What bit would you suggest? Currently use a Wonder Bit

Well I feel for you, they are kinda tough horses to get through to yet have a pile of athletic ability! It can be frustrating and they can be very inconsistant.

Ruger is a horse who needs someone to get in his head. He's not a particularly hot horse but he plays if you leave him to his own devices, loses focus, etc.

I would try maybe a smooth dogbone pozzi lifter or the sweet six without the nose band. Also maybe a loomis.

I have this Myler and its my favorite bit to use for arena work and trail riding! All my horses work wonderful in it. And I even get "lipstick foamy lips" from my horses which I've never got before. Super nice, easy bit.
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Also have this bit that I've competed in. The horse I used it on works very well in it.
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Umm, no. I know what a Tom Thumb is, and the bit I have is not a Tom Thumb. TT's are garbage.

Maybe I'll actually remember to take a picture of it tonight, since the last 3 times I've been to the barn I have totally and utterly forgotten.

I can't try the sweet six without the noseband because it is physically attached. (Mine has a smooth mouth though, NOT twisted like this picture.) Even so, I feel like that would be the same issue anyway as I have with the gag action of the Wonder Bit, where he starts to ignore the gag warning?






QHriderKE: I wouldn't be opposed to try the Mylar snaffle you posted. Typically a curb with a short shank has been working just a bit better for him though.


COWCHICK77: So please tell me when you have met Red because you just described him perfectly!!!! LOL. Yes, I do think that is part of the problem, in that I am still trying to figure him out. He is just so different from any other horse I have ever had, so he's certainly been a (good) challenge. Hence why we have been going very, very, very slow on the barrels, or he would be the type of horse that would be a blow-up nut job at a barrel race.

He does have some bolting issues too, that have been getting a little bit better as I am slowly figuring him out. For example: We'll be out walking in the middle of nowhere. All of a sudden, he'll stop, head high in the air, eyes wide, staring at something for a few seconds (half of the time, there's never anything there and I can't figure out what he is looking at). At that point, I cease to exist on his back. Then he will panic, turn, and bolt. If it gets to that, he will 100% ignore the bit in his mouth, and ignore my body cues. So lately, what I have been trying to do, is immediately try to get his attention back by doing serpentines or rollbacks or just something to get his feet moving again, and out of that frozen staring stance. It's been helping. He isn't bolting as hard, since I've kind got his attention back again, and get his focus off of the scary horse-eating invisible object.

And yup, he will lope himself to death before stopping. He is the energizer bunny and he can't be tired out! But he's also the type that I can't do too much with drills or concentration exercises either, because he gets wound up when I "pick" at him.

So I am still trying to find that perfect balance with him and figuring out his quirks.

If he hadn't gotten himself hurt in January, he would actually be at a reining trainer at the moment .... but I'm hoping I can still get him there eventually, to help me figure him out more!

And he certainly seems to enjoy working cows. Pins his ears and actually focuses on them!! So I'm hoping to do alot more of that this year too with him.

I have definitely considered a loomis for him, but I honestly have never used one before and I know that the loomis is a particular bit that you need to use correctly.

I had planned on taking a couple barrel racing lessons from a trainer this summer, and I'm sure she'd be able to show me how to correctly use the loomis.

Cowboy bob, I was about to say for that bit with the leaves on it, that we have that exact bit! However, now that I look at the picture again, its just a regular snaffle'd bit, without the copper and roller.

Okay, I finally remember to take pictures of what I got out there!!

This is the bit I had purchased over the winter, with the intent of possibly using it for a "showing" bit when I do reining, competitive trail, etc with Red. It is show legal, right? The shanks both swivel independently. (See? It's NOT a Tom Thumb.) I'll probably replace that chain chinstrap, with a leather/chain combo (like I have pictured on the second bit).





The other bit I considered, but haven't tried on him yet (because I really don't know if he needs that long of a shank ... although I guess it's not bad), is this bit. I guess I also haven't really tried it yet because it was Beau's bit. I had to put Beau down last fall, so still kind of sore about it because it was HIS regular riding bit. Silly reason, yes, but maybe I should try it on him and see how he goes in it. I know that this one is NOT show legal because of the teeny amount of gag, since the bit can slide just a tad. (It's a little dirty. I should really clean it up.)

The first bit you posted is called an argentine snaffle, while obviously not a snaffle it's the name of it. I'm really fond of them and find them to be a good step up from a snaffle. Since the sides are independent, and the shanks are short. Mine just has a roller in the middle. I like the second bit to, have a similar one without the gag. I think I would try the first one out and see how he does.
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I like both of those bits well enough, but to show in I still prefer a billy allen bit over the un covered single joint. I don't normally use a single joint shank anything, regardless, but there are exceptions.



That's the billy allen that I show Selena in. I avoid the nutcracker action at all costs.