EQUITATION
BITTING
PRINCIPLES OF BITTING
For the man who knows the principles of horse training and is possessed of a firm seat and good hands, the theory of bitting is a small subject. But the man who tries to find some mechanical contrivance to put in a horse's mouth will seldom achieve permanent satisfactory results.
It must be remembered that the power to control a horse by a bit is only accomplished by the system of correction and reward. If the horse obeys the action of the reins, the rider should give to him at once.
The whole principle of bitting, etc., is the application of pressure on the mouth, the horse giving way to it by relaxing the jaw, and the instantaneous acknowledgement by the hands of the rider.
A horse may pull for any or all of the following reasons:
(1) Excitability.
(2) Lack of balance and training.
(3) Pain or fear of the bit.
(4) A hard mouth.
Excitability
The majority of young horses will be excitable when first ridden in company or introduced to hounds. They will reach at their bridles, throw their heads about and, if allowed to, attempt to run away. At this stage great care must be taken not to damage their mouths. They must not be allowed to "go on", but must be taken away from the crowd directly they show signs of losing their mouths. They should be ridden in a snaffle and their mouths and lips should be watched constantly for cuts and bruises.
MANUAL OF HORSEMANSHIP
Lack of balance and training
Before his muscles are developed and he has accustomed himself to the weight of the rider, a horse will often, through lack of balance, experience difficulty in reducing his pace. It should be realised that at this stage the horse's mouth is still unmade and so unless the rider uses tact and sympathy in reducing the pace, much harm will result. What may be mistaken for a hard mouth (when it is really only the horse's inability to respond quickly) may easily be made on by the rider using force.
Pain or fear of the bit
A badly-fitting bit or a sore mouth will often cause a horse to pull in order to get away from the pain.
A dry mouth, swallowed tongue and tongue over the bit are all evasions from pain caused by bitting.
A dry mouth is the result of the tongue being drawn back and the mouth being slightly open. The air passes rapidly through the mouth and quickly dries it up. In their dry state the bars of the mouth are easily torn and bruised. A dry mouth is usually asso-ciated with an "unmade" mouth and a stiff jaw.
A swallowed tongue and tongue over the bit are caused by the horse trying to evade the pressure of the bit. In either case the bars are easily damaged and if the tongue is over the bit, the under part of the tongue becomes torn.
The conformation of a horse's head and neck is of considerable importance in bitting. If the channel which lies between the branches of the lower jaw is too narrow, or the head and neck are too closely coupled, the animal will have difficulty in flexing correctly. A horse with either fault is usually unpleasant to ride, and if the rider persists in trying to obtain the correct head-
carriage, pain will be caused and the horse, as a result, will become a puller. It is better, in such cases, to allow the horse to find his own natural head carriage.
A hard mouth
The bit other than a snaffle lies on the tongue and on the bars of the mouth which are extremely sensitive. They are thinly covered with skin, in which there is a mass of nerves. When once these nerves are destroyed, feeling will disappear and the animal will become hard mouthed.
The nerves in the bars of the mouth are destroyed by continual bit injuries and bruising due to pulling at young, undeveloped and excitable animals, to severe and badly-fitting bits, or to the horse having a stiff jaw and not accepting the bit.
It is a mistake to increase the severity of the bit on an excitable or pulling horse. He should be put back in a snaffle and taught to relax his jaw, as described on page 59.
A dry mouth is the result of the tongue being drawn back and the mouth being slightly open. The air passes rapidly through the mouth and quickly dries it up. In their dry state the bars of the mouth are easily torn and bruised. A dry mouth is usually asso-ciated with an "unmade" mouth and a stiff jaw.
A swallowed tongue and tongue over the bit are caused by the horse trying to evade the pressure of the bit. In either case the bars are easily damaged and if the tongue is over the bit, the under part of the tongue becomes torn.
The conformation of a horse's head and neck is of considerable importance in bitting. If the channel which lies between the branches of the lower jaw is too narrow, or the head and neck are too closely coupled, the animal will have difficulty in flexing correctly. A horse with either fault is usually unpleasant to ride, and if the rider persists in trying to obtain the correct head-
EQUITATION
A hard mouth
The bit other than a snaffle lies on the tongue and on the bars of the mouth which are extremely sensitive. They are thinly covered with skin, in which there is a mass of nerves. When once these nerves are destroyed, feeling will disappear and the animal will become hard mouthed.
The nerves in the bars of the mouth are destroyed by continual bit injuries and bruising due to pulling at young, undeveloped and excitable animals, to severe and badly-fitting bits, or to the horse having a stiff jaw and not accepting the bit.
It is a mistake to increase the severity of the bit on an excitable or pulling horse. He should be put back in a snaffle and taught to relax his jaw, as described on page 59.
BITS AND THEIR USES
There are three bits, the snaffle, the double bridle and the pelham, though there are many varieties of each.
The Snaffle
The jointed snaffle acts on the outside of the bars of the mouth, the lips, or the corners of the mouth, according to the hand action.
The use of the snaffle, in conjunction with the rider's legs, is to teach the horse to accept the bit with a still and correct head-carriage and supple jaw.
MANUAL OF HORSEMANSHIP
The following are some of the different kinds of snaffles:
(1) The smooth, jointed snaffle, made of metal with a joint in the middle, is the one chiefly in use and, if fairly thick, it is the best kind to use.
(2) The egg-butt snaffle which is less likely to pinch or damage the horse's lips than the ordinary ring snaffle.
(3) The snaffle with cheeks (see figure 3) and a thick jointed mouthpiece. The cheeks prevent the bit from rubbing the sides of the horse's mouth or from being pulled through the mouth from one side to the other. The keeper, holding the cheek to the bridle, prevents the bit from turning over in the mouth.
