Like most barrel racers and horsewoman who ride multiple horses of various disciplines I have a large collection of bits. As I stated earlier I find that bits fit people better than horses. That being said, I do have a few favorites that have worked on different horses. The common theme with the horses they worked on was their level of training and responsiveness.

 

Training Bits

The Sweet Six is one of my favorite training bits. It comes in four different mouthpieces. I personally only use the three piece and chain, I've found more horses respond to them. I usually start a horse in this bit, regardless of how far they are in their training. I find this bit shows me exactly how soft they are and lets me know what I need to work on first. I often pair it with a german martingale and split reins. I want my horses to not only remain soft, I want them to learn that they can't lean into the bit or throw their heads to avoid it. The german martingale reinforces that by applying pressure when they stick thier noses out or raise their heads too much. That being said, I set it very neutral. I dont want them to be forced into a frame by the pressure, I simply want it to be a reminder if they chose to resist. The german martingale is my preferance over draw reins or a running martingale simply because it still allows them to extend their heads and necks as long as they remain low. I've found with running martingales they tend to "climb" and I'm unable to get a true direct rein when bringing my hand back to my hip.

Once the horse no longer hits the martingale and remains in frame by gentle reminders of my hands, I will take them out of it. I also take it off if a horse is starting to hide behind the bridle and behind the verticle. When they do so, they are collapsing on their front end. That is the last thing I want, but it also shows me that they understand they have to remain in the bridle and are ready to go without the martingale.

Now whether I decide to leave them in the iron wrapped o-ring or move them up to one of the other two varies depending on a lot of factors. The first being what the horses inclination is when you add speed. Do they stretch out and get low, or do they elevate and climb? For a horse that gets low, I want to pick them up so I will stick with a three piece, the pressure on the roof and bars encourages that. For a horse that climbs or takes the bridle, I put them in the chain. They can not grab a hold of it, the breaks allows it to mold to their mouth and apply even pressure on the tongue, lips, roof and bars. I have often had a horse go beautifully in the three piece until I speed things up, suddenly they are heavy and fighting. Instead of fighting with them, I will literally stop and put the chain on. If the chain doesn't show significant improvement in two or three rides, I will move them up to one of my Step 1 Working Bits with the martingale.

Competition or Working Bits

Once a horse has shown me which of the three mouthpieces they respond best to, I stay with that in their competition or working bit. The only variables are whether or not those bits have gag, if I use a chain or leather curb strap and the length of the shank and purchase.

I will always start with a short shank version of the same mouthpiece and a little gag (step 1) because I want to keep things similar to the bit they are used to.  If I find that is not enough when I add speed, I'll first switch to a short shank version of the same mouth piece without gag (step 2). Finally a longer shank version without gag (step 3). If that isn't enough I will try a combination with a nose band as well, again with the same mouth piece and a short shank (step 4). Now I should note that more often then not, a combination is used as a correction bit rather than a long term solution. For whatever reason, it acts as a reinforcement then they are ready to go back to the Step 3.

I personally have never had a horse that ran well for me in a long shank gag. That is why my step 3 is long shank without gag. I believe this is because in my training I teach the horse to react now and during a run if I have a long shank and gag, no matter how small, it tends to be too delayed. I don't want to change my riding or ques in a run and by running in a long shank gag, I would have to adjust and ask sooner so that I get a reaction in time. That completely throws off the timing and muscle memory that I develop in my training and slow work.

I find regardless of the horse I always follow these same 4 steps when finding a competition or working bit. Some horses can work in the same bit on a big or little pattern, slow or fast cattle. Other horses may work best with a little less bit inside or on smaller patterns and a little more on bigger outdoor patterns. Same with roping, my one horse works in the same bit regardless of the cattle or pen. While my other gelding needs more bit for the harder running cattle because he needs to leave harder, yet I still need him to come back to me just as quick for the corner or stop. These are all things to consider, your horse will usually give you indicators if they need more "help" or a more effective "communication tool" doing a specific job.

That being said, I have had several horses that have worked well in a bit but ran better in Hackamore or Side Pull. I find horses with a lot of natural rate tend to work well in these. You don't have the same front to back control for collection, or lift for lateral so I still train in a bit to reinforce that.

Now the last variable is the curb strap. I generally will start a horse on a new bit with a leather curb strap adjusted neutrally (two fingers), so that I can see how the horse responds to the bit on its own. Now I will keep them in a leather curb until I find them heavy or running through it, especially when I'm asking for the rate before the turn. If I work on rate for a couple days and then have the same problem at speed, I will switch to a chain curb. Even then, I will wrap it with vet wrap to make it less flexible and have a little less bite. If with a chain curb they are still not as light as I want them to be after a handful of rides, I will move on to the next step for a bit, starting again with a leather curb.