Balanced Bits

   A member in a social media group asked some questions about bits advertised as being “balanced”.

He stated that in the advertisements the bit was balanced as it was resting on a pedestal. His first question was, “How does that relate to being in a horse’s mouth?”  His second question was, “Would all the silver decorations contribute to balancing or more for showmanship?”

   My knowledge of bits in general is limited. My mentor, Joseph Bruce, had a great knowledge of bits, but I am sorry to say that he has crossed the great divide. Therefore I will share what little knowledge I have of bits concerning their balance. Whatever information I get right concerning the balance of bits is due to the knowledge of Joseph Bruce. Whatever information I get wrong is due to my ignorance.

   There are different ways to describe the balance of a bit as well as what is a “well-balanced” bit. In the following explanations I am referring to a bit without the reins or rein chains attached. The first I would like to discuss is the lateral balance, parallel to the canon (bar of the mouth). All bits (with a solid canon) if resting upon a single point at the lateral center of the canon should balance laterally. The bit should not lean to the left or to the right. If the bit leans to one side, it will at all times be giving a signal or pressure, or a false signal to one side of the mouth more than the other.  A hard mouth horse may ignore this imbalance. Depending on the degree of imbalance, a light or sensitive mouthed horse may have a negative reaction to the imbalance. Either way, the lateral balance definitely speaks of the quality of the craftsmanship of the bit.

   The second way in which a bit balances is longitudinally (front to back). This balance is determined by several factors. First is cheek design which includes the ratio of the bit (the amount of cheek above the canon verses the amount cheek below the canon).  A common ratio is 2 to 1, with 2 & 1/2 inches above the canon and 5 inches below the canon. The second factor is the size or height of the mouth piece, such as a half breed mouth verses a spade mouth. The third is whether the bit has slobber chains verses a slobber bar. In summation, longitudinal balance is determined by how much metal is above the canon verses how much metal is below the canon.  When a bit is displayed resting upon its canon, it will assume its natural or neutral longitudinal balance. The bit will at all times want to return to this neutral balance unless acted upon by other forces.

   A bit balances laterally and longitudinally. People will also use the term “well-balanced” bit. I am not sure what a “well-balanced bit” is. There are bits whose neutral balance matches the conformation of an individuals’ horse (the longitudinal angle of the horse’s head at rest). There are also bits that are stable and want to remain in their neutral balance due to their design. There are bits that are unstable and tend to sway to and frow through their neutral balance due to their design. The Santa Barbara cheek is an example of a more stable bit due to the distribution of the weight below the canon. The Las Cruces cheek is an example of a less stable cheek. Las Cruces bits are usually built with sway chains to reduce the sway of the bit as well as to help in preventing lipping of the bit. Other factors affecting the stability of a bit is the amount of metal behind the canon verses the amount of metal in front of the canon, this is determined by cheek design as well as whether the canon is forward hung or center hung, a forward hung canon tends to be more stable than a center hung canon. Another factor affecting stability is the height and design of the mouthpiece. A tall mouthpiece such as the spade is easier for a horse to hold on to than a low mouthpiece, thus the bit with a spade mouthpiece tends to be more stable.

   Now I will address his second question, “Would all the silver decorations contribute to balancing or more for showmanship?”  The silver inlays or overlays would not drastically affect the balance of the bit as long as they are distributed over the entire cheek, both above and below the canon. Again the affect to the balance of bit by adding silver will be determined by the cheek design of the bit.  The application of dots to the cheek, especially with the Santa Barbara cheek, will have an affect on the neutral balance of the bit. So therefore, some of the silver is there for showmanship while some silver is added to produce a desired balance of the bit.

   The thing to keep in mind is that the balance of a bit is determined by weight distribution, above and below the canon, in front of and behind the canon, as well as laterally.

   Two factors which affect the balance of a “bit in use” are the weight of the rein chains and the weight of the reins.

    I hope that my explanation of bit balance helps someone.

Dennis Zeringue

September 8, 2018

   There is a lot of information out there on how to handle and train horses. A lot of it is bad and will get you or your horse hurt, maybe both of you. I have often seen gunsels take the words of good men and twist them around, in order to justify the stupid things that the gunsels are doing with a horse. I guess that’s the danger of offering advice to the public.

   I would like to offer this simple advice to always keep in mind. When it comes to horses, be careful what you do, and why you do it.

Dennis Zeringue

July 11, 2016

How Modern Times Have Affected Horses and Horsemanship

   One of the root causes of problems between horses and people, as well as between cattle and people, is the inundation of modern devices that have enveloped our lives. People load their horses into trailers, jump into their pickup then go flying down the road like a bat out of hell endangering their own lives as well as the lives of others on the road. At the same time they are in constant contact with individuals through phone calls and social media by way of their cell phones which are always in hand. Due to modern technologies we are living in a world of instant gratification. The telephone used to be attached to the wall, now it seems to be attached to the hand. Emails have replaced hand written letters. Hell, texting has replaced emails. Warehouses and storerooms have been replaced by overnight shipping. I’m not sure how this has helped us because now when you go to a store, they have nothing in stock. “But they can get it in the next day.” All you have to do is waste another day driving into town, of course now days you can drive twenty miles to town in twenty minutes. At one time the twenty miles into town was a day’s travel. There is a constant competition through the use of technologies to do everything faster, in the name of “time saving”. All of this time saving technology only means that we cram more activities into each day. We spend less leisure time now than we did fifty years ago. Then the idiots who are selling you this technology call it “progress”. The problem is that this desire for speed infiltrates our mentality. Everything must be done as fast as possible. Now that describes the life of the modern human. Now let’s describe the life of the modern-day horse.

