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Re: [RC] Chain on a Kimberwicke - heidia further note.....the Kimberwickes I am using for trail riding also had the chain. I find it (like a lot of other traditional English or Western tack), pretty inefficient so generally just remove the chain and hooks and put on my own buckle-ended curb strap or.... Since the dang chain has to be twisted flat every time you use it to lie flat under the chin...one fix is to twist it flat...then slide it through a rubber chain guard (State Line, Dover sell these in English tack section). This both protects the chin skin.....and stabilizes the darn chain...I I was fascinated to read this, as I've used bits with English curb chains off and on much of my life (primarily a short-shanked Hartwell pelham, which has a solid port mouthpiece much like a Kimberwicke, but affords just a tad more leverage than the curb "slot" on the Kimberwicke) and one of the things that I've always really LIKED about the English bit was how much nicer and flatter the curb chain lies as compared to the traditional western curb straps that I grew up with as a kid. Once one is adjusted for a particular horse, it need never come off its hooks (in fact, we crimp the hooks nearly closed, so that it is difficult for them to come off, but they can be easily pried back open if one needs to change the adjustment for a new horse or for whatever reason). If it is hung correctly, it always goes on flat. I've also felt that the double-link construction was much more comfortable on the skin than the leather, as it does not cut at all. And it is easily cleaned--one can just wash the bit off with the hose, with no risk of the leather becoming stiff or caked or brittle, and with no need to "dress" it with leather dressing to prevent that. I've seen riders wrap the chains in vetrap--and in my experience, this makes them less forgiving and much more harsh. I'm currently only riding one horse in the Hartwell pelham, but he was one that had responded well to a Kimberwicke before he came here, and he is very happy and comfortable in the Hartwell. (It was the closest thing I had to a Kimberwicke, and he was an old 4-H horse that had learned to evade a snaffle bit to some degree with a series of young riders...) My tendency with young horses is to try to keep them sufficiently responsive that they need never get out of a snaffle, and that they remain "in tune" to body language sufficiently so that most of the "stop" comes from one's seat and legs. That's the best way of all to avoid the need for a curb of any sort... :-) Do keep in mind that there is a world of difference between the flat, double-linked English curb chains and the curb chains that one sees on some western mechanical hackamores, etc. NO comparison whatsoever, there... Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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