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Bits are painful!

18K views 72 replies 36 participants last post by  mulepreacher 
#1 ·
I came across this video on YouTube about how bits are painful to all horses, even the simplist snaffles. What do you guys think of this take on bits?



(Hope the link works)
 
#2 ·
I personally don't think bits are abusive. But also, that being said. ANy bit in the wrong hands, could be abusive.
But so could hackamores, sidepulls, and bosels. All depends who's using them
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#4 ·
Riding a horse is painful. A saddle is painful. Heck, a halter is painful. My point is that yes everything has the opportunity to be uncomfortable and painful if used incorrectly. Bits aren't bad, the riders hands are. I've ridden some horses who like bits and some who don't. For instance, if bits were hurting my gelding then would he grab his bit with his mouth when I present it to him, seriously, I've never had to get him to open his mouth he just ducks his head into the bridle and starts munching on his bit!

If it was painful I highly doubt that he would do this.

IMO the people who make these videos and who present the topic in such a way are often extreme in their thinking. They will see one video or picture of a bit being used in a negative way and think that all bits are bad. I ride my horses in bits AND in halters/bitless and either way I don't have a problem. My horses are not in pain when being ridden, they aren't uncomfortable because I've seen that it's properly fitting and adjust when needed. To me that's being a responsible rider: making sure that your mount is comfortable and pain free.

My personal opinion has always been that if you think that a bit is bad then you better take a long hard look at your hands. That's how I was taught and I've stuck to that. Anytime I've had a horse act weird in a bit (pending that he liked bits/never had a problem before) the first thing I did was look at my hands and be sure that I was not interfering or doing anything wrong. If I was okay then I checked the fit. 9 times out of 10 doing these two things fixed the problem and the horse never had a problem nor a medical condition due to using a bit.
 
#6 ·
I'd call it a stupid and dishonest video meant to deceive people into believing bits are cruel. They are not. One might as well say a leash is cruel to a dog because some idiot can jerk on the leash hard enough to break a dog's neck, or that belts are cruel to humans because someone could beat another person with a belt.

It is flatly dishonest to pretend bits work that way...and I write that as someone who spent his first 3 years trying to be kind by riding bitless. It wasn't kind. If anything, it was harmful to my horses - they WANTED the communication a bit can provide. I'd love for the bitless crowd to explain to me why my horse and millions of others will stand quietly and calmly with a bit in their mouth - even the EXTRA CRUEL curb bits, tormenting the horses below:




If you couldn't tell, I get ****** at the dishonest people pushing this nonsense, in part because I'm ****** at myself for having believed them when I was a newbie to riding horses! :oops: :oops: :evil:
 
#7 ·
This is going to be a long post and I apologize in advance. It will be full of personal experience and opinion and no scientific fact.

When I got my horse I borrowed some tack from a friend to see if he was trained to ride. As I approached him with the bridle equipped with snaffle bit he became anxious. He pawed the ground and lifted his head out of reach. He was extraordinarily unhappy. My mom was helping me at the time since he lives on her property. She only ever rode horses in mechanical hackamores the last time she had horses. She thought bits were cruel. Couple her beliefs with my horses reaction and I started to think that maybe there was something to that. I knew my horse had some sore teeth so we decided to try a mechanical hack. I approached the horse and he calmly accepted the hackamore. So ok, this would be what we were going to use.

And we used it for nearly a year, he rode ok in it (even put it on by himself lol) but he is a stubborn horse and I had a hard time giving him subtle cues as well as *making* him listen when he was having a bad day. My mechanical hackamore had 8" shanks. So my understanding is that they amplified my force by 8x. I am not a strong person. I'm fat, short and have very little upper body muscle. I welcomed the extra 8x force. Because let me tell you, if that horse did not want to turn there wasn't a darn thing I could do short of applying EVERY OUNCE OF STRENGTH I POSSESSED on the reins. Now he had good days and bad days but the bad days were more like horse wrestling than horse riding. So I knew I wanted to give a snaffle bit another shot. Afterall, that's what all the people on horse forum swear by.

