e10 bridles & bits some of the pictures and text contained in this material have copyright...

E10 Bridles & Bits

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Infovets Educational Resources – www.infovets.com – Slide 2

Parts of the Bridle


Bridling The Horse

Untie your horse before bridling. Stand on the left side of the horse. Spread the headstall of the

bridle with your right hand and hold the bit with your left. Place your right hand over the horse’s head between the ears and

approach the horse’s mouth with the bit. With the bit pushed lightly against the horse’s lip, insert the left

thumb in the corner of the mouth and put a little pressure on the bar of the mouth to encourage the horse to open its mouth.


Bridling the Horse

Never jerk the bridle into the teeth. Place the headstall of the bridle over each ear, bending the ears

forward gently. Be careful not to drag the cheek pieces over the horse,s eyes. Straighten out the forelock & fasten the throatlatch, allowing room

enough to insert your hand through the jaw area.


Bridling the Horse

The brow band should not hang down into the horse’s eyes. The bit should rest on the bars of the mouth. It should be high

enough that it creates a small wrinkle in the corners of the mouth. The curb chain should be adjusted so that you can fit a couple of

fingers sideways between the chain and the horses chin, but the chain should be tight enough that it places pressure on the chin when you pull on the reins.


Parts of a Horse’s Mouth


Guidelines to Consider When Selecting a Bit

Often horse owners start bridling horses as two-year-olds when they are starting to shed their baby teeth.

This can create sore gums and is not the best time to introduce a bit. Another problem common to 2-year-olds is what is called “wolf teeth”. These teeth, which can be removed, can interfere with the bit and cause discomfort for the horse.


Guidelines to Consider When Selecting a Bit

When things go wrong, people often want to change the bit to correct the problem.

Often the problem is not the bit but the horse owner who has overlooked some basic training skill.

Always use the mildest bit possible and perfect your training skills. It is not how severe the bit is, but how skillful the rider is that determines the smoothness of the performance.


Bit Severity

The mildest bit can be an instrument of torture in the wrong hands, while an advanced bit can be used with skill, finesse and precision in the right hands.

Horses are creatures of habit. If you consistently pull with five pounds of pressure, the horse will learn to tolerate five pounds of pressure.


Bit Severity

The larger the diameter of the mouth piece, the milder the bit is because the pressure is spread over a larger area and is not pinpointed.

The less severe you can keep your bit, the longer you are going to have a light-mouthed horse.

You want to train horses to yield to pressure by softening their jaw and bringing their nose in.


The type of metal that was used in the construction of the bit also can influence the horse, acceptance of the bit and future training.

Most trainers prefer to use a cold milled steel referred to as “sweet iron”.

The porous metal will rust, which creates a more flavorful taste to horses. Consequently, they are more accepting of the bit.

Sweet iron also causes them to salivate more.

Types of Metal Used in Making the Bit


When a horse salivates, it is moving its tongue, which means the lower jaw is relaxed.

The more comfortable we can make the horse, the better we can communicate and train the animal.

Stainless steel has a molecular structure that is very tight, not very porous, and is a little more bitter in taste than cold rolled steel.



Aluminum is light weight but its advantages end there. Bits made out of aluminum are generally not recommended.

Optimally, you want to combine two unlike metals to create salivation.

Copper is soft metal that is often used to create salivation.



How a Bit Works

Different types of bits apply pressure differently in different regions of the mouth.

Bits create pressure on these four areas of the horse’s mouth: The bars (interdental space) The tongue The palate (the roof of the mouth) The curb ( under the chin)


Where Pressure Is Applied


Curb Pressure

Pressure from the curb strap affects the sensitive, less cushioned area under the horses chin.

The curb should be adjusted to fit two fingers between it and the horses chin.

A tighter curb adjustment means the horse will feel the signal more quickly. Generally, a delayed response is desired so the horse has time to react before additional pressure is added.


Palate Pressure

Palate pressure is the most sensitive area of the four areas we deal with. Consequently, more patience and skill on the part of the trainer is required.

Palate pressure should only occur when the training program has been completed, and should not be used on a young horse.

Palate pressure generally causes a horse to tip its head down in a more vertical position.


Palate Pressure With an Elevated Port


Types of Bits

Bits come in two basic kinds: Snaffle bits Shanked bits


Snaffle Bit vs. Shanked Bit


Snaffle Bits

Snaffle bits are very mild bit and are most often used as an introductory training bit on young horses.

