How to Connect a Snaffle Bit to the Bridle
Equestrians use bits to signal a horse for direction and speed of movement by putting pressure in and around the animal's mouth and muzzle. Snaffle bits consist of two side-rings and a jointed mouthpiece. The joint allows the two separate parts of the mouthpiece -- called cannons -- to move independently in the horse's mouth and place gentle force on the tongue, the bars of the gums and the corners of the muzzle. Styles include the O-ring, the D-ring, the egg-butt and the full-cheek, and horseback riders need to learn how to correctly attach the snaffle to the bridle to use the bit effectively.
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Instructions
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Suspend your bridle evenly on a bridle hook or doorknob with the cavesson -- the noseband -- facing out on a straight, horizontal line towards you.
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Drape your English reins from the hook by placing the buckle on top of the center of the headstall and allowing the reins to fall down the cheekpieces of the bridle. Ensure that the left and right reins fall down the left and right sides of the bridle. Tie the ends of a split-rein Western bridle together in a knot, and droop the reins down the bridle in the same manner.
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Hold the bit in front of the bridle with the snaffle's cannons and joint hanging down from the rings in a U-shape between your hands. This tells you that the left and right sides of the bit are correctly adjacent to the left and right cheekpieces. If the joint forms a "V", you are holding the bit incorrectly and attaching it backwards to the bridle -- a practice that can injure the horse's palate.
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4
Buckle the rings of the bit to the correct cheekpieces. If you are using a full-cheek snaffle, place the tall arms of the mouthpiece inside the bridle keepers
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Fasten the reins by securing each of the rein-buckles to the bit rings just under the buckles of the cheekpieces.
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Tips & Warnings
Clean your bit with water and a toothbrush to remove the bits of grass and grain left by the horse's teeth after every use, as recommended by Susan E. Harris in "The U. S. Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship." This keeps your horse's mouth healthy and prevents the spread of disease.
If your horse has a particularly sensitive mouth, try either a Mullen mouth bit made of synthetic material or a soft, rubber bit to make your mount more comfortable.
Consider the thickness of your snaffle bit when fitting it to your horse's mouth. In a study published in the May, 2006 edition of the United States Dressage Federation's Connection magazine, Dr. Hilary Clayton of Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine says that often a thinner bit is more comfortable than a thicker one due to the size of the animal's tongue and oral cavity. She suggests that riders assess the size of the space by pulling apart the horse's lips and inserting a finger in the open space of the gums where the bit would lie.
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