Tracy Meisenbach: Layered Leverage

Layering Leverage

There’s an old, and highly accurate saying: When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.

Sometimes you get a horse flipping over, sometimes you get a horse panicking and bolting off and sometimes you get a really nasty fall as a horse struggles to keep upright, but can’t because his head is leveraged down.

So let's talk about layered leverage. Leverage is the basis for all bits, even snaffles. It's based on weight, gravity and resistance. With a snaffle the leverage is 1:1. You pull at one end, with your arms/body and at the other end the same amount of weight is applied to the bit. Lean your body back to augment the pull of your hand and your horse is holding up your torso weight with his mouth. Ugly to think about, but a reality.

Curb bits have leverage because of their shape. They are simple levers. Pull one end and the bit pivots around a fulcrum and places pressure on the mouth. The force is determined by the length of the shank combined with the amount of the pull. Most curbs of standard show legal length fall under a 1:4 ratio, meaning the purchase is 1/4 of the shank length. 5 pounds on the reins translates to 20 pounds in the mouth.

Gag bits are simple pulleys, whether draw gags or curb action gags. They work off of a 1:2 ratio. Whatever pressure you put on the reins is doubled in the mouth. It's the same principle as lifting a heavy object; a pulley allows us to lift double the weight. Put five pounds on the reins of the average shanked gag and when the cannons invert the purchase to shank ratio you've got 40 pounds in the mouth because the bit increases the leverage action and rachets it harder. The curbstrap doesn't stop the cannons from moving up, it just stops the purchase from rolling forward.

Draw reins are a 1:2 ratio leverage addition. Put them on a snaffle bit and they change a 5 pound pull to a 10 pound pull. Put them on a gag action curb bit and they change a 5 pound pull to an 80 pound pull. Why? Because each layer of pulley you add reduces the amount of pressure you apply and increases the amount of force at the end of where the energy is dispersed. The force has to go somewhere and in this case it's the horse's tongue.

Does your horse deserve layered leverage? No. It’s a sign of being a poor trainer without a modicum of scientific knowledge about how bits and training equipment work. It puts you at a truly unfair advantage that the horse can only equalize by freaking out. And when that happens you both lose. I have never seen a horse made better by it, but I have seen many horse ruined by the ignorant used of layered leverage.

So don't layer leverage. You're applying more force to your horse's mouth than you think.

Tracy Meisenbach
Copyright 2-2014
Do not repost or publish without written permission

Tracy Meisenbach: I heard it on the internet it MUST be true

I heard it on the internet it MUST be true

Anyone in the horse business knows that the internet is a blessing and a curse.

On the plus side it has allowed thousands of horsemen, who by the nature of their life are farm bound for long periods of time, to communicate with other like-minded people. No longer do we bore to death the non-horsey people in our circle of friends with photos, tales of our hairy children or missed outings because of foaling or colic. Instead we can go to any horse related forum, facebook, yahoo group or equine webpage and immediately connect with thousands of horse addicts, all eager to swap photos, anecdotes and stories of woe. It’s also how we can keep up on industry news, disease outbreaks, new styles in the show ring, veterinary and farrier advancements and all kinds of other things that we used to get only word of mouth or from talking to the vet or farrier. The internet has replaced horse magazines as the go to place for new information. It works and we love it.

We also hate it. Unfortunately the internet requires no licensing or even an aptitude test for a person to use. Anyone can log on and depending on their motives they can spread truth or lies or just be a pain in the ass in general. The internet is also forever. You may think you delete something, but there is always a cached version of it somewhere. Photos and articles get stolen and sent around all over the world. I had to deal with this on a huge scale when my copyrighted article Because My Daughter Grew Up With Horses was stolen multiple times and not only reposted, but others claimed to be the author and even changed the title of the article. Contrary to the claims and rumors it was never released into public domain, it is legally copyrighted per the US Library of Congress and no one is allowed to use it without my permission. Theft isn’t flattery, it’s theft. Along with dealing with the theft I've had to deal with the people that supported the thieves, because after all I should be HAPPY someone liked my work enough to steal it. The irony of people stealing an article that is about horses teaching children values was evidently lost on them. So while the butthurt claim I’m crazy for protecting my work and cite stupid things like “once it’s on the internet it’s free” as well as a complete lack of knowledge about International Copyright Law, I still deal with the fallout from wanting to praise my daughter and share it with a few friends. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson, I don’t share personal poetry or items on the internet anymore.

It’s amazing how times have changed since the internet came into widespread use. When I was growing up most horse sales were local, as were breedings. Now you can buy a horse from across the world, or buy semen from a stallion clear across the country and do it with just email correspondence. It’s amazing and aggravating at the same time. Anonymity is always the factor that makes you pause before hitting reply. You know who you are, but who are they? Are they a scammer? Could be. It amazes me how many people fall for the scammer crap. Never sell a horse without cash or a check. And the horse never leaves the property until the check clears. Along with the check request a copy of a form of ID. We did this and shut a scammer down immediately. Theft by check is a legal recourse. Theft by fake money order takes a ton of work and you’re not likely to succeed. Common sense says no one that has not requested a video or come to see the horse is going to buy it. Just demand cash and you’ll always come out ahead.

I’ve been in the horse business since 1978. A long, long time before the internet even reared its ugly head. Anyone that has been around that long is bound to make friends and enemies and deal with the downright insane. I’ve made some great friends, some that I consider family now and I’ve made some enemies, due to differing views on genetic defects, abuse, drugging and cheating. I’m against all of those things and some people aren’t. I also served on the ApHC board, which is such a good old boys’ club that it actually deserves its own TV miniseries.

During all this time we have bent over backwards to keep clients happy. I usually sell horses with a buy back clause, so I can insure they don’t end up in the kill pen. And I’ve bought several back, not because something was wrong with the horse, that has never been the case, but because the person’s life had changed through divorce, job situation or some other issue. I’ve traded horses with people, and as far as I know both of us ended up happy. I’ve donated horses to colleges to help their equine programs. I buy horses to get them out of poor situations. We’ve pretty much done everything a seller/buyer can do, but we do NOT cheat people, never have. We stand by our horses and try to do the best we can for them. We don’t sell green horses to green people, we don’t sell stallions to people without the facility to keep them. We genetically test all our horses and our entire herd is clean. We won’t breed to a positive mare or stallion. I know some people do, but we don’t. It’s not worth it.

