Let’s talk about bits.

There are so many choices of bits that choosing which one is the right one for a particular horse at first glance looks like a lottery. That’s true enough when we just look at snaffle bits, let alone comparing snaffle bits to curbed bits to gag bits to spade bits, etc.

But for simplicity let’s stick to discussing snaffle bits. They are the most commonly used, almost every horse will experience one and nobody actually needs any other category of bit (although many will argue to the contrary on behalf of their favourite type of bit).

For clarity's sake, when we talk about a snaffle bit we are referring to a bit where the reins exert a feel directly on the mouthpiece with no leverage action. That’s it. Joint or no joint, steel or iron or copper inlaid, eggbutt or ring or full cheek, etc have no bearing on if a bit is a snaffle or not. It is simply that when you pick up a feel on the reins it acts directly on the mouthpiece with no leverage effect.

Many people spend an inordinate amount of time shopping for the perfect bit for their horse. Tack stores are happy to explain the pros and cons of each bit they stock and why it is exactly what you need. Every year a new range of bits come to market and every few years a new design is proclaimed the miracle cure-all bit.

Not all bits are equal. There is no doubt that there are well-designed bits and poorly designed bits. On a rare occasion, I have come across bits at clinics that I insisted be removed from a horse, and on other occasions, I have suggested a rider find a more suitable bit when they go home. But this happens maybe once every few years. For the most part, even bits I don’t like I can work with and effectively get a nice change in a horse by adjusting the way the reins are used.

I have trained and worked with a few thousand horses in my time and I own one type of snaffle bit – a 125mm long jointed ring bit with a 5mm diameter mouthpiece. I have used it on all the horses that have passed through my hands over a couple of decades - from ponies to Percherons. In that time I recall only 1 horse requiring a different bit because of a problem with the fit.

Yet, as I travel and teach clinics I come across horses all the time that fight the bit, toss their head when the reins are touched, have a fit when the rider tries to put a bit in their mouth, lean on the reins, chew frantically on the bit, etc. Possibly half of the riders tell me they can’t find the right bit for their horse.

So here are my thoughts on the subject.

If you have a problem that seems to be associated with the bit, then it is either because the bit does not fit properly (or adjusted correctly) or the horse has a problem in its mouth or the meaning of the rein pressure is not clear to the horse.

The first two are basic mechanical issues. You can figure out if the problem stems from improper fit or adjustment of the bit or damage to the mouth by testing the horse’s reaction to the bit when the reins are not applied. If it is the bit itself that is the problem, just wearing it without reins will cause the horse concern.

However, if the problem is more associated with using the reins than the bit alone, you have a training issue.

A bit is just a transducer – nothing more. That is, it transfers a signal from the rein (pressure) to the mouth, which becomes an electrical message to the brain to perform some type of action. If the message to the brain gets screwed up, it is because either the signal transmitted by the reins made an error (bad riding) OR the brain did not understand the best way to respond to the message (bad training).

A bit has no power to initiate a conversation with a horse. It just sits in the horse’s mouth. In my experience, the overwhelmingly most common reason why horses struggle to comfortably follow the feel of the bit in their mouth is that of a lack of clarity of how to respond to the pressure of the reins. The signal from the reins and the way the horse’s brain interprets it is at fault. Not the design of the bit. It’s a training problem.

Once a horse understands what pressure from the reins means and how to respond to it, the problem is solved. It is all about ensuring that every change in the feel of the reins is accompanied by a related change of thought in a horse’s brain.

Sometimes a different bit requires a slight change in the way the rider applies feel to the reins. But this is still an operator error and not a bit problem.

Now before those of you who ride your horses using only bitless bridles start feeling too smug, let me say that I see the same problem in horses ridden without bits. As I said, it is not about the bit. It’s about the clarity our training gives to the meaning of the reins. So if you ride with reins – with or without a bit – the message is the same. Apply the reins to change what a horse is thinking and not just to change what he is doing.

To finish, we should always be checking that the bit we use fits the anatomy of our horse’s mouth. We should also check the mouth has no damage that would be made worse by a bit. But if these things check out okay, the probability is high that any problems in responding to the reins are rooted in the training and not the design of the bit.