Re: RC: Snaffle Snaffoo

[Kirsten Foruria <kirsten@vermilion.reno.nv.us>]

Oh ok, so the true Tom Thumb has no snaffle ring AND
straight shanks.  By straight mouthpiece, do you mean "no
port" or do you also mean not at all curved?

As far as the bit I am talking about.... it has shanks
curved toward the horse and the mouthpiece is straight (no
port and not curved at all).  It has a joint in the middle
that is hard to describe, but if you hold both shanks one in
each hand, you can twist them back and forth toward and away
from you in opposite directions. That is the *only*
direction of movement. Basically, you can apply light
pressure with one rein without affecting the other side of
the mouth.  Although, I would think this would ONLY work
with light pressure.  If you used more pressure than to just
lightly engage the curb chain, then you would indeed start a
twisting action both from the action of the curb chain and
the poll pressure from just one side. I'd think this would
be counterproductive.

Thanks!

Kirsten (I think I'm getting it)

Jasmine Cave wrote:
> 
> They are not interchangable terms because the argentine would have a ring
> for a snaffle as well as a ring for a curb rein. The shanks are curved back
> and the mouthpiece is usually cuved as well. The Tom Thumb has straight
> shanks, straight mouthpiece, and no option for a snaffle rein. The tom
> thumb is the more severe of the two. There is also somthing called a
> breaking bit which is a tom thumb with curved shanks and a training bit
> which is a breaking bit with a snaffle ring. So from mildest to harshest it
> would go, argentine-training-breaking-tom thumb. Many curbs have "loose"
> shanks of some sort and so usually are given a name corosponding to that
> particular bits mouthpiece. So what kind of "seperation" is this and what
> do the shanks look like?
> jasmine
> At 07:28 PM 6/3/99 -0700, Kirsten Foruria wrote:
> >Well, I think I got a partial answer (thank you Jasmine).
> >The way I understand your explanation, Tom Thumb and
> >Argentine Snaffle are basically interchangable terms.  My
> >trainer does not use them that way, but I can certainly
> >accept variable terminology as a fact of life.
> >
> >The remaining question I have then is what the heck is the
> >bit that I've been calling a Tom Thumb? It's essentially a
> >plain curb with no port.  IOW, the bit itself does not
> >"break" in the middle of the mouthpiece (like a snaffle),
> >but it does have a "separation" that allows the shanks to
> >act independently. Occasionally the shanks themselves will
> >be on swivels, I assume to allow direct reining without
> >causing a twisting action on the mouthpiece.
> >
> >So (Jasmine <G>)... what is this bit called that I am
> >describing?  They are commonly found in western tack shops,
> >but usually there are only one or two on a wall full of
> >various curbs, gags etc.
> >
> >Kirsten (gittin' a BIT o' edicashun)
> >
> >Linda_Merims@ne.3com.com wrote:
> >>
> >> I havn't seen anybody answer Kristen's question about what
> >> is a Tom Thumb vs what is an Argentine bit.  Being from
> >> the English-seat tradition, I havn't a clue.
> >>
> >
> >--
> >Kirsten (Price) Foruria
> >Vermilion Desert Ranch
> >Reno, Nevada
> >
> >
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> >
> 
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> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
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-- 
Kirsten (Price) Foruria
Vermilion Desert Ranch
Reno, Nevada


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=