Horse Bit Severity Chart For Women
Snaffle Horse Bit Severity Chart

Horse Bit Guide: Gag Bits. Gag bits are kind of a happy medium between curb bits and pelham bits, in terms of severity. Gag bits appear to look like snaffle bits, but they also provide the opportunity for the use of a second rein. Q: Where can I find a horse bit severity chart? Check out the best bits for Quarter Horses, which features a severity chart of common snaffle bits. Q: How do you fit a horse’s bit correctly? First, use a bit sizer to help you measure your horse’s mouth so that you know what size bit to get. It is common practice to run the curb chain through a curb guard in order to lessen the severity as an alternative. The Action of the Beval Cheeks. The Beval is particularly popular with the show ponies, often used for lead rein and first ridden. It is not a severe bit although it offers a little more control and helps especially the child. The bit is an important item of a horse's tack.It usually refers to the assembly of components that contacts and controls the horses mouth, and includes the shanks, rings, cheekpads and mullen, all described here below, but it also sometimes simply refers to the mullen, the piece that fits inside the horses mouth.The mullen extends across the horses mouth and rests on the bars. Jun 24, 2009 Selecting the right bit for your horse can be overwhelming. To help you differentiate between D-rings and eggbutts, Waterfords and Weymouths, we’ve prepared a bit guide that reveals information about the most common styles of snaffle bits, curb bits, and other leverage bits, as well as some of the more creative ones.

Introduction to Snaffle Bits

The Snaffle configuration by itself is a mild bit and one of the most universally used mouthpieces. It can be thick and mild on the bars and tongue or more severe if it has a thin twisted wire mouthpiece. It can be combined with many variations such as a Copper Roller, Dr. Bristol, Dog Bone, or Lifesaver mouthpiece (a few shown below). Whatever the configuration, most break in the middle in some way or another (Single-piece Mullen Mouths are an exception). Descriptions and advice here is given from my own experience, research and comments from some of my followers who know better than I (below). It is a group effort that invites even more comments from knowledgeable riders and trainers.

How a Snaffle Bit Works

One of the most basic forms of bitting, the class of direct, simple Snaffles (above) communicate with a horse in a direct way. One pound of pressure on the reins exerts one pound of pressure on the horse’s mouth (1:1 ratio). (see Pressure)

The first pressure a snaffle imparts is to the horse’s lips. Because a snaffle usually breaks in the middle (with the exception of a mullen-mouth bit, which is a slightly curved single bar), most of the inner mouth pressure is concentrated on the outside of the bars and the tongue. (see Bars)
The horse’s tongue makes a large pillow in his mouth, filling the mouth from lower jaw to palate when at rest. The snaffle bit (at rest) sits gently across this pillow, held off the bars by the plump pressure of the tongue up against the palate. A horse learns quickly how to comfortably “carry” the bit in that position.

Simple Snaffles work well to teach horses to turn laterally: to give direct response to direct pressure from the rein left or right. When a rider pulls on one rein effectively pulling on one side of the horse’s face and pushing with the other, the horses can respond directly by yielding to the pressure and turning in the direction of the pull. He gets direct communication, and the rider can easily feel any resistance.

The 1:1 ratio of the pressure means that the rider will not pull harder on the mouth than the exact amount of pull he is using. Nothing magnifies his request.

Despite the appearance of this picture, a simple snaffle is considered a good bit to start a young horse who might feel “claustrophobic” if a huge piece of iron is placed in his mouth, which pressures his tongue and palate as well as bars, chin, and poll. He is more likely to quickly tolerate the more reasonable piece of metal with fewer pressure points.

However, the propensity to cause pain in the hands of a novice rider must be clearly understood and is clearly visible in the startled expression on the horse’s face above.

Notice that the chin (curb) strap is loose on a snaffle bit. It is there just to center the bit in the horse’s mouth, not to cause pressure as a curb bit with tight strap does.

Myler Brothers contend (and have built an entire business around the contention) that the jointed mouthpiece of a standard snaffle mouth can exert “nutcracker” pressure on the tongue and roof of the mouth if handled roughly. When the bit is in the mouth it rotates onto the tongue and under normal rein direction and excessive rider rein pressure will cause the snaffle to bend in half, thus squeezing the tongue in a nutcracker like action. For low palate horses that same excessive pressure can cause that joint to poke into the palate. A horse’s palate can also be gouged by a hard jerk down (such as when walking beside the animal), The rough-handling of the horse above, clearly shows the angle of the rein and the position of the bit.

See More about sensitizng your horse to direct bit pressure

Types of Snaffle Bits

Snaffles come in a variety of mouthpieces and rings.
O Ring Snaffles with single joint mouthpieces are considered most forgiving of rider error and most commonly seen in early training. Owing to the loose ring design, there is more signal to the horse of impending action when the rider takes up the reins. but they have a more “muddied” signal to the horse than a Dee snaffle (below).

Additonally, they are more easily pulled through the horse’s mouth than a bit with cheeks. They can sometimes pinch since the butt of the bit is not fixed in one position on the ring and can catch the inside of the corner of the.

The cheeks move laterally back and forth and the ring rotates through the bit butt (loose-ring). The loose, swiveling ring allows the bit to stay in precisely the same angle in the horse’s mouth irrespective of what the rider’s hands are doing, and most horses find this very reassuring. Rings of 2.5″ to 3″ are generally legal for horse shows and are commonly seen in dressage and Eventing. They are commonly found with rubber mullen mouths, eggbutt mouths, and sometimes twisted wire mouths (although the more complicated or severe mouthpieces are rarely combined with a simple O-ring configuration because the O-ring is usually considered a beginner bit). The red lines (above) represent where the pressure occurs to the horse’s face. The O-Ring exerts the most concentrated pressure.

D-Ring Snaffles A fixed-ring Snaffle bit does not swivel on the ring. They have a fixed butt and better lateral cue because the side opposite the rein-pull exerts pressure to encourage the turn.

The flat side of the cheek spreads the pressure over a larger area on the far side and makes it a little easier for a young horse to understand the request to give his head. (see the area between red lines above). With an O-ring snaffle (above) the pressure is concentrated in a smaller area of the mouth.

Signal is sacrificed because the ring does not rotate. There is less movement of the ring to warn a horse that the rider has taken up the reins. Less signal time is bad for novice riders, but the clearer communication of the Dee snaffle is better for novice horses.

Dee snaffles are less likely to pinch the lips than an O-Ring snaffle. They come in many types of mouthpieces, from egg butt to thin twisted wire, and more complicated combinations. Simple mouthpieces with a Dee Ring are the universal bit of choice for almost any type of pleasure riding. If you are a beginner who might still be inadvertently balancing yourself with your hands (reins), a smooth, D-Ring snaffle may be the bit for you – particularly if it has a curve in the bars of the mouthpiece. Curving the bars will help to alleviate the nutcracker clamp on the outside of the bars, making it an even milder bit for less experienced hands.

Not as often seen in dressage, show jumping or Eventing, this bit has become more popular in western riding.

The Full Cheek Snaffle is actually a Dee snaffle with cheek bars that prevent the rings from pulling through the horse’s mouth when lateral pressure is applied. The pressure is spread over an even wider area of the face. Spreading the pressure gives a horse more understanding of your desired turn. It brings a horse’s head around firmly and decisively. The effect is to give even more lateral guidance.

The top wing should be strapped to the headstall to prevent

Horse Bit Severity Chart