Sitemaps

Wonder bit questions2007-11-24 21:23:27

From my experiance I have never had a young horse that did not work just fine in a simple snaffle bit. I personally do not like the wonder bits, they seem to me to be too much bit for a young horse Plus, I am kind of traditional, I dont like useing new trendy gadgets to train my horses, I do it all with just a snaffle bit, a saddle, and maybe a pair of spurs.

Out of curiosity, to those who swear tom thumbs are too harsh, what kind of western bit do you use? Not a snaffle, or hacakmore/bosal, you can't show in those if you horse is over 5 yrs old. When I ride western I dont even touch the bit, I stear with my legs and the reins on my horse's neck, and I do a spur stop (squeeze with my legs to stop). I have found most of my horses react badly to low ports, and do jut fine with a tom thumb...

---

Wonder bits can be a little harsh. You just have to have soft hands when you ride. If your horse has a hard mouth a wonder bit is okay. But if he has a soft mouth and you have trouble stopping him you might want to try a milder bit with a curb chain for extra control.

---

Don't use a Tom Thumb !! They have a nut cracker effect with their mouth ! It squezzes the outside of the mouth as it jabs the inside of the mouth. Not a good bit !!! I do not like gag bits also! I think they are way too harsh also, just as bad as a Tom Thumb! I don't like the idea of my horses mouth open to realive the pressure of the gag. I think they are harsh! I think you should go with how you feel about that bit, don't keep it because people SAY it is a good bit. You must not care to much for it... I would NEVER ride my horses in eaither one of those bits!!! & What works for other peoples horses dosen't mean it will work on your 3yr old. He still is a baby & I think he is toooooo younge for those 2 bits! I know this is not really what you are looking for but at 3 with no stop you NEED to retrain him to stop!! If you go back to training the stop you'll beable to ride in a nice bit. You should work him in a Bosal!! They make nice ones!! They REALLY work!! Using a Bosal for early training avoids mouth problems. It is simple & awsome way to introduce your horse to the concepts of yielding to pressure. Though sometimes distorted by ignorance or time constraints, the same holds true today: Bosal horses have an advantage! It is hard to explain unless you have felt it but the feel of a good Bosal horse is almost like having a level on the middle of their nose. When their just righ in the Bosal that horse has learned to carry himself in perfect balance. His body, his poll, his spine are all in line. So, when it comes time to bridle them, the good Bosal horse is already there, he knows how to carry himself without the crutch of the bridle. The mechanics of a snaffle & Bosal are quite different. With a snaffle your direct pull goes to the horse's mouth & draws their head to their chest, with the horse breaking or yielding more at the withers than the poll. Training olny with a snaffle makes for a stiffer bridle horse than one with some quality Bosal experience, because the Bosal puts slight pressure on the horse's nose & chin & he learns to tip his nose in & break at the poll to decrease that pressure. A horse that olny breaks at the withers dumps more weight on his forhead, but with a soft poll, he'll balance more naturally,move better. It has great stop, teaches them how to hold their head with the roll back on the stop. I think it is worth the try. You should go read about the Bosal. They also call it the classic hackamore. So, I am not talking about the mechanical hackamore. I know you were asking about a bit but I was offering another idea of training your 3yr. I swear by the Bosal, I train my horses to ride with leg ques & to end up rideable with no bridle so the Bosal helps me get my horses ready for that. Because I don't much care for bits. But when I use on I use a dog bone snaffle bit. Well good luck!!

---

Wonder bit? it's just a gag snaffle. Bad riders out hunting unschooled horses have used them for years. There's a hint there. It isn't the bit, it's whats on the other end of the reins that has the good or bad effect. And the poor baby only three years old? Think hard about this,please.

I don't know anything about this tom thumb but it looks awful.

---

I have had the same problem! I am about to try my 4th bit! I really don't like the wonder bit! Everyone keeps telling me its really harsh. I think I like the Sweet Iron Dee Ring. Since it keeps the horses mouth moist & soft. Its also not all that harsh.