Since we also run a breeding farm we deal with the financial and emotional aspects of the horse industry. Everyone loves babies. We screen the mares we breed by pedigree and conformation. We won’t breed to mares that don’t meet our standards. People get mad when turned down, but better to deal with that than an ugly foal that can ruin your stallion’s reputation. Most people are civil and realistic. And then there was Max Peterson. Anyone that has ever googled our farm or my name has found the post by Max Peterson on the Fauna snake board. Max thought he was a big badass to be dissing me until I showed up and refuted his claims. The owner of the snake board will not remove posts, despite the fact that I refuted all of Max’s claims and he admitted that what he originally posted was incorrect. So because the owner is a douche canoe and Max is a liar and a jerk, I’m going to post the facts here, because this crap keeps coming up when people google me, thinking they have found some “oh so horrible” thing to attack me with. Due to their limited reading skills they obviously don’t read the entire post where Max shows what an idiot he is.

Max posted in 2007 that he had used one of our studs a “few years” back and then never got a refund.
Yeah, not exactly accurate there Max. The reality is that in 1996, a full ten years before Max posted his lies we bred a mare belonging to his girlfriend. Not him, his girlfriend. I met his girlfriend on a vet call to treat their other mare for a red bag foal because their pasture was full of fescue. The girlfriend had a fairly nice TB mare and she wanted to breed for an eventer. The vet suggested my stallion, Colida Flyin Star, and she came over and looked at him and booked the breeding, signing a contract that stated in the event that the mare did not produce a live foal they were allowed a REBREEDING.

Later that spring the mare arrived and we discovered she was INSANE. Like just fricking INSANE. She practically tore down my barn. But despite her behavior we got her bred and sent her home in foal. My understanding, from speaking with the girlfriend, was that they were going to dry lot the mare to keep her from the fescue. Well they didn’t. She reabsorbed, which is common on fescue pastured mares. Now the story takes a strange twist. The girlfriend discovers she is pregnant and not wanting to deal with a baby and foal she wants to know if they could breed the following year OR could she have my round pen in trade for the stud fee. WTF is she talking about? Yeah, no, on that one. I told her she could rebreed the following year. I never hear from her again. I never heard from Max Peterson. I lived a scant 6 miles from them and neither called or came by. We used the same vet, our farm had a huge sign at the curve of HWY 160 in Texas with our phone number on it. We were easy to find.

In April of 1999 we sold our farm and moved to Virginia. At no point did Max or his girlfriend contact us. I’m not holding up a move for someone to rebreed. All our other contracts were filled and obligations settled. And had they contacted me I would have worked out collection and shipping to breed their mare. Sadly in June after we moved Colida Flyin Star died. We had his younger son Colida SkipNTwist to use as the farm stallion. The next year was his first breeding year, and again had we been contacted we would have honored the breeding despite the fact it was FOUR years past the contract date. However we never heard from Max or his girlfriend again, ever. Our mail was forwarded for a year after we moved, I was still in contact with the vet we both used and she had my forwarding address, never heard a peep. By now the internet was in just about every household, even in the boonies. We have had a farm website up since 1991 and it listed all our contact information. We were one of the first Appaloosa farms to ever use a website for marketing, our farm site predated google and facebook. So if someone couldn’t find us they weren’t looking too hard. ( An example is one of my students from 1980 found me, she didn’t even know my married name, she search my horse’s name)

So Max used google and finds the memorial page for Colida Flyin Star, notes our new farm name and my married a name and in a fit of irrational stupidity posts his lies on the snake forum. Yeah, because so many horse people hang out there. No one responds, because really who cares? Then I find his post while searching my old stallion’s name. Needless to say I was furious that he so blatantly lied and waited so long after making NO attempts to contact us. I contacted him via email and he refused to remove the post or alter his comments. So I confronted him in the forum. This is where it showed the extent of his lies. He finally admits that the contract said rebreed, admits he didn’t contact us for years, and even admits that they no longer have any mares, so couldn’t use the rebreeding if he wanted to. He also completely misses that by the Texas statute of limitations he’s about 6 years past when he can claim any type of debt, had there been one. So he’s pretty much just a jerk with an ax to grind. This is the life of a bored internet idiot, just stirring up crap because he can. His post served no purpose except to pretend he had a reason, when his responses show that he had none. About the only thing his post has done is send the little internet hater groupies into a frenzy when they find it thinking they have found something to nail me with. Nope, I own right up to it and repost all the excerpts. We were not in the wrong. What the hater groupies fail to realize is that after 40 years in the business this is the ONLY bad report about our sales/breeding that can be found online. And since it’s nothing but a passel of lies it shows we have a pretty clean record and good customer satisfaction. We’re proud of our record and stand by it.


So the internet shows how people can carry grudges and behave vindictively. It’s amazing the level some people will stoop. When I was an ApHC director two members tried to spoof my identity to send out emails in my name. They were caught when one of them STUPIDLY sent a spoofed email back to me. This same person impersonated an ApHC judge and sent an email around trying to influence an ApHC arbitration matter. She was reported and had a complaint filed against her, but she’s friends with the ApHC staff and CEO so nothing happened. ( I have copies of both of these items) When you work as a director to stop drugging, abuse, genetic defects you piss off the cheats and they spend a lot of time denouncing you, because your moral stance is cutting into their wallet. Another case was a facebook bully named Leslie Sawyer. She got incensed because I refuted her statements about a bit and spent the next several posts calling me the C word. She claims to be an amateur exhibitor, but evidently also judges. Yeah that doesn’t mesh. So after I retired from the ApHC BOD she made a post about how I was kicked off,instead of retired. I didn't even run again. It was an easily refutable lie, a simple call to the ApHC would verify it, but it spread amongst her bully buddies and now I have to refute it to the idiots that are too stupid or lazy to pick up the phone and verify the crap she spread. Leslie finally blocked me when I called her out for her lies on a page she didn’t control, but continues to spread her crap. One day karma will catch up with her.

