Dee Rings
Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 3:04 amSnaffle bit in western vs. english?
In the 11 years that I've ridden, and in a class I took my first year in college, I've come to understand that a snaffle bit is like this
http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Iron-Eggbutt-Snaffle-Bit/dp/B0011UDOYC
OR
http://www.amazon.com/Abetta-Luke-Jones-Argentine-Snaffle/dp/B002HIXBO0
either with dee rings or shanks. From what I've seen on Y!A, people say snaffle bits CANNOT have shanks. But if you search snaffle bits online, some do have shanks. But then I've also found stuff that says snaffles can't have shanks. I'm just confused. I've never seen a western person use a bit with dee rings, just always shanks. Everyone I know calls a bit with shanks and the broken mouthpiece (like in the pictures) a snaffle. This includes multiple trainers. So what I want to know, is this just a western vs. english thing? Or is it just easier to say it's a snaffle since there are like 10,000 different kinds of bits out there?
Thanks
Cowboys in the American west got confused years ago and thought that the jointed mouthpiece of the bits they were shown was what defined them as snaffles. So they started adding shanks to jointed mouth bits and calling them snaffles. They were wrong, it is still wrong, and it isn't a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact. Historically, the term snaffle evolved to reference a simple bit, meaning one without leverage. Just because a slew of companies have continued to market bits as snaffles because of jointed mouthpieces, confusing the public, doesn't make it any less erroneous.
A snaffle is defined by the absence of leverage....period. A snaffle bit can have any mouthpiece design, solid or jointed, as long as the reins attach directly in line with the horse's mouth to a centered ring. Even a Kimberwicke with a Dee that is not centered with the mouthpiece is not a snaffle bit because the reins are not in a direct line to the mouthpiece.
Add...regarding the famous Tom Thumb snaffle....it is another example of the confusion. The Tom Thumb snaffle in Australia is a true snaffle....no shanks. It has short half cheeks (not shanks) as opposed to full cheeks, and that is what gave it the name Tom Thumb. The reins attach centered with the mouthpiece, so there is no leverage, making it a snaffle.
Here is one...............................
http://www.valleycountry.com.au/catalogue/horse_rider/for_the_horse/bits/full_cheek_bits/tom_thumb_snaffle_stainless_steel
The American cowboy version of a Tom Thumb is a curb bit...and is a very badly designed and overly severe one. Jointed mouthpieces belong on snaffles, and not on curb bits with shanks, curb chains, and leverage forces.
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