I've been told to use a tom thumb bit on my horse. But I've heard bad things about them. Mainly that they're confusing to the horse when you direct rein because of the way the apply pressure. Does anyone here have any firsthand experience with this bit?
A TT is a poor communication device and I would never use one on any of my horses. I rode an appy/tb cross in one (simply because that's what the owner had in his mouth at the time and they offered me to ride him) and it definitly felt like he was confused, and I didn't like the feel it gave me, or lack there of. A TT, in my opinion, is a piece of crap :lol:
Yeah, not good for direct reining at all. The tt is especially bad because you are combining a shank with all the moving parts of a snaffle: the shanks swivel, the broken mouthpiece moves, you've got the action of the curb chain and poll pressure from the bridle.
What this boils down to, is that every time you pull on one rein, you are putting pressure on BOTH sides of the mouth because the action of the shank affects the hinged mouthpiece. Add to that the curb chain and the poll pressure from the bridle, and you've got a muddy mess of signals that your horse isn't going to understand at all.
I've never ridden with a tt and I don't plan to: the mechanics just don't add up to anything approaching logic.
A curb chain on a tom thumb, I must be thinking of the wrong bit. Are you talking about the bit that is just like a snaffle but has another part that is solid on the sides. Hard to explain isnt it. Like it has the bars on the sides to stop the bit going through the horses mouth. ??????????
If its the bit I am thinking of this old horse breaker I know has always said to use them on a young horse to begin with or for the unexperienced rider so they dont pull the bit in through the horses mouth.
I used one on my pony when he was young and it seemed fine to me although he has an exceptionally good mouth. I just ride him in an ordinary snaffle now though. I think the tt seemed no different to the snaffle.
It depends on what you want to do with your horse. If just trail riding etc - go with snaffle, which is milder (depends a lot on snaffle as well, some can be harsher than certain tt). But as far as I know you can't show western in snaffle. I may be wrong, but that what I was told by showing people.
Hi, I'm new to the forum but certainly not to horses. The Tom Thumb is pretty much the standard western trail bit - but then most western horses neck rein. The TT, to answer another's question, is a snaffle with shanks that allow for the use of curb strap.
If you want the extra control the shanks offer then try one with a Billy Allen mouth piece. It is similar to the TT except that the two halves of the mouth piece are joined by a "barrel" so that they move independently and one side does not effect the other.
A curb chain on a tom thumb, I must be thinking of the wrong bit. Are you talking about the bit that is just like a snaffle but has another part that is solid on the sides.
I haven't seen the use of the TT that much althought my instructors husband John O'Leary uses them for breakers although he always has a plastic covering over it. However, once the horse is broken it goes straight into a snaffle with mainly no problems. I don't know alot about them so I can't help first hand.. This is all I know.
I use the Tom Thumb bit and it works perfectly fine. Maybe your horse just doesn't work good with the Tom Thumb bit. Horses work with certain bits. Tom Thumb bits work well for western.
The Tom Thumb is always a leverage bit and therefore has shanks. The picture on top is correct but the bottom picture is a loose ring full cheek snaffle which is has no leverage and is not considered a TT.
Well it is in some countries, which is why i pointed the possible confusion out. Perhaps someone in Australia or the UK can comment as well..
I do know there are plenty of wrongly named bits out there. Take all the "shanked snaffles" in plenty of catalogs as an example, even Myler does it.. Drives me nuts.
I've been told to use a tom thumb bit on my horse. But I've heard bad things about them. Mainly that they're confusing to the horse when you direct rein because of the way the apply pressure. Does anyone here have any firsthand experience with this bit?
His basic point is it is neither snaffle or curb but a combination that just confuses horses.
I don't have one but as they are very popular where I live, I have ridden with them because it was what the owner put on the horse, and on those occasions it seemed to me the bit was annoying the horse. On one horse I asked the owner if I could change to a plain curb bit with a moderate port and short shanks that was in the tack room and the horse was calmer.
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