A Bit Crazy, Part 1

I find bits completely fascinating. It's the one tack item I always hoard, and the thing I miss the most about riding in a barn with 30+ horses. Everyone had something different that worked for them. While I'd love to experiment and play with a million different kinds of bits, between Runkle and Indy I had developed a kind of system towards bit acceptance.

Bit guards are stupid

I started with a Happy Mouth loose ring. This was at the suggestion of my trainer, who has done a lot more baby TB's than I ever have, and I was really pleased with the results. Runkle loved to curl behind the bit, and this actually got his nose in front of his poll. Indy was super bouncy and inconsistent, so the mullen helped give him somewhere to rest his lughead. I'm not a huge fan of loose rings in general. I feel like they always pinch, and bit guards do not fit well around happy mouths!

When they needed more subtlety from a bit, I moved on to a single jointed happy mouth eggbutt. Runkle loved this bit, and I would've kept him in it forever, but he also chewed the absolute piss out of it. In two months it was destroyed beyond being usable, even though I was wrapping and rewrapping it with sealtex.

The single jointed happy mouth. RIP.

Then they both moved on to a french link eggbutt, and that's where they stayed. Runkle got some more creative bits for jumping, because he loved to tuck his nose to his chest and pull like an ox which was exhausting and annoying. I had him in a full cheek waterford for awhile, but for our first and last horse trial he went in a slow twist full cheek french link. I still kiiiind of got run off with. We had plans to try him in a kimberwicke but he never gave us the chance (which I'm kind of annoyed about, I think the kimberwicke would've worked a treat because it's a stubborn pony bit and he was a STUBBORN PONY).

When I got Spicy I started the same program, but I couldn't get him past the mullen. And he was never super happy with the mullen. The best I ever got was okay, but there was a lot of chomping and this horse is nothing if not rigid. Rigid in the jaw, rigid in his withers. When he gets anxious or tense, he turns into A ROCK. He got super foamy but it was just stress. I tried other mullen mouths, and other bits in my box, and he was just kind of the same.

The day we bumped up to the slow twist.
The "oh my god, I lived!" smile.

What do you do when you think your horse needs a new bit? What does it feel like when they need a change? Do you decide based on your own knowledge, ask a learned person, or some combination?

I figured it would sort itself out, so I tabled it and went to ground work camp. And then I did what most nerds do, I bought a book at my local used bookstore...

Bit tastes like apples. 5 stars.

To be continued!