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[RC] Snaffle bits - k s swigartJennifer said: At the AERC convention a couple years ago, one of the Mylers was a guest speaker. I went up as a volunteer for one of his demos. He put a standard snaffle across my arm and pulled fairly gently on the bit as a rider would. My arm was bruised for a week, and I don't bruise. It opened my eyes that a snaffle is not necessarily as kind as everyone thinks. It would appear that many people are under the mistaken impression that a snaffle bit is a "starter" bit because it is a "mild" bit. This is simply not true, it is especially not true of a single jointed snaffle (can you say "nut cracker"?). The reason that the snaffle bit is the bit of choice for starting a green horse is that it is the SIMPLEST bit, not that it is the mildest bit. It's simplicity is less likely to confuse an unschooled horse. A snaffle bit is a very simple bit, and very few things happen when you apply pressure (note that I don't say pull) on a rein. I.e. you apply pressure directly on the bar of the mouth on the side that you apply pressure on. However, the snaffle bit is also a TWO handed bit (i.e. it isn't designed for pulling on both reins at the same time, and doing so should be reserved for dire emergencies only :)). Personally, my own experience with the Myler bits (and I have used an assortment of them on an assortment of horses) is that they are sufficiently complicated (i.e. when you apply rein pressure a BUNCH of things happen) that many horses respond by going behind the bit, giving the impression of being "light in hand." Except for one horse (a pony stallion that was being started in a Level 1 barrel snaffle) whose reponse was to stiffen his neck and brace his jaw on the left side. I tried everything I could (and I am not talking about just using my hands) to get that horse to understand that I wanted him to bend, and he didn't get it until the day that I asked his owner for permission to change him from the Myler bit to a French link....after which,. he got it in about 5 minutes (I am willing to concede that the reason for this may be because I know how to use a French link snaffle, and I haven't a clue how to use a Myler). However, even a French link snaffle isn't appropriate for people who are going to pull on both reins at the same time, because, while the nutcracker effect isn't quite as harsh as in a single jointed snaffle, it still doesn't do much by way of communicating with a horse :). And if you make a habit of pulling on both reins at the same time, you will teach the horse nothing more than to ignore what you are doing with your hands. Additionally, if you have a horse that can/will run through a snaffle, you have a horse that can/will run through any bit (which is pretty much every horse, since any horse can run through any bit :)). kat Orange County, Calif. ============================================================ Common sense should also be a part of the decision making process. If you see someone who doesn't have any, hand them your tool box. ~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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