Re: RC: Snaffle Snaffoo

[Jasmine Cave <toppere@siu.edu>]

By straight I mean it is not curved and so does not follow the contour of
the horses mouth it also has a joint. I really am not sure what mouthpiece
it is. The only type of single joint that I have seen is the hinge
mouth(allows mouthpiece to move forward and back, but not the shanks) and
the "snaffle" joint (two loops looped through each other, allows the shanks
and mouthpiece to swivel forward and back). What you are talking about is
probebly a variation of the snaffle mouthpiece that is new and has not
caught on or a old style which has faded away. My trainer has a old style
bit that no one has seen before. It is called a mexican breaking bit. It
has very short shanks(about length of full cheek pieces) a single, curved
snaffle mouthpiece with flat bars. It looks like a snaffle that was run
over by a steam roller. It is made of brass. When the horse has his head
down and vertical the mouthpiece lies flat and is very comfortable to the
horse. When the horse sticks out his nose or raises his head the bit
rotates on to its edge giving the horse an immediate correction. When he
lowers his head it flips back flat and gives an immediate reward. We have
talked to and shown this bit to many bit makers and dealers and they had
never seen one before. If any of you have seen one please let me know as I
have been trying to locate another.
jasmine
At 07:41 AM 6/4/99 -0700, Kirsten Foruria wrote:
>Oh ok, so the true Tom Thumb has no snaffle ring AND
>straight shanks.  By straight mouthpiece, do you mean "no
>port" or do you also mean not at all curved?
>
>As far as the bit I am talking about.... it has shanks
>curved toward the horse and the mouthpiece is straight (no
>port and not curved at all).  It has a joint in the middle
>that is hard to describe, but if you hold both shanks one in
>each hand, you can twist them back and forth toward and away
>from you in opposite directions. That is the *only*
>direction of movement. Basically, you can apply light
>pressure with one rein without affecting the other side of
>the mouth.  Although, I would think this would ONLY work
>with light pressure.  If you used more pressure than to just
>lightly engage the curb chain, then you would indeed start a
>twisting action both from the action of the curb chain and
>the poll pressure from just one side. I'd think this would
>be counterproductive.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Kirsten (I think I'm getting it)
>
>Jasmine Cave wrote:
>> 
>> They are not interchangable terms because the argentine would have a ring
>> for a snaffle as well as a ring for a curb rein. The shanks are curved back
>> and the mouthpiece is usually cuved as well. The Tom Thumb has straight
>> shanks, straight mouthpiece, and no option for a snaffle rein. The tom
>> thumb is the more severe of the two. There is also somthing called a
>> breaking bit which is a tom thumb with curved shanks and a training bit
>> which is a breaking bit with a snaffle ring. So from mildest to harshest it
>> would go, argentine-training-breaking-tom thumb. Many curbs have "loose"
>> shanks of some sort and so usually are given a name corosponding to that
>> particular bits mouthpiece. So what kind of "seperation" is this and what
>> do the shanks look like?
>> jasmine
>> At 07:28 PM 6/3/99 -0700, Kirsten Foruria wrote:
>> >Well, I think I got a partial answer (thank you Jasmine).
>> >The way I understand your explanation, Tom Thumb and
>> >Argentine Snaffle are basically interchangable terms.  My
>> >trainer does not use them that way, but I can certainly
>> >accept variable terminology as a fact of life.
>> >
>> >The remaining question I have then is what the heck is the
>> >bit that I've been calling a Tom Thumb? It's essentially a
>> >plain curb with no port.  IOW, the bit itself does not
>> >"break" in the middle of the mouthpiece (like a snaffle),
>> >but it does have a "separation" that allows the shanks to
>> >act independently. Occasionally the shanks themselves will
>> >be on swivels, I assume to allow direct reining without
>> >causing a twisting action on the mouthpiece.
>> >
>> >So (Jasmine <G>)... what is this bit called that I am
>> >describing?  They are commonly found in western tack shops,
>> >but usually there are only one or two on a wall full of
>> >various curbs, gags etc.
>> >
>> >Kirsten (gittin' a BIT o' edicashun)
>> >
>> >Linda_Merims@ne.3com.com wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I havn't seen anybody answer Kristen's question about what
>> >> is a Tom Thumb vs what is an Argentine bit.  Being from
>> >> the English-seat tradition, I havn't a clue.
>> >>
>> >
>> >--
>> >Kirsten (Price) Foruria
>> >Vermilion Desert Ranch
>> >Reno, Nevada
>> >
>> >
>> >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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>> >
>> 
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
>> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
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>
>-- 
>Kirsten (Price) Foruria
>Vermilion Desert Ranch
>Reno, Nevada
>
>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
>Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
>


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=