   The life of the modern day horse is no different than it was fifty years ago. In fact, the horse hasn’t changed in over a thousand years. Now changes in breed types resulting in changes in conformation has not “changed” the horse. He is still the same animal that he has always been. Recently a young man tried to inform me that the “modern horse” is different than the horse of a hundred years ago. He said that the horses of today mature faster and they can be started at a younger age. Therefore it is safe to start horses at two years of age. I say, “What a load of idiotic nonsense”. The only difference between the horse of today and the horse of hundred years ago is the way in which they are cared for. Today most horses are fed grain and hay, as well as wormed regularly. Even horses out on pasture are fed hay during the winter. The horse of a hundred years ago grew up on the range.  Working horses got some grain and hay, but the average ranch horse grew up on the range and had to make do with what nature provided for him. The important thing to keep in mind is that even though the horse of today grows faster than his ancestor, he still doesn’t age any faster. It takes the same amount of time for him to mature. I have experienced among the average horse person of today the practice of not buying a horse over the age of fifteen because “the horse is old and will soon be cripple”. With normal care, a horse can do regular ranch work well into their twenties. If a horse goes cripple before he is twenty years old, excepting the case of an accident or abuse, it is normally due to starting the horse at too young of an age. This is the result of starting horses at two years of age. The injuries actually happen while the horse is being trained at the age of two. The evidence or the long term effect of the injury is not seen until a later age. Anyone who has some age on them will understand this. You injured your knee in high school, but it doesn’t give you any trouble until you are past the age of forty. You didn’t injure yourself at forty, you injured yourself at sixteen. The same applies to horses. Horses do not mature until they are six years old, regardless of how big they have grown from being fed a bunch of grain. Horses under the age of six should not be worked hard nor ridden in rodeo competitions and horse shows. If you wait until your horse matures, he will give you twenty plus years of soundness.

   I discussed how “speed greed” (the desire for everything to be done with great speed, regardless of the consequences) negatively effects the physiology of the horse. Now I would like to cover how the “speed greed” mentality causes a “disconnect” between the horse and the human. Most of the modern humans are living their life at break neck speed in order to see just how many material goods they can acquire or to see how much they can accomplish in their lifetime. Sometimes they try to do both. As though a wall full of certificates, plaques, and trophies is going to improve the quality or increase the length of their life. The people who are living this lifestyle develop a mentality that more, and faster, is always better. On the other end of the spectrum is the horse. The goals, of a horse, are to drink when he is thirsty, eat when he is hungry, and stay safe so he can live to watch the sun come up tomorrow. Horses love to sleep in the shade until it’s time to eat or drink. Horses do enjoy running and playing. They enjoy working cattle. But, these are not goals, they are activities. If you were to watch a horse in his natural state, when not affected by an outside source, he will travel at a walk. He has no time schedule, no appointments to keep. These differences between the human’s and the horse’s mentalities cause the “disconnect”. When the human with “speed greed” interacts with the horse, the two run into a conflict of interest. When a person who just stepped out of a vehicle which was traveling at seventy miles an hour gets on a horse, whose nature is to travel at four miles an hour, there is going to be conflict, unless one of the two changes his mentality. I’ll let you know right now, it’s not going to be the horse.

   The same conflict occurs between humans and cattle. The nature of the cow is the similar to the horse. Cattle want to travel at a walk. When humans force cattle to travel faster than a walk is when things fall apart. When cattle trail to water they travel in single file walking one behind the other. This is how cattle should be handled. They should be trailed, not pushed. This is why cowboys still use horses to trail cattle. The horse and the cattle both want to travel at a walk. This is also why one cowboy can handle a large number of cattle without chaos. A cowboy lives with the horses and cattle. He understands their mentality. The cowboy lives in the same environment as the horses and cattle and adapts their rhythm.

   The average horse owner may feel that there is a “disconnect” between themselves and their horse, but are truly unaware what’s causing it. To eliminate this disconnect, you need to, in a manner of speaking, detox. You need to decontaminate yourself of the “speed greed”. I suggest you spend time just sitting around your horse before you ride him. Turn off your cell phone. If you find yourself repeatedly looking at your watch, take off your watch. Just sit there, doing nothing, until you slow down and acquire the life rhythm of your horse. If you don’t have time to do this, then you probably don’t have time for a horse. My closing thought is this: If each time a horse owner rode their horse, they would have to first walk five miles before they rode, then they would develop a better understanding of the mentality of their horse.     

Best wishes.

Dennis Zeringue

December 26, 2015

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