I read a lot of forums and see a lot of claims about people and unless it’s an outright abuse case ( Cleve Wells, Shirley Roth) I take it with a grain of salt. Because I’ve had the rumor mongering done to me, and I know that the liars and cheats will put way more effort into going after a person than most people will put into defending themselves. You just don’t have the time or energy to devote to the idiots

So for the record, I’m anti-horse drugging, anti -genetic defects, anti-abuse, anti-cheating, anti-bullshit.I also hate nasty bits and the idiots that use them, this sets off a lot of the buckle bunny crowd.
Anyone that knows me knows that these are my positions and I will stand by them no matter what. If a person dissing me is guilty of any of the above, well then we all know what their beef with me is about. So disregard the venom and the lack of ethics from a person that would do any of those things.

So if you’re on a forum, facebook page, yahoo group etc and see a person being dissed, look at the person doing the dissing first. If they are proponents of any of the above, then they are the problem, not the person they are going after. When a person that stands two stallions with genetic defects rushes to bad mouth someone that is against breeding defects forward, well you know who the problem is. When someone that uses abusive bits starts calling a person that explains how the bits works crazy, stupid and insane, well sounds like some crap trainer has an issue with the reality of bit dynamics and how they affect the horse. ANYONE defending a person that drugs or abuses horses is an asshole, I do not care how much the person has won, what the circumstances were, or why it happened. Defending a big name trainer for illegal practices means that you have NO morals and neither of you should be in horses. And anyone defending someone that steals, alters or copies someone’s written works without proper attribution and permission for use is as bad as the thief. Show some respect and human decency and stand up for what is right instead of just siding with a friend that screwed up.

If you are one of the people spreading lies and crap it will come back and bite you in the ass, because the truth will always come out. I got accused of sellng defective kittens by some ignorant gal on a forum. I've never sold a cat in my life, never bred cats and the last kitten born on my farm was 23 years ago in Texas when we rescued an abandoned momma. So now she looks like a complete fool for not checking her sources and making sure of the facts. In fact her stupidity got turned into a hilarious meme that people post when she starts to wind up about stuff. It's a reminder of how stupid people can be.


Just because something is on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true. Do your due diligence and research before buying the hype and lies. And don't follow the pack mentatlity about any sport, person, breed, trainer or tack. You owe it to yourself and your horses to be honest in all your endeavors.

Tracy Meisenbach: Shank shape and action

Shank shape and action

When people look at a curb bit most of the time the first thing to make an impression is the mouth piece, then the shank length. Now, with the influx of specialty bits and disciplines that require a horse to be more upright and slowed down into artificial movement, shanks have developed that no longer work like a standard shank.

The original concept of a curb bit was a simple lever, or pry bar style. You lifted one end up, the mouthpiece was the fulcrum, and the purchase rotated forward. The length of the lever arm determined the leverage. With the mouthpiece as the fulcrum the movement was fluid and directional toward the line of leverage. You could trace it from the top of the poll, through the purchase, mouthpiece, rein ring, up the reins to the hand. There was no loss of energy or force because it’s a direct line.

A pry bar action curb is not dictated by the shape of the shank. As long as the purchase is directly over the cannons and the lower shanks also lines up below the cannons then it doesn’t matter where the shank goes, because the mouthpiece remains the fulcrum. This is why the action of a kimberwicke, grazing bit, straight shank or cavalry shank is basically the same. Pull the rein, the bit rotates, mouth, poll and curb pressure. Of course severity is affected by the length of the shank and the type of mouthpiece, but the action remains the same.

Unfortunately newer shank styles are favoring the crowbar style of shank, which creates an entirely new action, that is higher leverage and much more severe. It’s not just a decorative shank style, it actually changes the dynamics of the bit. The lifter style of bits have crowbar action. Whether long shanked or short shanked they work the same way. With a crowbar style bit the purchase becomes the fulcrum and the mouthpiece is the dropped part of the lever. This increases force tremendously. It’s the difference between trying to pull a nail with a straight bar or with a crowbar. We all know which is better.

Lifter action occurs when the shank of the bit comes in at the cannons or above the cannons. This changes the action. A lifter bit generally has a higher purchase and the shank is curved in such a manner that it drops down into the cannons. The bit hangs down and as the reins are pulled the rotation occurs at the purchase first, then the cannons dig back and slightly up into the mouth. As pressure increases the cannons push into the tongue even harder and move higher in the mouth. It doesn’t matter how tight or loose the curb strap is, this is the action. We tested it with one finger, two fingers and three fingers between the jaw and curbstrap and even though the shank was tethered it did not decrease the action in the mouth, in fact the standard curb length of two fingers created the worst action as it allowed the bit to dig in and wad up the tongue and push it back in the mouth. If the bit has a jointed mouthpiece the pinching action is going to be extreme. The high pressure created, even with a minimal amount of pull, punishes the tongue and down onto the bars. 

On a standard curb you take the height of the purchase, divide it into the total shank length to get your purchase to shank ratio  and then you can calculate the amount of pressure the bit will create in the mouth.  The standard curb bit has a 1½" cheek and a 4½" lower shank, thus producing a 1:3 ratio of cheek to lower shank, a 1:4 ratio of cheek to full shank, thus producing 3 lbs of pressure on the chin groove and 4 lbs of pressure on the horse's mouth for every 1 lb placed on the reins. With a lifter bit you calculate differently. The measuring doesn’t stop at the purchase, it stops at the drop to the mouthpiece. So you go up the shank to the top of the purchase and back down to the drop where the cannons are. You calculate in the purchase measurement and then the entire shank to the drop becomes the total shank measurement. So a lift bit may look like a 7 inch long shank from purchase to rein ring, but when you add in the drop it becomes a 10 inch bit that has that amount of leverage. You use the same principal for measuring how much leverage a crowbar can produce, except instead of pulling up a nail, you’re driving the mouthpiece back into the tongue.

1) Kimberwicke, low port, short shank, low leverage curb

2) Grazing bit, low port, swept shank, medium leverage curb

3) Standard curb shank, high port with barrel roller, high leverage curb

4) Cavalry shank, medium port with tongue relief, long shank, high leverage curb

5) Demi-Lifter, ported chain, long shank, high leverage curb

6) Turbo Lifter, correction port, short shank, medium leverage curb

7) Paso Lifter, medium port with barrel roller, long shank, high leverage curb

8) DM Turbo Lifter, medium port, long shank, high leverage curb.

