New Snaffle Bit
I’m pretty simple when it comes to my tack I use for training. No gimmicks, nothing fancy. Just good useable stuff that will last. If it wasn’t for Chris all my stuff would be be pretty darned ugly. She makes sure she buys some stuff that got a little pretty to it. And she can look at stuff that is a relatively new design and see the practical applications.
When it comes to bits I’m about as simple as they come. Never seeing much difference between a 9 dollar and a 90 dollar snaffle, my horses get made in a 9 dollar snaffle. I’ll do a little work on smoothing them up and such, but if it’s got the features I want then it’s good enough for me. My shank bits are the same designs you could probably find in a 1950’s catalog. Most of them being some type of snaffle/flexible mouthpiece. I’ve had the pleasure of riding a few horses that could truly carry a solid mouthpiece bit but as far as I’m concerned they are few and far between. Horse has to be very advanced for a solid mouthpiece in my mind.
But at the horse fair Saturday I met with Dave Robart. Dave is a trainer and bit designer. Seems everybody these days is a bit designer so that didn’t catch my eye right off. I went and watched one of the clinic demonstrations he had and liked what I saw in his methods and philosphy. So that meant it was time to hunt him down and challenge him.
I had intended on getting after him right away…”so what makes your bits any better than the others?” But when I got to his booth he enthusiastically grabbed one of his bits and said “try this out!” So we went about talking bits. And I liked what I saw. Hard for me to explain but basically the bits are made to swivel and pivot making the “pinchless”. My first impressions weren’t too much concerned about pinching but I really like the way the bit allowed you to really work one side freely from the other. Overall they are very well constructed with nice fit and finish.
So I bought one of his snaffle. It was around 37 bucks which these days is really a good price. Of course for me 37 dollars for a snaffle bit might as well be a wheelbarrow full of money. And he does give a 100% money back no questions guarntee. So I figured I couldn’t lose.
So Sunday I tried it on my “tough cases”. Ginger is a 3 year old mare that has been a challenge for me with her head tossing at times and resistance to the bit. She is just such a darned nice filly that it really bothered me. Parker is a TWH that came to us by way of a boarder who didnt pay their bills. He was started by a young “trainer” in a nylon halter. Which can be ok but thats basically what he kept him in. So he had to be restarted with the snaffle like an unbroke colt.
Well Dave isn’t getting his bit back. I really like it. Both horses seemed to make very big improvements right off the bat. Even Brandy, who works very well in any old snaffle bit, seemed more comfortable.
I talked with Dave about his shanked bits, which are also impressive. He suggested his “reiner” bit as a good next step up from the snaffle. So I’ll be ordering one from him to use on our “shanked” horses.
I still don’t believe in magical bits. All the magic has to come from the rider and horse. But I can see where maybe if I was a little more open minded about stuff things might get done a little quicker.