(4) The half-moon and straight-bar unjointed snaffle, made of vucanite, rubber or metal. These are very mild and can be used on horses whose mouths have been injured.
(5) The twisted snaffle. This is severe and should be avoided.
(6) The gag snaffle. The action of this bit is on the corners of the lips. It is very powerful and should only be used by experts.
(7) The snaffle and dropped noseband. The dropped noseband should only be used in conjunction with a snaffle. It should be carefully fitted so that the front strap is well above the nostrils, where it cannot restrict the horse's breathing. The back strap passes below the mouthpiece of the bit and is adjusted so as to prevent the horse from crossing his jaw or opening his mouth wide. A dropped noseband also helps to prevent him from getting his tongue over the bit and helps to keep his mouth moist by preventing him from opening his mouth and drawing back his tongue.
(4) The half-moon and straight-bar unjointed snaffle, made of vucanite, rubber or metal. These are very mild and can be used on horses whose mouths have been injured.
(5) The twisted snaffle. This is severe and should be avoided.
(6) The gag snaffle. The action of this bit is on the corners of the lips. It is very powerful and should only be used by experts.
(7) The snaffle and dropped noseband. The dropped noseband should only be used in conjunction with a snaffle. It should be carefully fitted so that the front strap is well above the nostrils, where it cannot restrict the horse's breathing. The back strap passes below the mouthpiece of the bit and is adjusted so as to prevent the horse from crossing his jaw or opening his mouth wide. A dropped noseband also helps to prevent him from getting his tongue over the bit and helps to keep his mouth moist by preventing him from opening his mouth and drawing back his tongue.
EQUITATION
SNAFFLE BRIDLE AND REGULAR NOSEBAND
The Double Bridle
This consists of a bridoon, which is a snaffle with a thinner mouthpiece than those described above, a curb-bit with a fixed or movable mouthpiece and a curb chain with a lip strap.
It should only be used when the horse has been taught, in a snaffle bridle, to offer no resistance in his mouth, to go forward freely and to come back to the rider with a relaxed jaw. Then the curb-bit will afford additional control to the rider and help to give a lighter aid.
MANUAL OF HORSEMANSHIP
Its function is:
(a) The bridoon acts in the same way as a jointed snaffle.
(b) The curb can act at the same time as the bridoon to give a more refined and imperceptible aid and to help to main-tain a relaxed jaw.
THE DOUBLE BRIDLE
EQUITATION
Bits permitted in F.E.I. and B.H.S. Contests
MANUAL OF HORSEMANSHIP
EQUITATION
Fitting
The bridoon should lie in the horse's mouth as high as possible without causing the lips to wrinkle. The curb bit should be im-mediately below it. The curb chain, which should be thick and flat, should lie snugly in the chin groove and be sufficiently tight to allow the cheek pieces of the bit to be drawn back to an angle of 45 degrees with the horse's mouth. If too loose, the curb chain is inclined to ride up above the chin groove when in use, or, when not in use, to flap about the irritate the horse. The lip strap should pass through the ring which hangs from the bottom of the curb chain and be fitted loosely.
Action of the curb bit
The mouth-piece presses on the bars and the tongue. The cheeks of the bit act as a lever to increase the pressure on the bars of the mouth. The curb rein must therefore be used with great delicacy. The curb chain is the fulcrum and should be painless.
When the curb bit is used without a bridoon, the constant pressure on the lower jaw is inclined to numb the horse's mouth and kill all feeling; it is therefore not advocated.
The Pelham
This bit is a combination of the curb and bridoon on one mouth-piece, to the cheek of which is attached the bridoon and curb reins, thus trying to make the one bit perform and duties of two. This, in principle, is not a sound policy, but the fact remains that some horses will go better in a pelham than they will in anything else.
Sometimes with a pelham a single rein is used, attached to a leather rounding itself attached to the bridoon and curb rings on the cheek of the bit. This cannot be advocated for use by those who wish to take advantage of the correct of either bit, but it has proved advantageous in some cases.
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*NOTE: This subject is also covered by the Pony Club film strip book, "Bits and Bitting".
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
*The Manual of HORSEMANSHIP of the British Horse Society and the Pony Club
The British Horse Society makes acknowledgement to Educational Productions Ltd. for permission to reproduce illustrations by Joan Wanklyn from the book "Riding" by Mrs. V. D. S. Williams, and to Moss Bros. of Covent Garden and Geo. Parker & Sons, for the loan of bits illustrated on pages 29 and 30.
CONTENTS
Arrangement of this book.
The book is divided into three parts dealing with Equitation, Saddlery and Horsemastership.
Part I deals primarily with riding, the position of the rider and control of the horse or pony.
There follow two appendices about elementary dressage. Appendix I describes a system of training and Appendix II contains definitions of the various terms and movements. The appendices deal with more advanced riding and movements than the earlier sections of the book.
Part II deals with the fitting as well as with the care and cleaning of saddlery. It also describes how to put on and take off a saddle and bridle.
Part III includes the handling and care of horses and ponies at grass and in stables; also veterinary notes, the identification of horses and ponies and road transport.
The training of young horses and ponies is dealt with in a separate book "Training the Young Horse and Pony", also published by The British Horse Society.
An index will be found at the end of the book.
Published by
THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY
NATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTRE
KENILWORTH, WARWICHSHIRE, CV8 2LR
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY
NORTHBOURNE PRESS GROUP LIMITED
COVENTRY CV2 3FU
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY
NORTHBOURNE PRESS GROUP LIMITED
COVENTRY CV2 3FU