First off, the term snaffle is in reality a term meaning the bit is in a direct line from the hands to the horse's mouth. To be a true snaffle, there can be no shanks or curb chains. The snaffle bit may be jointed or not. It is generally felt the jointed snaffle is more mild than non-jointed. To gain a better understanding of how severe or not a bit is, one must develop some understanding of the structure of the horse's mouth and how the bit acts in the mouth. The snaffle will act on the corners of the mouth, the tongue, the "bars" of the lower jaw and if the palate is low enough even on the palate. The "bars" of the jaw are essentially the toothless area of the horse's gums between the molars and the incisors. The goal with most bits is to work on these bars. When first starting a horse out with a bit, often the head is elevated in avoidance of the metal in its mouth. When this occurs, the pressure from the rider's hands will be more on the corners of the horse's mouth. It is rare for a "green" horse to initially give to the bit in the way we have come to expect an older more seasoned animal. In these instances the chunky, thick metal snaffles are often the kindest since they distribute the pressure of the rider's hands over a wider area. Once the horse starts to learn to "give" to the pressure of the bit and drops its head, then the bars of the mouth will become the area the bit affects more. Again, it is good to have an understanding of the confirmation of your horse's mouth when judging the actions of the bit. If your horse has a narrow jaw and also has bars that are narrow, the chunky steel of some of the snaffles may be uncomfortable to the horse with this type of mouth and you may need to go to a bit narrower snaffle.

There are various terms describing bits. I will try to decipher a few of the more commonly used ones here. A "hollow mouth snaffle" is usually a very fat snaffle made of steel around a hollow or foam core with makes it a light weight bit for the horse to carry and the fact that it is a thick metal bit will make it a mild bit on most horses. The "loose ring snaffle" means the mouthpeice is attached to the rings of the bit "loosely" or in other words, the rings that the reins attach to slide through the mouthpeice. I have not had good experiences with this type of bit as I find it often pinches the corners of the horse's mouth. I understand that this is considered more mild though due to the almost perfect ability to be a direct link to the rider's hands. The "D ring snaffle" is a fixed ring that attaches to the mouthpiece. The reins attach to the "D" and it is still a direct contact from the mouth to the rider's hands. The "D ring" can have several variations in the type of mouthpiece. This can be smooth, or twisted, or a three piece unit called a "french link". A twisted snaffle can be a mild twist that is just a bit of a bump on the horse's bars or a sharp twist which can actually be fairly painful to the bars. The "french link" is a good modification for a horse with a very low palate, as the center of the link in most snaffles may come up and hit this horse in the palate. This is alleviated with the "french link". As the metal of the snaffle's mouthpiece becomes narrower it generally increases the severity. In describing the more severe snaffles, the twisted wire would be commonly assumed as being the most severe as it is narrow and has various twists that would rub on the bars of the mouth. There are snaffles which have a straight bar or a slightly curved bar for the mouthpiece, but these are rare and most riders don't use them. The straight bar would be the most severe here as there is no room for the tongue when pressure is applied.

The next step up the line in severity would be the curb bit. There are probably as many shapes, styles, and severity of curb bits as there are riding styles! It would be impossible to identify all of them here. However, it is important to get an idea of how they work when deciding which to use. The curb will act on the bars of the mouth, the tongue, the area under the chin and the poll of the horse. A curb bit is attached to the bridle, has a curb chain under the chin and has various lengths of shanks to which the reins are attached. Probably two of the most common curbs used in western riding are the "grazing" curb and the "tom thumb snaffle" (which is really a misnomer). The Grazing Curb is called such because the shanks are generally curved back toward the horse's chest. This was supposed to allow the horse to graze while wearing this bit. The Tom Thumb Snaffle is actually a curb bit with a jointed mouthpiece and short shanks (the short shanks are the reason it's called "Tom Thumb")and a curb chain. Due to the shanks all these bits will apply pressure to the poll or top of the horse's head when pressure is applied to the reins. The length and straightness of the shanks from the mouthpiece to the reins and the length of the shank from where it attaches to the headstall to the mouthpiece all affect the amount of pressure on the poll. There is also pressure under the chin due to the curb strap. And of course there is the type and severity of the style of mouthpiece. The jointed mouthpiece which is considered mild as a snaffle may not be as mild when the shanks and curbstrap are added. Often you tend to get an effect similar to a nutcracker! Often, the milder curb bits tend to have a nice upward curve of the mouthpiece without being extreme. This allows room for the tongue without moving up into the palate as pressure is applied by the reins. The longer and straighter the shanks, the less pressure it takes from the rider to apply a lot of pressure to the various areas of the mouth and head. This article is designed to give a basic overview of some of the more common bits and how they act on the horse. Many horses spend their entire lives, happily working in bits that appear very severe. There are many other things to take into account when selecting a bit, probably the most important is the experience, balance and sensitivity of the rider. Horses are also as individualistic as people and sometimes a bit that we think of as being mild is not one the horse is happy working in. I hope this information has helped some gain a better understanding of how bits work.

Mary E. Chwalek, copyright 1997-2006

(THESE ARTICLES ARE INTENDED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. VARIOUS HEALTH AND TRAINING PROBLEMS WITH HORSES CAN NOT BE SOLVED BY ADVICE FROM THE INTERNET ALONE. ALWAYS TALK TO YOUR VETERINARIAN ABOUT CHANGING FEEDING PROGRAMS OR OTHER HEALTH RELATED ISSUES. IT IS ALSO RECOMMENDED AN EXPERIENCED HORSE PERSON HELP YOU WITH SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED ABOVE)