I’ve had quite a few people over the years at my horsemanship clinics ask me about bits, and what I use. I’m actually a very simple person when it comes to bits, because in my opinion, bits come in 2nd place behind good training. I’ve seen people over the years use shank bits that had shanks so long you need wheels on the bottom just to keep it moving on the ground! I’m not against shank bits, I have a whole tack room full of them, but I am against the use of shank bits to MAKE a horse listen, or to MAKE a horse stop or soften.
I’ll go into the progression of what I use for bits from when I first start training a horse, and how I upgrade the horse along the way:
The first thing I use when I’m first starting a horse is my Mundt Method Halter and Lead. I won’t throw a bit in the horse’s mouth for at least the first week in riding, because I have enough to teach the horse as it is, and I don’t want to be pulling around on his mouth, until I can get him soft and supple with just the halter and lead. Once the horse gets soft from only the halter on his nose, when you go to use my Snaffle Bit, half of the work is already done for you!
After the first week of riding the horse with the Mundt Method Halter and Lead, I’ll then progress the horse into a simple O-Ring/D-Ring Combo bit as seen here. This bit eliminates problems associated with an O-Ring—the tendency to pinch due to play within the joints. Copper inlay causes the horse to salivate more and tastes sweeter. A well-balanced, comfortable bit good for starting young horses and for use as training advances. Comes with engraved German Silver at the joints just for a nicer look. I’ll use this bit for 99% of my Training, even my Advanced Horses use this bit when we progress to the advanced stages of The Mundt Method. Once you get a horse to collect vertically and soften to just this type of bit, once you progress into the next bit, your horse will be as soft as butter!
This next bit is a simple Tom Thumb Snaffle, used in some aspects of competition, and is made to be used with one hand. It’s made out of sweet iron, and has copper inlay in the mouth piece to encourage the horse to salivate, and aid in softness. This bit is simply a snaffle bit with shanks on it, making it a great transitional bit for one-handed maneuvers required in certain types of competition. I won’t ride a horse in a shank bit like this one, or any shank bit for that matter, until I’ve been riding/working with them for at least one year! I want the horse to be soft and supple laterally with the previous bit, before I transition them to a shank. Shank bits allow you to encourage vertical flextion with your horse without the use of both hands. Having a horse that neckreins is a must before you use this bit.
I always encourage people to open their mind to training, and how to get your horse to be soft and supple, not use mechanical means to MAKE your horse listen to you, or become soft. A horse’s mouth is simply a ‘telegraph station’, telling you how stiff or soft his body is. Remember: horse’s don’t have ‘hard mouths’, they have hard stiff bodies. Once you get the body soft, the mouth follows.
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