Which bit is right for my horse?

This is a question I get asked so many times over the years, a real dilemma for riders, with an overwhelming choice of bits available. Then there is the choice of needing a bit at all? What about bitless bridles? How do you know which is best for your horse?

My own journey into experimenting with bits started with my first horse capable of jumping a course of show jumps. I had dreamt of sailing round the Hickstead Derby on a floaty Arab, his mane flying as we sailed over the fences, and down the infamous bank. In reality, I had Bobby, an Irish hunter type, far to big for me at 16.2 hands, and I had no brakes. Yes, we could sail around a course of show jumps, but though I could steer him around the turns, I had no say on the speed at which we would launch over everything.

Advice covered gadgets galore, but sticking with bits, I borrowed a pelham resulted in him grabbing the bit and charging with his head in the air, a hackamore resulted in him pulling like a train. And in a snaffle? well, where do I start. Bearing in mind this was in the early 80s, the main choices were a straight bar, French link, or double-jointed bit, perhaps a D ring, eggbutt, or loose ring snaffle. Mouthpieces were thick, or thin, depending on how fleshy your horse’s tongue was.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after he galloped off with me, jumping a five bar gate, depositing me head-long into a barbed wire fence, something needed to change.

So, now I was scared of being charged off with. I would be tense, my fingers clinging onto the reins. I met a wonderful instructor, who took me back to the beginning, and taught me to walk and halt with out using the reins. yes, I had to leave my reins loose, and stop. This challenged every fibre in my body. My mind was screaming, ‘He will run away, how can I possible let go?’ I learnt to trust my seat, I experienced for the first time what a half-halt was- not tweaking the reins, but bracing my back, closing my legs.

Gradually, I understood what Bobby needed from me – not a rider who was a bag of nerves, hanging onto his mouth, but a rider who sits tall, aware of their body, and developing a sense of feel for the whole horse, not just his mouth but his back, his neck, and his mind. His response to the discomfort and fear I put him in caused him to react as any horse would – to run away.

Two years later, I could ride him. We reached an accord. I would not say we truly trusted each other all the time, but we were generally safe together. My fear subsided, though I was always aware to pre-empt his tendency to dash off if I lost focus. I trained my mind to hone in like a laser beam to keep him with me.

Providing I kept my nerve, we jumped affiliated at Foxhunter level with some success. I rode him in control, a steady canter, in a double-jointed snaffle. I controlled him with my body, I no longer hung into the reins with my heart in my mouth.. OK, he was not my dream of a floaty Arab, but Bobby taught me so much. I was a proper show jumper.

Signs that your horse is not happy in his mouth

Problems in the mouth have a knock-on effect on the horse as a whole: his state of mind, his willingness to be ridden, his ability to bend equally in both directions, and so on. Tension in the jaw, difficulty in working through his back, reluctance to flex at the poll are all indicators of discomfort in the mouth. Other signs of discomfort in the mouth are avoidance of the contact by overbending, or being above the bit, hollowing the back. Your horse is trying to let you know what the problem is.

Identifying the cause

So, if you asked me which bit was right for your horse, prioritising what is most important is key. Good dentistry is essential to identify and correct any sharpness of the teeth affecting the way your horse uses his jaw. Physical interventions, such as chiropractic, or physiotherapy would be advisable to correct long-term imbalance in the horse’s structure, in my experience namely issues in the TMJ( jaw) joint, poll, and the lumbar back. Treatment can be costly, so I would look closer to home for a long-term solution.

Finding a solution

Once your horse’s physical issues have been dealt with, the rest is down to you, as a rider. The choice of bit is down to budget, so it may be wise to borrow bits to try, to see what works for your horse. But, fundamentally, no bit will be right for any horse if we, as riders, do not fully understand concept of contact.

What is Contact?

Contact is not just about focusing on the horse’s mouth and holding the reins.

Contact is part of The Scales of Training, which refer to the basic schooling of every horse whether you wish to concentrate on dressage, jumping or eventing. A correct understanding of contact is essential to your horse’s physical and mental development, at all levels from novice upwards. If the contact is not correct, whether you are at novice level or advanced, then it is unlikely that you will be able to maintain a consistent level of progress.

For me, contact with the horse involves any part of us which is in contact with the horse: our seat, legs and hands. All three parts of the body are essential to maintaining the horse’s balance so he is able to work into a supporting rein. The rein contact should never be stronger than the seat and leg aids and The reins should never give an aid in isolation without the backup of seat and leg aids.

Signs of a happy mouth

• Signs of a correct contact are that the the horse turns easily in both directions, transitions work, and he feels balanced to ride.
• The horse should appear to be working the same with its hind legs as its front legs, and not looking ‘flashy’ in front and trailing behind.
• A novice horse will need more support from your back, legs and reins while it learns to balance, and work in self-carriage, that is not relying on the bit to hold him up.
• Your horse should appear curved through its top line from ears to tail and the neck should not be be in a lower carriage, but on no account should it be behind the bit.
• His mouth should be quietly chewing the bit, not gnashing at it, or ducking behind the contact (overbent).

So, which bit suits your horse?

Your horse will let you know which bit is most comfortable, which suits his mouth, and how much contact he needs at any one time, not just from your hands, but your seat and legs too. Let the horse show you the amount of contact he needs. If he is heavy on your reins, increase your seat and leg aids to support him, then lighten the rein contact.

If your contact is correct, the horse works through his back correctly. This is as  a result of the way the bit is used, rather than the type of bit, or whether you ride with a bit or chose a bitless option.

They key aspect for me is to have a happy, relaxed horse, with a comfortable mouth, with a good understanding of contact. Riding should be fun, not a fight.