Is finally up! Hope y'all enjoy. Let me know what y'all think!
https://youtu.be/vDnhyqCCOeI
https://youtu.be/vDnhyqCCOeI
That is what all of us do, my mission is simple, to be a poster child for not buying a horse that is half broke and bolshy, when you do not have the skill level to deal with it. I leave my message, and move on, if I can save someone from spending a month in hospital getting fixed, then great, it worked, but I can't make them listen or respond.When I feel discouraged, I try to remind myself that my real desire is to share what I have learned in the hope that even a few may benefit from my efforts.
Great post!Other researchers have looked at it and concluded bits do not interfere with breathing. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the study...
horses can only breath through their nostrils. Bits can't interfere with breathing.
Almost all the studies I've been able to find using radiographs to SEE what goes on inside the mouth have been done with dressage horses and dressage bits. Almost all of them have involved snaffles only.
This one, from "Bitting: The Inside Story" - USDF Connection Dec 2005, may have a little application to western riding:
It at least makes clear the role the tongue has in relieving pressure on the bars. A lot of folks assume "tongue relief" makes a bit gentler. The US Cavalry considered a bit with tongue relief to be more severe, since any pressure not sustained by the tongue is transferred instead to the bars.
This screenshot has one of the very few pictures I've found of a curb bit inside the mouth (click on it to enlarge):
The article it was in has the best short discussion of bits I've found, although I think he gets a few things wrong:
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/aaepfocus/2006/bennett1.pdf
I honestly don't know how they get a curb bit with straight sides to stay aligned when the horse's head is not vertical. With my bits, the weight of the reins always causes the end of the shank to rotate to its lowest possible spot. Assuming my horse carries its head at a 45 deg angle, that means a 45 deg bend in the sides results in the "neutral" position involving no rotation. If I use a straight shank bit, when my horse's head is at 45 deg, the weight of the reins will rotate the bit 45 degrees - which also tightens the curb strap and removes all of the "signal". Mia had the curb strap tighten all by itself in this picture, which is what taught me just how freely a curb bit can rotate:
at the end of the day, a horse that has learned to yield to the bit will be looking for that "neutral" place. So, it a bit is engaging on its own and staying that way, she is telling you she is still more motivated to do her own thing than softly obey the bit. You simply still have more work to do.
If you click on it to enlarge it, I think this one shows that the curb has rotated enough to tighten the curb strap even though the reins are not completely straight:
I ride Bandit in a snaffle right now. I eventually want to transition him to a curb because I think a curb gives the option for gentler communication than a snaffle does. Used right, it is potentially gentler than a sidepull halter - IF you can get the horse responsive during the "signal" phase. The signal phase allows for precise communication without applying pressure...but Bandit is probably 6-12 months away from being ready for the transition.
I transitioned Mia to a curb bit for a very different reason - and it worked very well with her. But she was probably a "One Percent" kind of horse, and Bandit is more of a "99-percent" kind.
My Two cents. Thanks.Didnt make it very far into the video yet.. But I'd like to discuss a couple things already.
First off, with the narrow ports that arent very tall (like a correction bit is what I'm gonna assume you're talking about) there is potential for the tongue to get pinched up in there and essentially grabbed by the bit. Those ports actually arent the greatest from my understanding. They dont have enough room for any tongue relief and still act on the tongue and bars and lips. Some food for thought there.
i describe the point you are trying to make here as "Paralysis by Analysis." Whoever told you that obviously has a strong prednisone with little to no actual experience with those bits. It is as simple as described in the video. I easily have hundreds of horses and God only knows how manat hours of actual experience using those bits and have never seen what you are proposing happen.
Now, the whole "bits are only as harsh as the hands" i only agree with this for some bits. Its not a general statement thats good for all bits. I like to use that statement when people are freaking out over a pretty regular curb bit that they are too afraid to use to just pass it off as scary and aggressive.
Truth is, there are lots of bits out there that not even soft hands should be using. Thin twisted wire, wonky combo gag bits that basically are a vice on a horses face, bike chain... I could go on for a while on this. Instead of generalizing that statement, I'd rather point at a bit (for example a mona lisa) and say its not harsh in experienced hands and in a horse that is trained to a high enoigh level to understand the type communication this bit exhibits.
A bit is a tool. It is an inanimate object. It takes on the characteristics of whomever is using it. Someone might take a 1000 gallons of water and save an African village or drown 1000 kittens. Either way, it is not a water problem. I say in the first video that I feel like certain bits should require a license. A tiny twisted wire snaffle is one. The potential of problems with that bit is high, but only BECAUSE OF THE RIDER's HANDS. I could ride most any horse with one without issue, because of my hands. A bit is a tool that works on mechanics. Period! Certain bits have mechanics that make them more or less desirable for certain horses/tasks and certain bits are just plain poorly designed, but your hands are ultimately responsible for any action of the bit.
My two cents for now.
Don't you know how hard it hurts when I fall out of my chair in shock? My wife came running in when she heard me gasping, "Struck by lightning! Struck by lightning!"Couldn't agree with you more! Unusual,eh?...