I bought a 5 3/4" loose ring snaffle bit from a tack swap for $5. I have a brand new horse. He holds his head still and does not toss it. I can give subtle cues and he responds. If he is having a bad day and being stubborn I can calmly direct rein him to turn in the direction I want and he gives instantly to the bit. I can use a minimal amount of strength.

It didn't take me long to figure out that for now our best bet is to stick with the snaffle. He seems happier, possibly because we are able to communicate more easily and we are no longer fighting during our rides. If he pitches a fit about something I am easily able to control the situation and turn it around. Maybe it has made him more confident in me as a leader? Maybe he's happy to not have 8x my force pulling on his nose. I don't know, but I'll take what I can get and I truly believe that calm, quiet communication is certainly less cruel than wrestling and frustration. And that goes for any type of bit, hackamore or bitless bridle. There will always be different solutions for different horses. A style of head gear is not inherently bad or good.

Here is my old man on Christmas showing off his bit (our second ride with it).


 
#8 ·
I have listened to people who HATE Tom Thumbs and call them abusive. My mare fights me in a snaffle. she took off once and I tried everything from turning her head to yanking and sawing. All she got was a bloody mouth and I was unable to walk for a week (turned sharply after running a quarter of a mile looking behind her and i fell). I tried a gentle curb and she would ride with her face looking up. I ride her in a Tom Thumb and she is light, willing and relaxed. I can now ride with a lose rein as apposed to on her mouth. Thanks to that bit I can school her in a snaffle with little complaint, and even a bittless, though she tosses her head and will lope in place with it if she wants to go. She is a solid trail horse but she has her quarks (That being barn sour every now and then).
 
#12 ·
i dont care for snaffle bits.... i ride gaited horses. a gaited horse has to ride into the bit. this video shows why i dont think a snaffle is good for this type of bit.
a curb bit is much easier on a gait horses mouth. there is nothing cruel about a curb.
A curb bit has more pre-signal, as the chain tightens under the jaw, and is capable of applying a lot more pressure. Most of the gaited horses I have seen learn to come off of that pressure and stay just behind the place where it engages to the point of pain. the rider is more able to set a place for the horse to "ride into" because the bit is more powerful. However, a horse can be trained to respond similarly to a snaffle, it just takes a very good sense of timing and release on the part of the rider.
Also, gaited horses are hardly ever asked to do any lateral movements, where a snaffle is the best bit around for that.
 
#11 ·
A bit cannot be well, harmful on purpose. (most anyways.)
In some ways it is like saying that bits hurt horses like guns kill people.
But the matter of truth is, people kill people.
In other words, it depends on what kind of hands you have. If you have hard hands, any bit you use, even the most softest its will be hard. If you have soft hands, then even the most harmful-causing bits will be soft. usually.

But anything can be painful or wrong in the wrong hands.
Guns kill people.
Spoons make people fat.
Pencils misspell words.
And bits hurt horses.
 
#23 ·
While I agree with this and the rest of you who say that it's a rider who hurts the horse, and not the tack, I would like to point out, that certain tack is much more prone to hurting a horse than others.

Yeah, guns don't kill people. People do. Guns can't fire by themselves, and that's a fact. However, this doesn't mean you should hand a gun to a kid who doesn't understand how the gun works or how to be safe with it. It is very easy to kill people with a gun, even unintentionally, so caution must be exercised when using and handling one, so only those who have been properly taught and are of sound mind should be able to shoot one.