We also shot an impromptu video to show the action of the lifter bit

Turbo Lifter bit comparison

Analysis; Don't use it.

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Horses: Proper Bits and Bitting techniques

Tracy Meisenbach: A Bit Over Rated

A Bit Over Rated

Bits are the most misunderstood and misused pieces of equipment within the horse industry. People are always looking for the “magic” bit that will make their horse behave, win, go slower, go faster, look happy etc. They ignore the fact that training has to take place before a bit can do any of these things, and the training needed is usually based on everything EXCEPT the bit.

I’ve studied bits all my life, from my first horse in the 1970s to the present it’s been a lifelong journey of horses and the bits that they use. At this stage I have a pretty consistent set of go to bits; a bosal, a full cheek or a loose ring smooth mouth snaffle, a sweetwater mouth medium shank curb, a mullen or low port Pelham, and a short S shanked hackamore. Any horse coming out of my barn can be ridden in these bits and do anything you want to do that involves a horse.

During my journey I have collected bits, some through outright purchase and others came with problem horses I was rehabbing. Most of these bits hang from my tackroom wall, covered in dust, a testament to what is useless, over rated or simply inhumane. A very few I might get out, dust off and use for one particular issue, and once the issue is solved the bit goes right back on the wall. I do have a show spade bit, and I can ride in one and pass a thread/horsehair test, but there really is no need to use it, it accomplishes nothing that I can’t do with another milder bit, and my horse certainly appreciates not having to carry the weight and metal in his mouth.

When people buy a bit for the purpose of CONTROLLING the horse, they are already set up to fail. A bit isn't about control, it’s about communication. Control should be established before you ever get on the horse. Whoa means WHOA. Stand means STAND. Every other cue should be in place before your butt hits the saddle. If you can’t walk, stop, trot, stop, canter, stop, back, reverse, sidepass, turn on the forehand, pivot your horse in hand from the ground, how on earth can you expect to do it from his back? If you let your horse drag you around by the halter, why are you surprised when he drags you around by the bridle? If your horse barges into you on the ground, why are you surprised when he barges over your cues from the saddle?  At the point where you CONTROL the horse in every aspect from the ground, then you are ready to COMMUNICATE from the saddle. Control does not translate as abuse; neither does communication, although both can be used during discipline or reward.

Are you a bit junky? If you've switched bits more than a few times and nothing is working then yes, you’re a junky, because you’re looking for a solution in hand that needs to begin on your feet. If you always go up in severity instead of down, then you’re not only a junky, you’re asking for bigger problems to come along. If you routinely scour the bit sales groups, ebay and craigslist for the magical bit that is going to solve your horse’s problems then you’re a junky and in sore need of some lessons to boot. A bit does NOT train the horse. The horse is trained by communication through the seat, legs, hands and finally the bit. You train the horse's mind, not his mouth. 

So how do we know which bit is the best to use? Simpler is almost always better. We all need to learn to examine a bit forensically and actually look at each component, because in the end each component will affect the overall performance. We ALL need to understand that mild, medium and severe are factors, regardless of how the bit is used. So I'll break down a basic forensic examination:

1) Thin closed twist, very sharp, can cut the tongue, lip and bars. Severe.

2) Open twist, square stock. Square stock is different from regular round twisted wire as it retains the edges of the square. These sharp edges can cut and dig into the tongue. See saw action can literally saw into the tissue. Severe.

3) Wide twist thin square stock. All those thin sharp edges move back and forth across the tongue and lips. Severe.

4) Open twist round wire, abrasive, grooves are wide enough to grab the pebbled surface of the tongue, also the edges of the lip. Any action on the tissue of the bars will be abrasive. Severe.

5) Wide twist thick square stock. This is a slow twist bit that people seem to think is kinder than a regular twisted wire. It's not. This big sharp edges create pressure points as they move across the tongue. Severe.

6) Waterford. Pretty much goes standing link, flat link, ball, flat link, standing link, ball, standing link, flat link, ball, flat link etc. Every one of those balls is a pressure point on the tongue. Yes the bit does form to the horse's mouth, yes the edges are rounded, however this mouth also creates pinch points between each standing and flat link. When it moves side to side it will grab the edges of the tongue and the lips. Severe.

7) Big link flat chain, Mikmar. This bit has GRAB. The flat joint in the middle allows the tongue to get caught and the wide spaces in the links also let in tongue tissue. The side joints at the lips are narrow and when the bit moves side to side they grab the lips and pull them out with the bit. Severe.

8) Thin bike chain. Forms to the mouth, rolls over the tongue like a series of thin edged tissue grabbers. Extremely rough on the edges of the lips and over any tissue that sits over bone. Severe.
9) Open work flat chain. Most flat chain bits are fairly mild, but when they are like this with open links that don't "stack" over the next link they are abrasive and particularly nasty at the edges of the lips and over the bars. Severe.
10) Standing link wide chain. Every other link is a hard pressure point into the tongue, pulling through the lips they create spread and then allow the lip to close over the next link, until pulled back through, catching the edges as the bit moves back and forth. Severe.

None of these mouthpieces is soft, none is appropriate for a green horse. The right set of hands for any of these don't exist. The purpose of these mouthpieces is to create pressure points to make the horse back off the bit an intimidate him into obeying. You aren't training, you are compelling through fear. These mouthpieces are capable of causing nerve damage to the tongue, bars and lips with very little pressure. On direct pull bits the see saw action will cause a lot of abrasion, with curb action you are going to get intense pressure points with the lips being stretched and lifted by the thinner edges, the tongue being pulled back and up. Think it through carefully before you use any of these mouthpieces, because sometimes the results are physically long lasting.

Snaffles

Upper Left: Ported Full Cheek snaffle with copper rollers and flat hinge

Middle Left: French Link Full Cheek snaffle

Lower Left: Half Moon Full Cheek

Upper Right: Ported Ringmaster Snaffle

Middle Right: Regular Dee Ring Snaffle

Lower right: Regular Full Cheek Snaffle

All the bits on the left are medium, the bits on the right are mild. The Ringmaster has a floating port and will adjust to fit a horse's mouth and surprisingly most horses I've used it one really like it.

