Horse bitting can be confusing.
Understanding Snaffle Bits
Snaffle bits are direct-rein bits that offer gentle communication without leverage or poll pressure. They are used across various riding disciplines and are often the first choice for novice riders and young horses due to their milder action and find their roots in classical riding, concentrating on developing the leg to hand riding philosophy for balanced expressive movement together with the creation of impulsion within the horse.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Snaffle Bit
Mouth Conformation:
- Assess your horse’s mouth size and shape. A thicker bit may be required for horses with fleshy tongues provided they have room in the mouth for both, while a thinner bit suits horses with smaller mouths where there is less space for the bit to sit without squashing everything together.
- Check for any signs of discomfort, such as a dry mouth or excessive salivation, head shaking, or refusal to take the bit.
Training Level:
- Young or inexperienced horses should start with a gentle snaffle bit, typically with a single or double-jointed mouthpiece which promotes relaxation. The German hollow mouth snaffle is a good choice as it is light in weight and graduates down in thickness from the lip area to the middle joint but try and find one that does not have an overly large middle joint so that the tongue space is preserved.
- As your horse advances in training, you might experiment with different designs to assess which one improves communication and responsiveness. The Neue Schue turtle top Flex, Turtle Tacio Flex focus more on directional control.
Types of Snaffle Bits:
- Loose Ring Snaffle: Good for young horses as it allows for movement and increased comfort. However, it can pinch the lips if fitted too close to the lips and so using bit guards can help alleviate this.
- Eggbutt Snaffle: Known for stability and fixed rings, making it less likely to pinch. This bit is versatile for general riding and training and is more stable in the mouth as it has less ability to move due to the eggbutt rings, offering good directional control.
- D-Ring Snaffle: Offers lateral support making it ideal for turning and steering. It’s often used in disciplines like racing and dressage for better control but is also very useful on unbalanced youngsters who run through the shoulder and turn their heads to evade the contact.
- Full Cheek Snaffle: Provides greater stability and is often used with young horses needing help with steering due to its full-length cheekpieces and so they help keep the horse under control and prevent the bit slipping through the mouth.
Mouthpiece Design:
- Single-Jointed vs. Double-Jointed: Single-jointed bits create a nutcracker action, which can apply pressure directly to the tongue and when the tension is strong a sideways pinching action can occur on the sides of the lips. Double-jointed bits are often more comfortable as they distribute pressure evenly across the horse's mouth and the central pivot point of the link is broken and so a wrapping action occurs over the tongue and around the bars of the mouth.
- Mullen Mouth: A straight or slightly curved mouthpiece without joints can be gentler for horses with sensitive mouths or those that tend to evade contact, offering a lot of stability as there are no links within the mouth area. A rider has to be conscious of the action of taking a pull on one rein because without a sufficient outside rein pressure the bit will turn in the mouth due to its relatively straight shape, and the bit pressure will be lost on the opposite side of the horse’s mouth.
Material:
- Bits can be made from metals like stainless steel, copper, or sweet iron. Copper and sweet iron are popular as they encourage salivation and can lead to a more relaxed acceptance of the bit, stainless steel is inert and has no taste and does come in different alloy grades and so generally the cheaper the bit the lower the stainless-steel quality. The highest quality stainless steel bits which are finished to an extremely high standard, come from Herm Sprenger GMBH and the products and are still made in their own factory in Germany.
- Neue Schule are known for high quality copper-based alloy bits that warm up to body temperature very quickly once inserted in the horse mouth. Bombers Bits are the premier manufacturer of sweet iron bitting and have a range of bits with a lifetime guarantee.
Practical Tips for Accurate Fitting
- When fitting a snaffle bit, ensure the rings rest just outside the corners of your horse's mouth 2mm per side is generally ideal, but you have to use a bit of common sense and fit a little wider with a loose ring than and eggbutt bit ring and so 3mm a side offers a little more space to prevent pinching.
- Look for slight wrinkles at the corners of the lips when the bit is placed; too many wrinkles indicate the bit is too high generally 2 wrinkles is ideal but you also have to consider the bit design you use on a horse with a short smile.
- Check regularly for signs of wear or damage to ensure the bit remains comfortable for your horse.
- Look for signs of bit damage by the horses’ teeth that could indicate other issues such as discomfort due to sharp teeth or mouth ulcers causing the horse to try and fix the bit position.
Equine Dentist
- Before you consider fitting a bit to a new horse or youngster (don’t assume the youngster hasn’t done enough to need a dentist) , ensure you have engaged the services of a qualified equine dentist (see our other blog post) please note. Equine dentists are allowed to call themselves an equine dentist but the level of work they can do is limited so make sure you are using a registered equine dentist from the BEVA level 2. Or a level 2 practitioner from WWAED, as when they are qualified, they can deal with whatever they find within reason.
- It is important that this check is made to ensure that the teeth are aligned between top and bottom jaw and the jaw has the freedom to move correctly without becoming stuck due to a unlevel jawline, otherwise you are already starting with a major query left unchecked that can affect how your new or young horse will behave in the chosen bit or any other bit and so then you are unsure if it is the bit, the horses behaviour, or the issues are physical dental issues within the horse mouth affecting how well the bit works.
Conclusion
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