It's kind of an extreme analogy, but bits work the same way. I will try to choose the tack and bit that is most comfortable for my horse and least likely to cause her discomfort or pain, so I reduce the risk of unintentionally hurting her. A horse in pain will not perform at their peak and can even become dangerous. I am a relatively experienced rider, and I have soft hands. I can ride nearly any horse in any bit without much of an issue as far as ******* the horse off or causing injury to the mouth, and I may even find that some different, and potentially harsh bits are effective tools for me and a specific riding goal, but I would not put a long-shanked curb or a twisted wire in the hands of a beginner, because if a rider does pull hard on the bit, certain kinds of bits are less likely to hurt the horse or cause the horse severe discomfort.

If all I want to do is shoot cans off a wall, I could use a rifle, or I could use a water gun. In the hands of a somewhat experienced shooter, either option would work safely, but by choosing to use the water gun instead of the rifle, you greatly reduce your risk of hurting someone, especially in the hands of a beginner. This is why I always recommend the mildest option to get the job done.

With that said, I would like to critique the video by pointing out that bitless is not always the kindest method or the most preferred by the horse. A rider must apply pressure somewhere to communicate to their horse and bitless bridles work because they apply pressure. The pressure is just not applied inside the mouth. It is instead applied to the bridge of the nose, or the poll, depending on the type of bitless bridle and these are also extremely sensitive areas on the horse's head. Some horses much prefer pressure applied to a well-fitted bit, over pressure applied to a thin strap over their nose. Your job, as a rider, is to find what works best for you and your horse, as not all horses have the same conformation inside the mouth and not all horses have the same preferences for where pressure is applied.

My own horse goes well in a single jointed snaffle with a curved mouth piece. She does not toss her head around, open her mouth or put her tongue over the bit. She eagerly accepts the bit while tacking up. Horses that are unhappy with their rider's choice of bit will try to tell their rider in one way or another. It is true that a rider does not always listen to their horse, and that is a sad reality, but many riders do listen to their horses and have chosen a bit or bitless bridle that their horse is comfortable with. Whatever has been chosen, bit or no bit, curb or snaffle, as long as the rider remains safely in control and the horse is not showing signs of discomfort, there is nothing wrong with that choice.
 
#14 ·
there will always be example and experiances to prove both sides. one horse that has a shipwrecked mouth is an exception, not a rule. as a rule, gaited horses ride into the bit. most use the bit as a balancing tool. do they need it at all times, no b/c many can gait through the field, w/o human interferance, but you add a rider to the equation and a multitude of other variables and the bit is a strong aid to helping a horse gait and making the gait better, and smoother.

the video shows how a snaffle works, a gaited horse will have continual pressure on its mouth while its in a rack or other gaits, a snaffle and its design is not something you want continual pressure on the horses bars and palate. not to mention the possiblity of the tounge and lip tissue. thats why im more in favor of a curb where pressure is used for gaited horses.

no doubt most if not all gaited breeds can go in a snaffle, ive used them before, a good rider can make a horse do anything. but that doesnt make it the best tool for the job. the snaffle may be a good tool for some and thier disicipline. but i dont care for them.............i rode TWHs and now i ride big motor speed racking horses.
 
#15 ·
I'm going to say riding gated horses in a curb bit really isn't a "rule". I took a gaited horse from only knowing right, left, and foreward (not always in a gait) to having 3 comfortable gaits, a good stop and and easy neck reining. She wasn't broken until 10 years old (she was pulled from Camelot). I can definitely ride her in rope halter. The likely hood of her breaking increases but is easily felt and usually I can pick her back up and correct it.<br />
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#16 ·
Yes and collars on dogs is cruel, and rugging horses is cruel, and keeping cats inside is cruel.
Saddles are cruel they can cause horrific back injuries for a horse... all nosebands are cruel, the horse's nose has a lot of nerves, in fact all bridles in general are cruel including bitless, they hit pressure points and 'force' a horse to do what it doesn't want to.......

Anything is cruel in the wrong hands. I have no interest in watching sensationalist, PETA style videos!
 
#20 ·
Pretty sure this has been scientifically proven. I've gone bit-less. Everyone thinks you don't get enough control but my boy and I have proven that he listens better without a bit.