Examining a direct pull bit:

Is the mouth piece smooth or rough ( rough means wrapped, twisted, slow twist, triangular, corkscrew, chain or basically ANYTHING but round or oval). If the answer is smooth then the mouth piece is probably not severe, if the answer is rough the mouth piece is medium or severe.

Is the mouthpiece jointed, straight or ported?

Straight and smooth means no tongue relief, so it can be harsh, it also means no flexing at the corners of the mouth. Instant grab. So medium.

Mullen means curved to fit the contours of the mouth and the cannons are usually oval not round, so mild.

Straight and rough means no tongue relief, plus abrasion, instant grab. Severe.

Single jointed and smooth means the tongue can be pinched and depending on the thickness of the cannons it can be mild or quite severe. Big fat snaffles are not always better as they encourage lugging and rooting.

Double jointed bits have less pinch, but also more abrasion when the rein drags the bit across the tongue. This see-saw action occurs in EVERY direct pull bit, even a full cheek, and the lips give to the pull and the cannons move from side to side. If the mouthpiece is rough this abrasive action is going to cause pain and head tossing or over flexing.

Chain mouthpieces should never be used with a direct pull bit. Most chain is welded and the knots at the weld point are like little pressure points on the tongue as the bit drags across the mouth.

Twisted wire, slow twist, bike chain, corkscrew are all severe mouthpieces, not matter the thickness. They are abrasive and with see saw action they grab the tongue, dig back into the surface and scrape across the sensitive papillae and shred or damage them. Rough mouthpieces also damage the bars and lips of the mouth. I have rehabbed so many cut tongue horses it is disgraceful, all trained by people that thought a twisted wire mouthpiece was okay. It isn’t, ever. What these mouthpieces indicate is a lack of skill and a lack of anatomical knowledge on the part of the trainer. If a single hair on your tongue would drive you mad imagine what a mouthful of metal does to a horse.

Curb bit with horsehair loops, pull too hard and they break. If you can't ride a curb like this then you don't need to be using shanked bits. (Pixie modeling, photo by Samantha Peterson)

Please don't share to Horse Debate Central, they are too stupid to understand. 

               Now on to shanked bits. Any of the above mouthpieces can be found on a shanked bit, which means that all can increase in severity rapidly. When choosing a bit for your horse understand that bits are levers. They work based on the pressure you supply creating a larger force to the bit. The curb bit consists of a mouthpiece, curb chain or strap, and a shank, with one ring on each purchase arm of the shank, and one ring on the bottom of the lever arm of the shank. Pelham bits add a ring for a snaffle rein, next to the mouthpiece. A curb bit works on several parts of a horse's head and mouth. The cannons acts on the bars, tongue and roof of the mouth. The shanks add leverage and place pressure on the poll via the crownpiece, and to the jaw via the curb chain or strap. A "loose jaw" shank, may act on the sides of the mouth and jaw. A curb bit is a leverage bit, meaning that it multiplies the pressure applied by the rider. Unlike a snaffle bit, which applies direct rein pressure from the rider's hand to the horse's mouth, the curb can amplify rein pressure several times over, depending on the length of the curb's shank. Shank sizes vary from two inches to more than 5 inches. The longer the bit shank, the more powerful its potential effect on the horse. For this reason, overall shank length, from the top of the cheek ring to the bottom of the rein ring, usually cannot exceed 8½ inches for most horse show disciplines.

                      The relation of the upper shank (purchase)—the shank length from the mouthpiece to the cheekpiece rings—and the lower shank or lever arm—the shank length from the mouthpiece to the lowest rein ring, is important in the severity of the bit. The standard curb bit has a 1½" cheek and a 4½" lower shank, thus producing a 1:3 ratio of cheek to lower shank, a 1:4 ratio of cheek to full shank, thus producing 3 lbs of pressure on the chin groove and 4 lbs of pressure on the horse's mouth for every 1 lb placed on the reins. Add in five pounds of rein pressure, the average pull needed to break a cotton thread or three strands of horsehair, and you’ve got 15 pounds on the chin and 20 pounds on the mouth BEFORE you look at mouthpiece severity or adding any training aids. Regardless of the ratio, the longer the shank, the less force is needed on the reins to provide a given amount of pressure on the mouth. So, if one were to apply 1 lb of pressure on the horse's mouth, a 2" shank would need more rein pressure than an 8" shank to provide the same effect.

            ALL bits are levers, even snaffles. There are several different kinds of levers, but all are based on the fact that at some point there is a fulcrum, and in the case of bits and bridles the mouthpiece is the fulcrum except in very special cases. In a class-1 lever, the force you apply is on the opposite side of the fulcrum to the force you produce. A curb bit is an example of a class-1 lever.

A class-2 lever is arranged a slightly different way, with the fulcrum at one end. You apply force at the other end and the force you produce is in the middle (up or out). Snaffles are an example of a class-2 lever. 

Bits can also be pulleys, even something as mild as an o-ring snaffle has a lifting effect at the corners of the mouth. If you have a gag snaffle you have a basic pulley in that pressure applied to the reins lifts the bit up the cheekpieces, applying pressure to the bit, the poll, the lips, tongue and bars. A gag action bit increases the force produced by half. So if you apply 5 pounds of rein pressure to a gag bit you get an extra 10 pounds of force in the horse's mouth added to the existent force/pressure ratio already created by the purchase/shank ratio. The more "pulleys" added to a set up means less pressure needed to produce more force. When you add in draw reins to a gag snaffle you reduce the amount of pressure needed by half, and increase the amount of force produced by another half. 5 pounds of rein pressure with draw reins/gag bit means 15 pounds of force at the fulcrum. 

Adding draw reins to a curb bit means that it requires a 1/4 of the pressure needed to achieve the same force as without the draw reins. So 5 pounds of pressure would translate to 20 pounds of force on the mouthpiece. I'm not a big fan of gimmick items, but I know that draw reins, martingales and tie downs can be used with good results IF used carefully and not as an end all solution. That being said I don't think draw reins or martingales should EVER be used with curb bits as they decrease the amount of pressure needed to provide a lot of force on the mouth. I have seen a lot of train wrecks from horses flipping over when they finally get tired of having their heads yanked in and their mouths abused. And I rarely see long term results. The moment the draw reins or martingales are taken off the horse reverts right back to getting out of frame, because the rider has not corrected the problem with their seat and legs, or the horse simply does not have the conformation to maintain the frame. 

