Combination Horse Bits

Video Transcript

"This is a bit that has the unique feature that it works somewhat off of the nose pressure, very much like our bitless style where we are creating pressure with a rawhide nose band, and it works off the leverage as well with a curb chain. The curb chain also has an impact to the type of bit that it has. I've used these with horses that I work with children where I want the added benefit of them working off of nose pressure, maybe less off of the bit, but they're a kind of horse that still needs a bit more in the way of control to the smaller rider's hands. I have found that these bits are very effective and at times very humane because of the way they work together. One of the other humane features of this bit is that it has what we call a dog bone in the center. That piece is what allows this bit to not do that again, what we call the nutcracker effect. Within this bit, we also have a twisted wire. This is a little bit more of what we call a fast twist. So in other words, it coils more quickly than that slow twist that we looked at earlier. All of these features, the twist, the dog bone, arthey and the sweet iron, are things that can be very effective depending on the type of horse. We find that bits and the bridles that we use are very important, and we may find that we use a lot of different bits on the same horse throughout their lifetime. I often say bits are kind of like my shoes. I'm going to wear a different pair for a different job and I'm going to need to have several to choose from."