*Good Tom Thumb Articles*

i still use my tt.my horses never try to evade the bit and they respond,my horses need a tt bit,i tried a snaffle and i couldnt turn or stop them.my horses are hardheaded.tt do have their advantages,thats all i use at my barn exept a reg. snaffle for one of my more responsive horses.

I dont think Tom-Thumbs are bad unless it is used in the wrong hands. Tom-thumbs should not be used by direct reining, but by neck reining
Since the TT has a broken mouth peice and leaver the bit can squeeze the jaw with is known as the nutcracker.

Oh? And what would that be?

I used a TT on my old Arab pony. She went perfectly in it and I have no problems. I prefer other bits, but I have seen that it isn't always harsh and confusing.

It's a bit of a worry (excuse the pun!) if you can ONLY ride your horse in a TT. That's no hardheadedness, thats incomplete training.

^^ Creates holes as well. Won't help fill those holes.

^^ Completely agree with Wild_Spot and Sunny^^ Training issue, not bit issue.

when I read this I was like what the...... Tom thubs arent harsh bits - the ones we use here in NZ are no harsher that a standard snaffle so am guessing that it is a different bit that we call a tom thumb

this is what I would call a tom thumb:



or

^^ No we are talking about this:

Used Horse Tack - Western 5" Tom Thumb Bit - eBay (item 180382705371 end time Jul-21-09 05:18:57 PDT)

A TT in Australia and NZ as well as England, is a different bit then the TT in the US.
TomThumbBit.jpg

The TT in the US is basically a relatively short shanked, unbalanced leverage bit that is, many times, mistakenly called a "cowboy snaffle".