Order of actions 1-2-3-4-5. On combo gags the noseband always engages last.

There is so much discussion about gags and combo bits, especially by the barrel racing crowd, I want to explain how they work here. People get defensive when told that the bit they are using can be harsh. All bits can be used harshly. Some bits are harsh the second they get in a horse's mouth. Regardless of the nature of the bit, each bit should have a mechanical purpose. And the fundamental of ALL horse training is that the horse moves away from pressure, not into it. So be prepared for a "scary" dissertation.

A snaffle is a direct pull bit that is supposed to draw the horse's head back, or to bend it during a turn. It supplies little to no poll pressure.

A curb bit provides leverage on the mouth, which draws the horse's chin in, and on the poll which drops the head down.

A bosal is a direct pull bit that draws the head back or into a turn, much like a snaffle, except the focus point is off the nose instead of the mouth.

A mechanical hackamore works off the nose and chin, again requiring the horse to tuck in, and some have a smidge of poll pressure, some don't.

So these bits DON'T give conflicting cues. The first action of the bit, a jiggle on the reins, is the same as the last action on the bit, a solid pull.

However, gag bits are ALWAYS about conflicting cues. 

          A snaffle gag pulls back and up, which causes poll pressure which requests the horse to lower his head. However his lips are being stretched up, so you're telling him to raise his head. Not only are you asking him to raise his head, but you're telling him that his nose going OUT is also a good idea, because HIS mechanics do not allow for his head to raise without his nose going out. During turns the bit climbs higher on the inside of the horse's face, which is a request to tilt the head OUT, while the poll pressure is requesting the head to tilt down and in.

             A gag curb is even more of a mechanical nightmare for a horse. The curb action WANTS to go in and back, but the gag action wants to go UP first, then in, then back. But the curb chain and poll pressure are telling the horse go IN and DOWN. Being told head UP and head DOWN in the same cue cycle is horrible. Gag curbs also go IN and UP with pressure on the tongue, so the tongue gets wadded up behind the cannons of the bit as the bit climbs. It is unavoidable. The cannons are dug into the tongue and the leverage is pulling the cannons UP so the tongue goes with it. There is a brilliant x-ray of a horse with a curb gag and the tongue is clearly lumped behind it.

           Now throw in a noseband. We're back to the noseband, curbstrap and poll saying DOWN and IN and the gag saying UP and OUT. What we KNOW is that the MOUTHPIECE is ALWAYS going to have the most clout with the horse. So if the gag action says UP and OUT, that's going to be his first reaction. Then the other things same no no, go down and in and now you've got a horse caught in a bear trap with no relief in sight. In most cases he fights his head, raises his neck convexly, hollows his back and does the horrible lofting with his front legs around turns and during stops. This is why most speed event horses are just bat shit crazy in the arena. It's got NOTHING to do with high spirits and everything to do with being told conflicting cues on their head.

            So bit junkies, throw away the crap, gadgets, gizmos and searches for a magical cure all bit. Train your horse from the ground to respect your cues every time and then your efforts in the saddle will be less stressful and more communicative. A bit is not going to solve your long term problems, only clear communication can do that. And cleanse your vocabulary of the phrase “It isn’t the bit, it’s the rider”. No really, sometimes it’s the bit, and most of the time the “magic” bits belong in the trash. 

Copyright July 2014
Tracy Meisenbach
Article and photos/chart cannot be used, shared or published in any form, printed or electronic without author's written permission.

Tracy Meisenbach: Proper leg wrapping. Why is something so easy, so hard?

Leg wrapping is one of the most common forms of leg protection and one of the most misunderstood. The leg from the knee down has no fat, no heavy muscle layer and no articulated bone structure. It moves front to back and cannot safely extend forward unless the elbow and humerus are completely engaged.

The front legs are prone to damage from the rear legs and hoofs. A hard hit by a rear hoof to the pastern, cannon or quarters can permanently injure a horse and remove him from competition. Wraps and boots can help protect from the strikes and also help your horse not hyperextend his tendons past their limit.

A standard leg wrap is made of felted fleece, 4.5 inches wide and 9 feet long. In the old days they had thin ties to keep them on, now they have wide Velcro straps, a vast improvement. To  understand how wrapping affects the leg you first have to look at the anatomy of the leg.

 The deep flexor tendon (red) and the superficial flexor tendon (blue) as well as the sesamoid bone are what the wrap protects. As you can see the deep flexor tendon goes down into the hoof. Injury to this important tendon can completely remove your horse from competition.

The tendons need to be able to move up and down smoothly within the tendon sheaths and to not encounter anything that hinders this smooth movement. If the wrap has one layer tighter than another it can cause the tendon to “hitch” on the edge of the tighter layer and create a bow. This can easily be avoided by making sure the first layer of the wrap against the horse’s skin is one solid smooth piece.

How to create a smooth inner surface? Turn the wrap so the inside of the wrap is facing the leg. The roll should be under the tail. Place the top of the tail against the mid point of the knee and unroll down. It does take some practice to be able to do this smoothly and easily, and a fidgety horse can make it a chore. However, once you are used to it you can do it as fast, or faster, than the old fashioned style. I used to wrap 8 polo ponies all the way around in about 35 minutes.

 Once the tail length is set move your hand down the wrap, keeping it smooth. Bring the roll to just under the curve of the pastern. This smooth layer of wrap will mean that there is no uneven tension down the back of the leg and no ridges that the tendons can hang on. It is imperative to allow free and fluid movement of the leg. So why not do this in the opposite direction, go from the bottom to the top and wrap down? Because the tendon is already stretched just by the leg being straight, like a big rubber band.  When a horse is just standing around his leg is at the mid point of its flexion. When he lifts the leg in it retracts the tendons to their shortest length and when he extends out in full stride the tendons are at their longest length. So you don’t want to push DOWN on an already stretched tendon. This is why wrapping from the top down is such a bad idea, because you are pushing down on a tendon that is already stretched. You want to support the tendon, so the first layer is smooth, then wrap UP, so the tendon is NOT hyperextended before the horse even starts running.

