This isn't strictly endurance, but years ago, I knew of a "ego" rider
with more money than brains that bought a big, snorty Saddlebred just so
he could go prancing around the (well-populated) trails on something
impressive. That poor horse had never been outside a showring in his
life and naturally was spooky at every bush on the trail. The "rider"
thought all he had to do was put on a bigger saddle, a bigger, meaner
bit and by golly, whack him every time he spooked. Yes, of course he
ruined this wonderful horse, practically tore his tongue in two, left a
web of scars all over his body and was only prevented from beating that
horse to death after he threw him and ran home because the barn manager
hit him first and called animal control. So I guess gizmos and hardware
didn't help "control" this horse. Just an extreme story of Bigger Ain't
Better.
BTW, there is a happy ending. The "owner" sold the horse to someone
else in the barn who kept him for a year (it took that long for him to
stop trembling whenever anyone came into his stall) then sold him
because even living in that area continually made the horse afraid.
Don't blame him. The new owner put him back to doing what he liked, won
everything in sight and when he wasn't winning the Five-Gaited
Championships, he was winning the leadline classes with four-year-old
kids on his back.
Anyway, just a story about Big Bits.
Susan