: Leather bits? I think I'm beginning to see why so many people end up with so many bits in their tack box!


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## PunksTank (Jul 8, 2012)

Lol yes! I get what you mean. Have you tried a loose ring version of whichever mouthpiece you typically use? I've even got one that's got full cheeks and a loose ring, those are pretty neat because they have the full cheek lateral pressure and hold the bit in the correct position with keepers, but have the loose ring to discourage leaning.










ETA: info on the leather bits, I'm not sold but I'm interested:
http://www.ponybox.com/news_details.php?title=no-metal-in-the-mouth-the-leather-bit&id=1875


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Chain bits do get a bad rap, of course just like any other bit it has the potential to be harsh.(I am not talking about bicycle chain/mule bits).

Like SH said some horses love them or they hate them. It simply provides a different feel and just because you try one it doesn't mean you have to ride in that bit for the rest of your horses life. There is nothing wrong with experimenting with bits to figure out what your horses excepts. Also you can try a chain bit and go back to what you were riding before to simply change the horses reaction. Sometimes problems are a trained reaction rather than the bit itself and it takes a different feel to break the habit, sort of speak. Then sometimes you retrained the reaction by changing the bit and you can go back to the old bit. Of course this doesn't always work, but it gives you something to think about.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

a chain bit can be wonderful. it really depends on if the horse likes in or not. i own one and will never sell it, its just a great bit to have around. 

my friend has a horse that is super sensitive and will only go in a chain bit.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Just thought I would mention that a bit is only as harsh as the riders hands which means, a chain bit can actually be quite mild when used properly, however a snaffle can be pretty darn harsh when it's being yanked and banked and slammed in the horses mouth.... th-th-that's all folks....


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## Adenfire (Dec 2, 2010)

Our horse was the next step up for the younger gamers in our 4-H program...one of the years my brother leased him, he was ridden by 3 kids at each show...so the hands were all over the place...once we switched bits he still gaped for awhile, but you could tell it was more of a mental "this is in my mouth and always hurts" type thing rather then it actually was. It's something we had to work through, it was a LONG process because he had a mental block. I know lots who say they don't get that way, were it's 90% mental issues with tack problems, but I've had more then one where it is. They are harder to work through it then anything else.

From closer inspection of him, he's got some suspicious indents and scars that we assume came from his roping days because they are very old, and haven't happen in the 7+ years we've known him.


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

I'm ducking out of the convo..Makes me sad.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

why are you sad ?


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## ropinbiker (Aug 3, 2012)

I had a roping horse that I could only use a smooth chain bit on...he had been handled with a heavy hand prior to me getting him and ANY kind of bit other than the chain would make him jerk his head up as soon as you picked up the reins on him--NOT pull on the reins but just pick them up. With a smooth chain he wouldn't jerk his head up(I am sure he would if you were heavy handed). If you put any other kind of bit(including a ring snaffle) on him he was instantly apprehensive and "looking" for you to pull the reins.

This horse would stop on a dime with just you sitting down in the seat, so there was no reason to ever do more than slightly bump the reins....this leads me to believe, as others have said, that a smooth chain is not that harsh, but could be in the wrong hands-as all bits could.


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## PunksTank (Jul 8, 2012)

So I've been researching waterfords and chain bits more here's what I've come to realize. They aren't for me, but they aren't as bad as some commonly used bits, referring only to the mouthpiece portion and comparing the mouthpieces apples to apples (not taking into consideration the rider or the horse's level of training). That's my disclaimer 

It looks harsh, and it certainly can be pinchy, but it's completely collapsed in there mouth and without a decent amount of pressure it's pretty much not doing anything. The thing that makes it harsh (IMO) is that, like a twisted bit or a waterford, the pressure is centralized to more narrow points. So like walking on ice, distributing the weight is less intense, which is why smooth mouthpieces are generally desired. But compared to a twisted snaffle a chain really doesn't seem all that harsh to me. At least it doesn't nutcracker on their bars or potentially hit the pallet. I would, of course, pick something milder for my own horses I think a chain would be among the last bits I would use. But I can see why it's not so bad and I'd use a chain bit before a twisted snaffle or curb. But I'd probably use a waterford before a chain... But I'd probably use a loose ring snaffle (preferably french link) before a waterford  see where I'm going with this? 
My horses were all trained in full cheek french links and an Indian Hackamore, they go in whichever they do better in for whichever mission I have for the day. 
But back to the OP, you could try changing bits but don't get anything with a strong nut cracker action or that'll come as a shocker for the horse. Waterfords or french links might be an ideal step down, of course you ought to try some ground work in each bit before jumping on  You could eventually transition to something milder like a french link or a mullen mouth depending on the horse's preference, but I'd skip the single jointed snaffle step as it has a completely different action compared to the chain. You could even look into those leather bits - I'm gonna get one just to try it out!


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## huntergrl (Nov 26, 2007)

Well actually I definately can't classify it as a chain bit. It was so tiny and thin that is was like almost nothing in his mouth. 
I used my snaffle on him yesterday and he did wonderfully!! So I really don't think it was any kind of chain bit. Sorry for the confusion.
Funny Store,
My husband fell off because he couldn't fit in the saddle good and he doesnt' know how to ride yet. He said he wanted to trot so I was like go ahead.lol
The horse did fine but it was so funny watching him slide off. Of course where are all the cameras in the world when you need them???


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

FWIW, thin is usually harsher. Glad to hear it is working out with a plain snaffle.


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