# Favorite bit to use?



## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

I don't bit for control or go lighter for trust, I go for wahtever my horse works best in and what she responds to. I don't care if we're competing or on the trail.

Generally speaking though, a snaffle.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Depends on which horse I'm riding and what kinds of trails I'm going to ride and what my mood is that day. Sometimes I ride in nothing more than a halter, sometimes in a simple snaffle, and other times I ride in one of my curb bits...it all just depends.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I prefer to use an eggbutt frenchlink snaffle on Aires all the time, but lately he's preferred the Little S hackamore we have. Not that we use the bit/hack for anything more than stopping, really. He was pretty much born broke and prefers working off leg pressure rather than the bit.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horsietori (Dec 6, 2012)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> I prefer to use an eggbutt frenchlink snaffle on Aires all the time, but lately he's preferred the Little S hackamore we have. Not that we use the bit/hack for anything more than stopping, really. He was pretty much born broke and prefers working off leg pressure rather than the bit.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That's exactly how my mare is


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Well, a full cheek waterford just arrived in the mail today. I'll try it tomorrow. 

I'm not saying Mia is a pill, but I'm thinking of getting some saddlebags that will hold a car battery, and run some wires down thru the reins, and put a big red button on my saddle horn. The big red button will have "Whoa!" written on it. And if Mia can't read, well that's just too bad for her!

Just adding that in case this turns into one of those threads where everyone else is boasting of a horse who stops anytime they sneeze, or even increases their Vitamin C intake. Mia stops on leg pressure too. All I have to do is squeeze hard enough and long enough that she can't breath. She usually stops just before she faints.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Thats a good one BSMS.

I'd have a seriously pulled groin muscle if I squeezed that hard.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Selena's so fat that if I squeeze the fat just disperses and absorbs it. :rofl:


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I like to use an indian hackamore too. Or I go with my Happy Mouth double jointed snaffle. I prefer my horse to stop because I ask properly with my seat, not because he's afraid I'm going to yank his jaw off


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## OneFastHorse (Jan 13, 2011)

There's really only two bits I EVER use period. For trails, flat work, competition (barrel racing). 

1. Little S Hackamore 
2. Myler Comfort Snaffle with a roller

Occasionally I will use a little short shanked and/or gag bit with a broken mouth piece such as a Jr Cowhorse or an Argentine Snaffle, but not too often.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I ride bitless too -- rope halter. Not because my horse is perfect and I trust her and she's amazingly well trained. :lol: If my horse _really_ wanted to run off with me or not listen, she would do so no matter what I had in her mouth (or on her nose). I could ride in her a bicycle chain or a snaffle or a mechanical hackamore and not be guaranteed any "control".

If she doesn't want to listen or she wants to bolt, nothing on her face will stop her legs from moving. Bit = control is an illusion. Bitless = less control isn't true either. I believe my rope halter is harsher than a snaffle bit. I have better "control" with it than I do with the French link I use when I need a bit.

So I ride bitless for the simple reason that my mare likes pressure on her nose more than in her mouth. Mouth pressure makes her lock her jaw and become tense all over. She also eats and drink better in competition without a bit.


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## AnnaHalford (Mar 26, 2012)

Brighteyes said:


> I ride bitless too -- rope halter. Not because my horse is perfect and I trust her and she's amazingly well trained. :lol: If my horse _really_ wanted to run off with me or not listen, she would do so no matter what I had in her mouth (or on her nose). I could ride in her a bicycle chain or a snaffle or a mechanical hackamore and not be guaranteed any "control".
> 
> If she doesn't want to listen or she wants to bolt, nothing on her face will stop her legs from moving. Bit = control is an illusion. Bitless = less control isn't true either. I believe my rope halter is harsher than a snaffle bit. I have better "control" with it than I do with the French link I use when I need a bit.
> 
> So I ride bitless for the simple reason that my mare likes pressure on her nose more than in her mouth. Mouth pressure makes her lock her jaw and become tense all over. She also eats and drink better in competition without a bit.


This is exactly our situation. One mare is an ex plough and carthorse and doesn´t give a toss what pressure you apply in her mouth and on her nose - if she wants to bolt then she will. We are reschooling to lessen the possibility of this, but it still exists. In the meantime, we go with bitless because we are doing long-distance riding where we ride all day most days, and she can eat and drink better as well as being more confortable. 
The other mare simply responds better to pressure on her nose than in her mouth. 
They are by no means perfect and stopping is not always their strong point, but they´re pretty good 95% of the time.


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## JMWeldy (Dec 23, 2012)

I ride in just a rope halter, whether I'm riding at home or on the trail.


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## BlooBabe (Jul 7, 2012)

I ride in a hackamore or a rope halter just because my horse was mishandled and has a really hard mouth. HE;s trained well enough to not bolt and isn't spooky but if he does have a fit I know having a bit in his mouth would be less effective at stopping or slowing him down than pressure on his nose. I mean there's only so much pressure you can put on a bone until it breaks and by that point if he hasn't stopped then he deserves the broken nose. I also love to show off and going out bitless or in a halter tends to get people's attention and praise me for how wonderful my horse and I are together or how good a trainer I am.


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## JMWeldy (Dec 23, 2012)

I know what you mean about riding without a bit. I get lots of comments either on the trail or riding through camp because I'm just in a rope halter. In fact, I may be the only person who has ridden her horse down the Grand Canyon in just a rope halter!!

I also ride hubby's horse in just a halter at home but he rides him on the trail in a very mild snaffle.


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## pinkjumperboots (Apr 13, 2012)

i use the lightest/ easiest bit on myhorse when on a trail ride. its suupoesed to be relaxed! on my thoroughbrd it was a full cheeck snaffle and my welsh a eggbut snaffle.


