Curious about this one

I was surfing the internet and found this one. It's a "Stop & Turn bit". And I don't really understand the way it works. And I don't see why someone should use this bit, what it's so special about it? For me it looks like something to complicated and harsh in the wrong hands.

I'm just curious about it.

I've never seen it before either, but it puts pressure all around the horses head and not just his mouth.

I was surprised to see it too. It was on a site with great horses for sale. I always admired those horses. I thought if I will buy a horse someday that site will be the best place to find a great one. They all look so well trained and so gentle. So when I saw what bit they put up for sale I was really disappointed. I hope that they don't train their horses in this device. I am sure that this bit will be ok in the right hands but a milder one it will have great results too. So why use this bit instead of another one that is milder? If they have a great trainer, with great hands he will do great with another bit too.

Never seen one like this before. It does look harsh.

When I see it, I immediately think pressure. It puts pressure all over, the poll, on the nose, behind the chin, and Id hate to see it in the wrong hands. I think the trainer just uses that kind for more communication because it produces more pressure than the actual force put onto the reins.

I wonder if it's home-made? It looks like a cross between a hackamore and a mule bit????

That is a pretty common barrel racing bit. It can be incredibly harsh in the wrong hands and unfortunately those are the exact hands you usually see something like this in. Those of us who have good hands or are trying to learn to have good hands look at something like that and cringe. People who have bad hands look at that and think "I wonder if <horse'snamehere> would listen to that bit, he blows through everything else?". That's because they either don't know they have bad hands or have zero interest in working on it.