Association Scoop
We’re Now A Little Bit LESS Confused About
Bits - Thanks to Bobby Richards Who Joined
Our November ZOOM Session
Bobby Richards and 10 pounds
of bits showed up on Wednesday night, Nov 18th for the final
ZOOMsession with the Wisconsin
Walking Horse Association youth.
Bobby started by showing a table
full ofbits. Bobby loves bits and it
was evident from his plethora of
styles, sizes and shapes. When you
run atraining barn, like Bobby, a
large assortment of bits is mandatory to find a bit each horse likes the
best.
A full cheek snaffle bit with a
smooth mouthpiece was the first bit
of the night. (Shown in photo.) This
was a typical bit he uses to start
horses. The full cheek keeps the bit
from pulling through the mouth,
particularly useful when horses
are young and just getting use to
having a bit in their mouth. At this
stage you want something that is
not too thick and not too thin, so
they can get use to it.
Bobby said that a bit is the main
communication between horse
and rider. So having the right bit
is very important. It can help raise
or lower a horses head - but more
importantly when you control the
mouth, you control the shoulders of
the horse. And, when you control
the shoulders, you now control the
horse and can direct them appropriately.
You want a bit to be comfortable
for the horse and signal them - not
be harsh. Some tips Bobby shared
with us for young horses is to
soften the bit by wrapping it with
silicone or vet wrap, or to choose a
bit that is smoother versus twisted
or narrow. This puts less pressure
on the mouth and helps the horse
accept the bit more readily. If you
need more pressure you choose the
opposite. Also, you can wrap one
side of a bit to soften one side of a
horses mouth, while putting more
pressure on the other. This is done
if you have a horse “on the bit” on
one side, for example.
Bits don’t only put pressure
on the bars and tongue. Pressure
points in the horses mouth include
the roof of the mouth, bottom lip
and corners of the mouth. Because
of this - bits get pretty complicated.
But it also means there is a bit for
every job to overcome each challenge in horse training.
Bobby showed many mouthpieces - chain, dog-bone, broken,
twisted and even one with rollers
in the middle. He showed snaffle
ring, D-ring, full cheek and shank.
With a shank style bit he explained
that the area from the bit up is
called the purchase, and from the
bit down is the shank. The height of
the purchase dictates the amount of
leverage you’ll get - such as a 1-to-3
ratio. Shank style bits employ a
curb chain, which then provides
greater control with less pressure.
Horse’s needs in a bit will change
as they learn to respond to bitting
pressure - so its not one and done it can change overtime.
A final tip Bobby shared was how
to select a bit th ]Y