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## Makoda (Jan 17, 2011)

telepathy


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

My mare just got to be graduated to a kimberwick. We started in a myler shanked comfort snaffle until she took off at a dead run on the side of a major highway because she wanted home. Not doing that again. So we went to a shanked "snaffle", more like an argentine snaffle and when she was listening went to a kimberwick. She gets a full cheek snaffle for arena work.

Have been using an english hack on her lately since it's so cold and we are just in the pasture. But she hates it and I mean hates. Ears flat back and a mighty ****ed off look on her face.


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## hannabananana (Dec 28, 2012)

*bits*

I like to use the simplest bits for what I do or none at all, my gelding can hack bridleless because I use my seat, legs, and voice to command him. For trail riding I normally use a halter. I also do reining with a mildly ported bit and a loose rein


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## Crescent (May 2, 2012)

I use a full cheek snaffle because that is the only bit I have and it works perfectly well. I also use a rope halter but my instructor doesn't like to teach me with it on


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## Runninghot88 (May 26, 2012)

Either a simple snaffle or my sweet six life saver
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Skunkworks (Oct 22, 2012)

Depends on the horse, most are just in snaffles or tom thumb (trying to get them changed, it's the BO's preference though). Have a couple that can't ride with a bit so we just go simple leather hackamore.


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## Beatrice9 (Jun 30, 2012)

I use a halter and lead rope around the property, but when I leave the property I'll use a fleece lined hackamore. I feel very strongly against the bit for pleasure riding. I have put my Myler Combination bit on him a handful of times when he was being a butt during training, but it's designed to use nose pressure unless a certain amount of pull on the reins is used. I agree with you 100%, trust is everything! If your horse trusts you, then you don't need a bit. When a owner feels that they must use metal in the mouth for pain to control their horse, that's not the horses fault. I don't do shows, so my question is: Why do they require a rider to have a bit? Just something I always wondered. And why were those 7 judges so confident you couldn't control your horse without metal in his mouth?? I'm glad you proved them wrong, go you!!!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

KK ultra Frenchlink loose-ring snaffle. My be all , do all bit.


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## horsietori (Dec 6, 2012)

Elizabethan87 said:


> I use a halter and lead rope around the property, but when I leave the property I'll use a fleece lined hackamore. I feel very strongly against the bit for pleasure riding. I have put my Myler Combination bit on him a handful of times when he was being a butt during training, but it's designed to use nose pressure unless a certain amount of pull on the reins is used. I agree with you 100%, trust is everything! If your horse trusts you, then you don't need a bit. When a owner feels that they must use metal in the mouth for pain to control their horse, that's not the horses fault. I don't do shows, so my question is: Why do they require a rider to have a bit? Just something I always wondered. And why were those 7 judges so confident you couldn't control your horse without metal in his mouth?? I'm glad you proved them wrong, go you!!!


I actually asked the 4h committee why riders had to have bits and they said it was for safety reasons. I gave them my two cents about bits being more damaging than a hackamore or bosal. ANY tool in the wrong person's hands is bad, but when you allow 10 year olds to use PORTED BITS and CORRECTION BITS, how is THAT for safety? I see kids and adults rip open their horse's mouths all the time. They say they don't tolerate abuse, but yet they can allow little kids to use correction bits with 10 inch shanks to yank on a horse's mouth and they can't allow an indian hackamore. It's a shame that SO MANY people depend on metal to work with their horses. At least I know that my horses have an owner who cares about their mouth and wants to have trust and respect. I want to be a partner with my horse, not a dictator.


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## tbcrazy (Sep 27, 2012)

The horses head is one of the most sensitive parts of its body- you can do damage with a bit, bosal, or hackamore, if you really want to. Good riders know that you use your hands last to communicate with your horse. Will all of my horses ride in a bit, halter, bosal, or nothing? Yes. They are consistent across the board. To say a bosal or hackamore is gentle may be true for some people, but they can also hurt the horses face, as can a bit in the mouth, in the wrong hands. Just sayin! I'm sure not going to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't do- I try to focus only on how I handle my animals


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Late to the party. Frenchlink. It's what I use for everything with my guy. He gets tense without a bit- he's an anxious guy and a bit is what he's used to and was trained in. He gets confused and anxious when I ask him for anything beyond the most basic stuff in a halter, which leads to stiffness and even more anxiety and potential wrecks. I'm slowly retraining him to pay more attention to seat and legs than rein, but it's slow and the bit helps him feel relaxed and confident he knows what I'm asking for now.


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## tbcrazy (Sep 27, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> KK ultra Frenchlink loose-ring snaffle. My be all , do all bit.


My go-to bit as well!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

My favorite trail bit:

Myler Bit Stainless Steel HBT Shank


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

I ride my mare in all sorts of things. I am trying to expose her to everything while she is young to give her the best possible chance in life.
As of now we have used:

-Indian hackamore
-Mechanical Hackamore
-French-like snaffle
-Regular jointed snaffle

She responds to all, though her favorite is the mechanical hack (English fleece kind).

Next we are using a Little-S and a curb.


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## CowboyBob (Feb 11, 2013)

I have two bits that I seem to use most.

1. D'ring snaffle
2. And I have an old Crockett bit I did some bit and spur trading for its nothing fancy just a solid curb bit with a low port. 
I use the second bit on any of my horses that I know will respond to leg aids. I Hate it when people use a solid bit and then pull on one rein. If they still need work on responding to legs then I like my snaffle.

In my horse pic's I am riding Flint in my snaffle bit.


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