Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Extra-large bit rings

From: Cheryl

Dear Jessica, you are the best source of information I know of, for every thing to do with horses. How can you know so much? You are really amazing, not just your knowledge which is encyclopedic (did I spell that right?) but also you have incredible insights. I hope that you will have one when you read my question, because I am just at my wits end with this problem.

I have a QH mare who was bred at two and three, then didn't get pregnant when she was bred when she was four, so I was able to buy her when she was four, and started her slowly from the ground. Now she is five, almost six, and I have been riding her for about six months now. She is very sweet and willing but she suddenly has a problem with her bridle, or more specifically, with her bit, at least I think that is the problem! You can see that I need your help here. Fancy (my mare) was started in a regularloose-ring snaffle which she liked fine. Then since we were having some problems with turning and my trainer put her into the same exact snaffle, same mouthpiece and material and from the same company, only with big huge rings. Now she is worse instead of better, she tosses her head and makes a big fuss about bridling and throws her head up on turns. I am trying to be very gentle with my hands, she is a Western horse so doesn't wear a noseband, and she has had a good dentist float her teeth (which he said were fine). Her saddle fits and anyway she does this bareback too! So what do you think is causing this problem? I know from reading your advice that I could use a full-cheek snaffle to get the lateral control, but my trainer doesn't like the long pieces that stick up and down, he says she could catch her lip or something and get hurt, and I think you have said something like this too. I have looked very carefully at the mouthpiece of Fancy's bit, and used all of your advice about it, and I know that it is exactly the same as her old bit, it is the same size, there are no ridges or holes and the rings don't pinch her lips. I would go back to the old bit but I need the lateral steering control. Please help! I don't want Fancy to be tossing her head and getting upset, but she is all the time now.

Your fan, Cheryl

Hi Cheryl! I'm very familiar with the type of bit you've described. It's a common sight in just about every Western training barn, and indeed the extra-large bit rings are there to keep the bit being pulled through the horse's mouth. However, something about this bit is obviously causing your horse pain.

Are you quite, quite certain that the mouthpiece of this bit and her old bit are identical in terms of thickness, curve, and joint(s)? It's not always easy to determine this unless you have both bits together for comparison.

Without seeing Fancy, I can't offer a definite solution to the bitting problem, but here are two things I would investigate if I were you.

1. Bit position - changing to a bit with very large rings mean that the bridle's cheekpieces need to be shortened quite a lot to put the bit in the same position in the horse's mouth. If the bit is sitting a little too high (creating constant pressure) or a little too low (bumping against your mare's teeth), it can be very uncomfortable for the horse.

2. Cheekbones - are your mare's cheekbones being rubbed by the bit's extra-large rings, or by the bridle itself where the cheekpieces attach to the rings? One real disadvantage of a bit with extra-large rings is that the rings can put painful pressure on parts of your horse's head that have no natural protection or padding - the cheekbones are nothing but skin over bone, with nerves and blood vessels in between, and no convenient layers of muscle or fat to absorb pressure. I would strongly suspect that this may be the problem! If your mare is experiencing facial pain from the bit's presence and even greater pain from any bit movement, she is likely to act in the way you've described. If this is what's going on, then a change of bit and the more comfortable adjustment of the bridle's cheekpieces should result in an immediate change of behaviour.

I'm not very fond of full-cheek snaffles, for the reasons your trainer mentioned. I'm also not a fan of huge-ring snaffles, for the reasons above. You might want to try something with the same mouthpiece, but with more normal-sized rings, and perhaps a different type of ring. A D-ring snaffle and even an eggbutt snaffle will give you a little more lateral control, without any of the risks and problems presented by full cheeks - or by extra-large bit rings.

Jessica

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