Hi y'all,
I have a few questions concerning rubber bits. I would appreciate if someone who has experience with rubber bits could help me out. I plan on using an unjointed rubber snaffle for competitions and such, as it seems to be the gentlest thing out there for putting in a horse's mouth.
First question: what type did you use? Weaver, Happy-Mouth, one made by someone else?
How long do the rubber bits tend to last? Do they start falling apart from rubbing or do pieces ever get chewed off? Do the flavored ones last for a shorter time?
Most important question: How hard is the rubber? I never know when someone means hard or squishy when they mention rubber, lol. Is it:
1- Very soft, like the sticky rubber toys in a dollar store
2- Spongy, slightly harder
3- Between soft and plastic, actually rubber (what I was hoping for)
4- Hard as plastic (which might as well be the same as a metal bit)
Thanks for any help you can give, I couldn't find much info on the internet, especially on how hard or cushioned the bits actually are :)
Hi. I used a rubber bit on my old horse. It wasn't vulcanited, which is quite hard but, whilst you could flex it slightly, I wouldn't describe it as soft. Apollo had played polo, in a gag judging from his head carriage & sometimes total lack of brakes. However, it is the hands on the reins that determine how gentle a bit is. Apollo had no mouth. Eventually we went bit less & immediately I got fingertip control. He responded to the poll pressure & cheek pressure at the slightest touch. I've ridden ponies using a straight bar plastic bit, intended for in hand showing. It has brass bit rings. I've been told, by more than 1 person, it's unsafe to ride with this bit as the brass rings are 'soft' to which I replied "if I'm pulling hard enough to bend them, I'm doing it all wrong"! Rubber bits tend to be thicker so can be uncomfortable if a horse has a small mouth as it can't properly close its mouth. My real hate is to see the jaws strapped shut. Crossed nosebands, especially when horses are still developing & their teeth are altering are dangerous if applied tightly. In this situation if the mouth is uncomfortable the horse may respond in a rush of anger against the pain & pressure, which the rider cannot quickly release from on board. Likewise, I've seen a dangerous training device, like a martingale but clipped onto the bit rings. Lunacy! Good luck choosing a suitable bit & have fun competing. Sweet iron & copper are a good combination to encourage salivation which is important for the horses comfort. Cheers, Jo.
Thanks Jo,
I don't like nosebands at all either; and I try to be very elastic with my hands when riding English, to try and keep from causing any damage with contact, which I prefer to keep very light, never stong unless I'm saving my horse from falling or something.
It was a good point about the salivation and how rubber doesn't encourage that much. I wish there was an unjointed sweet iron/copper bit that had soft rubber just over the bars of the mouth, that would be perfect for me.
I'll do a bit more research before deciding on what I want to use on my horse :)
You ask about how hard they are. There is a slight difference depending on make and material, but generally they are in the vicinity of your numbers 3 and 4.
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Rubber has its advantages. For instance they are a lot more comfortable for the horse in winter when it is cold.
They don't clank against the teeth and can feel softer all over for the horse. The ones with some kind of apple flavour/scent claim they encourage the horse to take the bit more readily as well as chew/suck on it, but I'm not taking their word for it.
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What to beware of is that they tend to have more friction against the corners of the mouth - my horse definitely had a problem with that and is much happier with a metal bit - and they can be chewed to pieces.
One bit I had (a straight Happy Mouth with an alleged apple flavour/scent, which I believe disappeared pretty soon, but this was back in the 90's)looked "chipped" after a while, like someone had gone over it with a coarse wood file.
I don't think the horse is affected much by swallowing a bit of the plastic, although if they get stuck between their teeth/gum I suppuse it can create a nuisance. Either way, the bit didn't stay smooth for very long.
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Another problem is the rubber bits that doesn't have a metal core, because when they break... Well, you get it, I'm sure.
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Likewise, the ones with a wire inside are dubious as the wire can hurt the horse if the rubber breaks, and even worse if the wire breaks too. (I believe Happy Mouth recalled and stopped making one such bit a couple of years back.)
All that said, I am positive to them and would use it more if my horse had agreed with me.
Best of luck with your descision!
Thanks!
I had a feeling that they might be chewed up pretty easily... I would like to stay mostly bitless, but that isn't allowed in some competitions, so I need to look into other options to try out as well.
Another idea I wish that was common in the horse industry would be custom bits, shaped for each individual horse's bars, tongue, teeth and pallet. All the bits seem slightly generalized, other than the overall sizing. I haven't ever heard or seen such a thing as bits made for each individual horse's mouth, and I think that if there were, it would help with a lot of the mouth problems we find today.
That is a wonderful concept, gslmay! But who could afford one such bit? You would need a good equine dentist or similar to assess the horse's mouth and a skilled machine operator to run the lathe and whatever other machines you need to make this one single bit. The cost for making only one is also a whole lot bigger than manufacturing many, so there is that to overcome. But it sure would be great if it was possible!
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That said, I believe you can find those who do. Look for Bruce Cheaney on YouTube! :)
I use a happy mouth on my baby as she still doing the spitting it out with great flamboyance when I take her bridle off so I don't want her bashing her teeth however once we've sussed this out I was going to move her onto a sweet iron with the little copper lozenge in the middle. Think these are very Monty Roberts recommended? The Neue Schule bits were very popular however I am for the life of me trying to work out what they have about them that costs nearly £100. ... that's another matter. I think nathe bits (the happy mouth material) definitely have their place and just give them a look over each time you ride to check they're all ok and still intact.
Hi Becky. Have you tried Montys honey treatment? By repeatedly putting the bit in & out without anything more your baby will exhaust the spitting out very quickly. Then you can progress to other things between putting it in & not spitting it out. Keep the happy mouth, sure but perhaps a more focused learning curve? I hope I'm not suggesting something you've already done. Cheers, Jo.