Blog Hop: Bit it Up

This has been a really interesting blog hop so far, and I've enjoyed learning about what bits everyone uses and why.

Also, L, seriously stop stealing all the good blog hop ideas! You are too good at this.

I have 3 different bits for Dino.

Our go-to is a plain old D-ring snaffle.

Nothin' fancy.

He came to me going in this bit, he goes well in this bit, it's simple, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We ride most often in this D-ring, for both dressage and jumping. I have considered at times trying him in something like a Myler low-port D, or even a French Link, but this jointed one works for us at this point.

My tune-up bit is this loose-ring Waterford:

The pony can get heavy in my hand sometimes, and the Waterford can serve as a nice reminder that he needs to actually hold his body up himself, and I cannot carry 800 lb of stubborn pony in my hands. The Waterford also ends up being his lunging bit, mostly because it lives on my crappy bridle which usually doesn't have reins on it, and I am generally too lazy to take the reins off of my nice bridle for lunging.

For western, we use this very cool low-port, short-shank curb with a copper insert:

I LOVE this bit as a transition from snaffle to curb because it has such a soft feel to it. while it has a solid mouthpiece, the shanks swivel around it, making it a little more forgiving. It's also my most "expensive" bit - I dropped a whopping $40 for this bad boy! But it's a great western bit for us and has done a nice job transitioning Dino from snaffle to curb, and teaching him to neck rein better.