  


Now flip the wrap over so it’s going to unroll the correct way and unroll toward the front of the leg. Always wrap counter clockwise on the left legs and clockwise on the right. This keeps the tendons toward the inside of the leg and aligned within the sheath. Flipping the wrap also creates a triangle of extra padding right at the inside pastern, which is where most of the hard strikes occur

 Wrap around the front and then to the back, putting tension on the wrap as you encircle the leg. Wrap UP, making sure the inner layer stays smooth all the way up the leg.

 Raise the wrap level each time you circle the leg and keep the tension even and smooth.

   




Your last wrap up the leg should be right under the knee capsule, with about two inches of tail sticking up.

   




Fold the tail over and continue wrapping around the leg. This will be where you start to wrap downward

 Wrap over the tail. This keeps the wrap from sliding and provides another layer of protection at the top of the tendons, which is also a common strike zone. Be sure you are pulling the wrap consistently tight, loose wraps can cause more problems than tight wraps as they can slide and wad up at the top of the pastern, or come loose and cause a horse to trip over them

Wrap down, evenly spaced layers.

Go under the pastern and then back up. This creates a nice support layer and prevents a hard grab on the pastern.

Wrap back up the leg. So now we have a smooth layer down the back, a wrapped layer up, a wrapped layer down and now for our last wrapped layer back up.

A good, smooth, evenly spaced wrap job, tail tucked in securely, all the hard hit areas with an extra layer, nothing preventing the tendons from moving freely up and down.

When you end up here you've done the job correctly. The tapes should be flat along the side of the leg, not across the back. The front triangle is in place right under the knee. It takes a lot of practice, but it keeps your horse safe and can prevent a hard hit from damaging your horse’s legs. Practice makes perfect, so practice, practice, practice!









Copyright June 2014
Tracy Meisenbach
Article and photos cannot be used, shared or published in any form, printed or electronic without author's written permission.

Tracy Meisenbach: Buying a dream horse? Or getting taken for a ride?

                               

             You’ve finally decided to buy a horse.  You might be a kid who is horse crazy and finally talked your parents into taking the plunge or you might be an adult who has always dreamed of owning a horse and now you have the time and money to make your dream come true!  In either case there are some guidelines that you need to follow to be sure you get the best possible horse for your riding enjoyment.

The first thing you need to do is assess your needs.  Are you planning on being a pleasure rider or a competitor?  Do you want to ride English, Western or both?  Will you work with a trainer or on your own?  The best advice for a beginner is to start simple and work your way up.

If you plan on pleasure riding, and this is where all riding should start, then a well-trained gelding or mare is your best bet.  Buy a horse with a several years of training on it.  A quiet horse with seasoning is going to get you on the trail sooner and safer than a green horse.  Regardless of whether you ride English or Western a calm horse is going to make the difference between a spook and run or a look and learn.  There is no substitute for actual time under saddle and a green horse simply won’t have the conditioning to deal with a new experiences and an inexperienced rider at the same time.

           If you are an inexperienced rider take some lessons.  Think you can’t afford it?  Well, can you afford the hospital or vet bills and time off from work because of an accident that could have been avoided if you’d had some instruction?  In all likelihood taking lessons will cost less and provide more than a trip to the emergency room.

Now you’re looking for the horse.  Are dreams of a fiery black stallion going through your head as you peruse the ads? Probably. Drop them and face reality. Stallions are not for beginners.  Most boarding stables won’t even allow them.  Their handling issues and stabling requirements are double an average gelding’s.  This is not to say that stallions are vicious troublemakers. Good ones aren’t; I’m rather fond of the three I have.  But a good stallion can become a bad stallion with very little mishandling. Don’t risk it and leave the stallions to the people who have breeding farms and the facilities to keep them.  A nice mare or gelding will be the best riding horse for a beginning rider.

Thinking of buying a cute fuzzy colt and growing up together?  This is another bad idea that can have catastrophic results. The money you spend, raising a colt you can’t ride for several years, is double what you will pay for the average sound trained horse. You’ll spend that amount of money before you even start to train the colt.  Baby horses are not like puppies.  A baby horse will one day be about 1000 pounds and have the ability to kill you with one kick.  Learning as you go with horses is a recipe for disaster. And if you mishandle a horse you can’t just stake him out in the back yard and ignore him, you’ve got to sell him or dispose of him, generally at a substantial financial loss.

What is your purchase plan: Private seller or auction? If you are inexperienced with horses I would avoid auctions. There are too many things that can be wrong with a horse that a beginner is not going to look for.  Some traders are unscrupulous and will sell drugged horses or horses that have a disability masked by drugs or shoeing.  At an auction there is usually no time to get a vet check in and because of the transient nature of auctions it’s hard to trace a horse that is sold as un-registered.  For your first horse it is better to buy an animal you can get a history on, or your enjoyment in your horse can be going, going, gone.

After checking internet ads and newspapers you finally find the ad that interests you, you’ve made a decision and you’re going to see the horse.  Call the owner and get the important details.  Always have a notebook and make some notes on each horse you call about.  If the horse sounds suitable make an appointment and stick to it; the owner has a life outside of selling his horse and he deserves courtesy from you. Do not waste the owner’s time by not showing up or not calling. They are putting things aside to deal with you, be courteous. And don’t be a tire kicker. It is beyond rude. If you can’t afford the horse don’t waste the seller’s time. If you’re “just looking” let them know. Horse farms are busy places and require a lot of effort, taking time out to deal with a potential buyer means other chores get put aside and have to be caught up on later.

The first impression is the strongest and most people fall in love with just one look.  Try not to.  Animals have a way of winning our hearts and big soft-eyed silky-coated geldings really have a lock on it.  When you arrive take note of the surroundings the horse is kept in.  Is it clean and safe? Are there other horses?  Are they well cared for?  Observe the horse.  Is he quiet?  Does he allow his head and feet to be handled?  Is he easy to saddle and bridle?  A major concern for me is to arrive at the seller’s and find the horse already saddled and warmed up.  Sorry, but I’ll come back and look another time or strike it off my list.  I want to see the horse’s manners when he’s fresh and un-worked.  This is how I will be dealing with him at some point every day and I want to know he’s not bad mannered or dead lame without a warm-up.