Most horses (I'm pretty sure) have trained with 'pressure and release'. I think it is a much better solution than bits. That's my opinion and it makes sense that bits would cause pain.

Go buy a new bit and stick it in your mouth and have people pull on the reins....
 
#21 ·
And to some horses, bit less is cruel. I had one that would not MOVE in a bit less bridle he was so afraid of it.

This is all so silly….really. As has been said-anything can be cruel. Shoot, there are horses who don't like to be groomed. Next thing you know some animal rights person will post a video of a squirmy ticklish horse being groomed and say a curry is cruel. It all depends on the horse, person involved and their observation of that individual horses reaction to things, whether it is the brush on their flanks, bit in their mouth, saddle on their back…….Pay attention to your animal it its reactions.
 
#22 ·
The actual subject is actually bits being painful. It is painful for them, therefore having bits, a horse suffers the pain. I can't see bit less bridles being cruel, they aren't hurting anyone, a horse has to learn that it won't hurt them.

Does that horse wear halters?
If so, why isn't he scared of them? Technically bit less bridles and halters are the same.
 
#27 ·
Not the same, if you're using a Dr Cook or Nurtural or whatever. IMO they have more potential to cause pain than a snaffle. They use a cross under system and unless you're riding on a loose rein, that pulley system is engaged. The weird rubber on the nosepiece to keep it from sliding around seems to aggravate horses too.
I rode an old horse of mine in one once and he hated it. Went berserk. With a bit? Calm and quiet as could be.
 
#24 ·
If someone I haven't seen ride wants to ride one of our horses, their first ride will be on Trooper (our most reliable horse) using a sidepull halter in an arena. If they cannot ride with slack in the reins, they won't ride with a bit. My 3 horses work best with a bit, but also with a rider who doesn't use the bit without a reason.

It isn't wrong to ride with contact, but it is wrong to let someone who doesn't know how to ride to try to ride with contact. The rider is an important part of the equation in choosing tack.
 
#25 ·
Just like the shoes discussion, this isn't a 'one size fits all' situation. A rider should chose the bit based on the horse, the discipline they are doing, and their honest riding level. Even the most simple snaffle could be harsh in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

I ride my gelding in a gag, something that not everyone likes. But it works well for us and we both like it.
 
#30 ·
#32 ·
Horses are really good at avoiding painful situations - its part of their inbuilt preservation extinct - so if a horse found a bit to be so awful it would clamp its mouth shut and refuse to have it in without a fight every time
A rider with bad hands can cause pain
A badly fitting bit can cause pain
A badly designed bit can cause pain
A horse that hasn't been correctly prepared for a bit can experience pain
But those things are not the same as saying all bits cause pain
A horses nose and poll are extremely sensitive areas so a bad rider putting too much pressure on those parts can cause as much pain and damage
 
#33 ·
My horse will tell me if he doesn't like a piece of tack. If I put certain bits in his mouth he will absolutely run through them, act like a limp noodle and be all over the place. Put him back in a bit that he likes and he's supple and responsive. If I put a saddle on him that doesn't fit he'll be cinchy and cold backed. Put one on him that fits and he could care less that it's there.

I will also note that he rides western much better in a mild curb than in a snaffle most of the time. With a snaffle he looks for contact, but with a mild curb he's usually quite content on a loose rein. I think it's because the curb gives him more warning, and he gets concerned without direct contact in a snaffle because he is less sure of when I'm going to pick it up and signal with the reins. Personally, I really like this because though we primarily ride western, he is also my "everything" horse and it comes in handy when riding English correctly.

I think he would have an absolute fit in a Nurtural or Dr. Cook's even though he rides quite well in a rope halter. I don't think it would release pressure quickly enough and he would get frustrated, though they work for some horses. It depends on the individual, but I think frustrating my horse is much more cruel than being in constant, soft communication with a bit as needed. JMHO.
 
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