Snaffle bits have a broken mouth piece attached to an O-ring or a D-ring.

There are two main categories of snaffle bits: Snaffle bits with loose rings where the mouth piece is free to

slide all the way around the ring. Snaffle bits with fixed rings.


Loose Ringed Snaffle

Fixed Ringed Snaffle


Snaffle Bits

With a fixed ring snaffle, when you pull on a rein the pull also transfers across the bit to the other side of the horse’s face.

You are distributing the pressure on a larger area on the side of the horses face.

It is easier and less frustrating if the pressure is distributed over a larger area than if you just pull from the corner of the horse’s mouth. Especially if the horse does not even understand what a pull is.


Snaffle Bits

A true snaffle bit does not have any leverage like the shanked leverage bit with a broken mouth piece (Tom Thumb).

A 1 lb pull from the rider’s hands equals 1 pound of pressure in the horse’s mouth.

With a snaffle bit, the first point of contact is at the corners of the mouth. As the amount of pull increases, the pressure increases across the bar space and the side of the tongue.


Snaffle Bits

A snaffle makes it easier for a horse to learn how to respond to a direct pull without leverage distorting the message, and the rider can feel any resistance from the horse.

The main job of a snaffle bit is to teach a horse to yield to pressure.


Snaffle Bits

If the habit of yielding hasn't been learned with the snaffle, changing to a shanked bit likely not solve the problem. Using a bit with increased weight and leverage just increases the problem.


Shanked Bits

There are two basic styles of shanked bits: Solid shanked bits where the shank is fixed to

the mouth piece. Loose shanked bits which allow the shank to

swivel at the mouth piece.


Shanked Bits

Loose shanked bits are used in the transition from a snaffle to a shanked bit.

At this stage, the rider is still riding with two hands. Using a loose shank makes it a little easier for a horse to discern what is being asked of it as you pull with one hand or the other.


Shanked Bits

Older more finished horses who have learned to understand the rider’s commands can be ridden with one hand and a fixed bit.


Bit Balance

One consideration when selecting a bit is balance. Rest the mouth piece across your fingers. The bit will either hang

straight down or it will swing forward or swing backward. A bit that swings forward is considered overbalanced. A bit that swings backward is considered underbalanced.


Shanked Bits

For a pleasure horse or any horse that carries its face in a vertical position, a bit that hangs more or less straight is desirable.

Less desirable would be one that hangs behind center because the curb strap doesn’t release in that situation.

The heavier the bit the more uncomfortable it is for the horse to hold its head in any position except the proper position.


Shanked Bits

A underbalanced bit is sometimes used on a horse that wants to stick its nose out.

With time, a horse will eventually become accustomed to the jaw pressure and may lose the softness in the mouth that we are trying to achieve.

An underbalanced bit is not recommended and should not be needed if good training habits have been used.


Bit Balance

If the rein ring is positioned anywhere behind the imaginary line, the bit will be overbalanced because any weight behind the center line causes the shank to swing forward.

The more acute the angle or curve the less the leverage. When you release the reins, the shanks tend to drop down. This releases the curb strap rapidly.


Shank Curves Effect on Leverage


Bit Balance

Cutting and reining horses prefer bits that are overbalanced because they use their head for balance and they reach with their nose.

An overbalanced bit allows the horse a little more freedom to move its head for balance.


S Shanked Bits

As with the shank, the s shanked bits put more material into the design. That concentrates more weight in the shank.

Sometimes a horse may try to grab a straight shanked bit with its mouth. An s-shaped shank eliminates that problem.


The length of the shank is not as crucial as the ratio. Ratio is determined by comparing the lift (distance from the butt

of the mouthpiece up to the headstall ring) to the length of the entire shank.

Since an average mild curb bit might have an upper shank about 2" long, and the entire shank 6" long, the ratio would be 1:3. In other words, if you apply 20 pounds of pull to the reins, your horse feels 60 pounds of pull to its mouth.

A ratio of three to one would mean that the shank is three times longer below the mouthpiece than above it.

The greater the ratio, the greater the leverage and the faster the signal are conveyed to the horse.

Shank Length & Ratio


Shank Length & Ratio

A bit with a lower ratio like 2 to 1 has a more delayed signal, giving the horse a little more warning before the curb pressure increases.


Straight Shanked Bit

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horses chin

horses eyes

horses head

horses lip

mouth piece

pounds of pressure

bitoften horse owners

little pressure