RC: Snaffle Snaffoo

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>My trainer is a certified riding instructer who is now qualified to teach
>olympic level dressage and show jumping as well as advanced saddle seat and
>reining. Her specialty is bits, she collects them and uses them as teaching
>aids. She is a riding instructer with southern illinois university and all
>of us equine science students must go through her bit class. A snaffle is a
>bit which has no shanks and no curb chain. A curb has shanks and has a curb
>chain. Either of these types of bits can be broken(single or double
>jointed), or unbroken(mullen or port or bar).
<snip>

Nicely done, Jasmine.  One of the things that you pointed out very well is
the fact that there a lot of different kinds of bits around...and several
variations on each of those types.  Every horse is going to have their
favorite according to how their mouth is structured -- what's mild for one
horse may be very uncomfortable for the next, and so on.

The curb/snaffle stuff is easy to remember -- it's a curb if the bit has
*leverage*, it's snaffle if it doesn't.

Jasmine...who is your instructor?  Is she ARICP certified?  That's the
certification I was supposed to test for 2 weeks ago but I had to postpone
my testing after my high speed tree-hugging episode. <g>  Couldn't get my
video and essay questions completed...if I managed to get myself to a point
of tolerable pain, I had no brain left due to the high levels of Percocet!
;-)  Anyway, I'll be testing in November now when I go out to NJ the annual
convention.

BTW -- I went back to work today to the operating room job.  My back still
hurts a fair amount and I can't walk very fast yet, but I survived.  One
month, so far, to recoup from this!  Found out I really liked being here at
home full time -- especially when you CAN'T go anywhere and it's really
*full time*!!!!!!!  It really amped up my determination to get out of the
OR permanently...won't happen for a couple of years yet, and I may always
keep just enough hours so that I don't lose the skills.  But, then again,
the choice would be...get up every morning (at some other hour besides
0430!) and spend all day with the horses and students...or go where I spend
at least 8 hours in a room with no windows, working for an institution
that's overrun with egomaniacs and bureaucrats!!  Hmmmmm........<g> 

Sue



sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.


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