Advanced Tack: Double Bridle and Misc Bits

At this level you should know about more interesting bits, how they work, and when/why to use them. Snaffles were covered at length in Intermediate. Now we have some of the other miscellaneous items: hackamores, leverage bits, gags, combination bits, and of course the double bridle.

A hackamore is a bitless bridle. It functions by applying pressure to the nose and the chin groove. Some horses, particularly those with really sensitive mouths, respond much better to a hackamore than a standard bit. The strength of this is determined by the length of the shanks to which the reins are attached. This is not legal in dressage, but is in the jumping disciplines. (random side note -- my spell check apparently knows what a hackamore is?!?! It doesn't know any other riding vocab, but it's got that one word. Gotta love it :)

Alright, so leverage bits multiply the pressure applied to the mouth; this means that however hard you pull, the horse feels 2,3,4x that amount. Generally, the longer the shanks, the greater the leverage.

Curb bits are leverage bits (usually also used with a curb chain that applies pressure to the chin groove as the reins are used). Curb bits may also have a port (a bump) in the middle of them. If there is no or very low port, most of the pressure is on the tongue and the mouth. If the port is medium height it shifts the pressure off the tongue more to the bars. If it's high, there's a chance it may put pressure on the roof of the mouth, which in turn acts like a fulcrum to significantly increase the pressure on the bars. Some curb bits may look very much like snaffle bits, but all have extra rings for the reins to be attached lower than the bit -- this is what provides the leverage. The longer the shank, the greater the multiplying effect. Curb bits should very rarely be used alone; they are generally used with a bradoon (tiny snaffle) to create a double bridle.


Curb Bit

The double bridle is ridden in at the advanced levels to give ultimate sensitivity -- assuming the rider is capable of that. There is a standard curb bit and a bradoon (which is basically a super-small snaffle). The rider carries two sets of reins and uses them independently depending on the desired effect.



1. Bradoon Strap
2. Crown Piece
3. Browband
4. Curb Cheekpiece
5. Cavesson Noseband
6. Throatlatch
7. Curb Bit (low port)
8. Bradoon
9. Curb Chain
10. Lip Strap
11. Snaffle Reins
12. Curb Reins

For those not quite ready for a double bridle, the pelham is a combination of snaffle and curb bit; it also uses two sets of reins. The top one gives a snaffle effect while the lower one gives the curb and leverage effect. Kimberwicks (which are often seen on strong ponies being ridden by little kids) have a similar combo effect, but use only one set of reins. The severity of the bit is influenced by where the reins are attached (loose or in one of two slots).


Pelham

Gags are leverage bits which can also look an awful lot like plain snaffle bits (in fact some snaffle bits have the option of turning them into gags depending where you fasten the reins). Most gags should be used with two sets of reins -- one in the usual snaffle position and one on the leverage ring. These bits tend to be fairly strong and should only be used by those who know what they are doing. They are mostly seen on very strong horses in speed events.


Elevator Bit

This elevator bit is a pretty standard example. If the reins are on the big ring, it acts as a snaffle. By the time you're at the bottom ring, you've got some pretty serious leverage happening. You will often see people fixing two sets of reins to this bit so they can ride primarily off the snaffle, but have the leverage if they need it.

So now that you know all that -- how do you decide what bit to use? Well, there are a bunch of things to consider:

- Age, training level and temperament of the horse
- Experience level of the rider (remember even the softest bit can be inhumane when held by hard hands)
- Type of work (ie - often in eventing you'll see a horse going XC in a slightly stronger bit than they do dressage)
- Shape of the horse's mouth (a thick bit may be theoretically soft, but in a tiny mouth it'll be uncomfortable)
- Horse's preference (ie - some horses really don't like pressure on their tongues, others may not like the pinching feeling of jointed bits, etc)