Now carefully check over the tack.  If the horse is being ridden in a hack-a-gag with a tie-down he’s probably too hot for a trail horse and not quiet enough for pleasure, he will also have major retraining issues.  If he’s in a snaffle or plain curb then it’s a good bet he’s a quiet horse.  Make sure the equipment is safe for use, I’ve seen some bridles that were held together with string and a promise, if it looks like it might break don't get on or request they supply something safer.

Ask the owner to ride the horse first.  Why?  Because you want to observe the horse in his most comfortable situation.  If he’s tossing his head and fidgeting while the owner mounts then you’ve got re-training ahead.  Is the horse quiet when mounted? Does he move off freely with no fuss and is he responsive to cues?  Are his gaits even?  Observe the horse moving at all three gaits in each direction.  Make note of anything that doesn’t look right or you feel should be addressed.  If the owner doesn’t have a suitable answer then you need to make note of that too.

Ride the horse yourself (Provided he didn’t buck the owner off).  Does he respond to leg and rein cues?  The owner may tell you the horse uses different cues from what you’ve been taught, and this is ok as long as the horse listens to your efforts to interpret his normal cues. (Some trainers use their own cue system, if the horse is a candidate for purchase ask them to elaborate on it)  Does the horse feel smooth with no bobbing or hesitation?  Turn a few tight circles in each direction.  Are there any hitches in his gait?  Does he move out confidently with no lugging on the reins or head tossing?  If the horse is trained for a specific discipline put him through his paces.  Run a barrel pattern or take a few jumps.  Is he riled up afterwards and hard to control?  Or does he calm down as soon as the exercise is over and remain attentive?

After you ride then offer to unsaddle the horse and put him away.  Does he stand quietly while being un-tacked?  Is he cinchy or does he display aggressive behavior such as ear pinning or lip curling?  At this point I usually ask to see the horse load if the owner has a trailer handy.  While a bad loader can be corrected I want to know it beforehand.  Observe the horse and owner carefully and record your observations.  Watch the horse as he is returned to his stable or pasture.  Can you lead him to his pen on loose lead or does he try to drag you back to the barn?  How does he react when first turned loose?

Make notes on all you have observed and if you feel the horse is a good prospect make a second appointment to see him, this time with your trainer or another trusted horse expert.  There is a reason to take the expert only once. You need to know how you feel about the horse.  It’s your money paying for him. I’ve seen too many people that get talked into too much horse by an enthusiastic trainer.  You don’t need a horse that is going to require a lot of refitting before you can even ride it.  If it’s too much horse for you admit it and move on.  Taking the expert the second time lets you get a good outsider opinion and also lets you watch a qualified person you know handle the horse.  Observe the horse carefully again. Does he behave the same as he did the first time?  Consistency is a big factor in enjoying your horse and if the horse seems to change from day to day you’re not going to enjoy him nearly as much.

If the horse is supposed to be registered ask to see the breed association’s papers.  Vague promises about having to dig them up won’t do, make it plain that papers must be produced before money changes hands.  Once you see the papers check the description of the horse against the actual horse, hopefully it will match.  Also check to see that the listed owner is the person you are buying the horse from.  If not make sure there is a transfer giving ownership to that person and a blank transfer to sell it to you.  Trying to sort out a paper trail on a horse is a frustrating and time-consuming task.  Avoid it if possible.

            Now is the time to decide whether you want the horse or not.  Two visits may not seem like enough, but face reality and understand that others are probably looking at the horse too. After three visits most sellers are going to get pretty fed up if you don’t make a commitment.  Prior to the vet check most sellers require a deposit.  Depending on the price a few hundred dollars usually works.  Pay by check and write on it that acceptance of payment guarantees an established deposit for {description of horse}.  If cash is required get a signed receipt that also includes the description of the horse and the notation that the deposit is pending a sound vet check.

If, after all the riding and trials are through, you think the horse will suit you then set up a vet check.  Be sure the vet is not the same one the owner uses and that it is a vet you trust.  If the owner refuses to allow a vet check walk away and never look back.  However, this is unlikely, since the owner should want to know if anything is wrong with the horse and it’s your money paying for the vet check.  Most vets will give you a thorough rundown of the horse’s pluses and minuses.  Watch how the horse reacts to the vet and again look for consistency in his behavior. Request shot records and proof of a negative Coggins test. Some states now require a Coggins test every time the horse changes ownership so know your state laws regarding Equine Infectious Anemia.  If the current Coggins is over 6 months old request a new one.  While a year is standard for most states, a year is also a long time and the horse may have been in contact with a carrier in that time.  Play it safe and get a new Coggins.  Also ask about the horse’s de-worming program and any other medical care he has had.  Getting it all out in the open now can save you a great deal of heartache later.

In this day and age it is imperative you ask about genetic testing for any horse you look to purchase. The stock horse breeds carry HYPP ( from the Impressive lines) PSSM 1, HERDA, GBED and MH. Ask if the horse is tested or comes from tested parents. A reputable breeder will test and tell you the results. If the horse is positive walk away. Do not buy a positive horse. The care and upkeep they require can mount to thousands of dollars a year if they are symptomatic. Don’t let someone tell you they can be easily managed, that is only in the mildest cases, and a horse can go from asymptomatic to chronically affected overnight. Don’t think it doesn’t matter if you are buying a gelding, they can have symptoms just as bad as breeding stock. Ask to see the actual lab copies of the tests. And make those results a part of the bill of sale, so later on if the horse does have issues and you retest and find he has the defect you have grounds for fraud.

Now the horse has passed the handling, riding and vet check.  His papers are in order and his health is fine.  What next?  You need a place to keep him.  Hopefully you have a place picked out to board him or a pasture to keep him in at your place.  He needs a halter and lead, bridle and saddle, a good pad and various grooming tools.  Line up a vet and a farrier and make contact with your local feed store.  Then it’s read and listen to every tidbit you can.  Save the good and discard the bad.  Once you get the horse home acclimate him for several days before going on any long distant rides and then get him into a routine.  That’s when the fun starts.

(Note: While helmet laws are not in effect in all states and liability issues differ from state to state, I recommend wearing a helmet whenever trying out a new horse.  Riding an unknown horse, whatever your skill level, is a dangerous undertaking, so use caution.)

Tracy Meisenbach
Copyright 1997

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Do not share, republish or post with written permission