Pressure Points to Understand When Choosing a Bit

stacey |
When choosing a new bit for your horse it is important to think about how the bit will work on your horse. In general, a bit works by exerting pressure on the horse and the horse learns to move away from that pressure. There are seven different pressure points that a bit can affect. Some bits work off on many pressure points at once, while others work on fewer. Changing the way pressure is exerted can change the response of the horse quite a bit, so understanding the different pressure points is essential. To get you started, here's a breakdown of the different pressure points and how bits affect them.
Inside the horse's mouth there are three pressure points. RIght now a bunch of you may be doing the math and shaking your head. Three? That leaves 4 that aren't even in the horse's mouth? Yep. There are four areas outside the horses mouth that are also affect by bits. On the inside you will find the bars, tongue, and palate. Outside there is the cheek, chin, poll, and nose.
The bars is one of the most commonly thought of pressure points. This is the interdential space between a horse's molars and incisors on his bottom jaw. It is a hard but flesh covered ridge. Bits sit in this gap between the horse's teeth. Almost all bits will work on the bars in some way (with the exclusion of hackamores). The thinner a mouthpiece is, the more pressure is exerted per surface area. A thicker bit is therefore more gentle than a thin one. Bits like twisted wire have a few small pressure points on the crowns of the bars increasing the pressure points even more. Sawing action (pulling alternately first with one hand and then the other causing the bit to slide back and forth in the horse's mouth) will cause the pressure points to move and dig in, further increasing the pressure. Any shank bit adds leverage to the equation as well and the leverage will increase the pressure of an bit.
Your horse's tongue is another common pressure point. Some bits such as dog bones or bits with crickets are designed specifically to put pressure on the tongue. Crickets (or rollers) on the bit also allow a horse to play with the moving part. This can help soothe a nervous or mouthy horse. Ported bits will allow room for the tongue and specifically reduce pressure, this is called tongue relief. A ported bit with a narrow or shallow port does not offer as much tongue relief as a wide or taller port. Shanks will again add leverage multiplying the pressure you exert so that your horse feels more pressure than you feel that you are applying.
Palate pressure is felt in the top or roof of your horse's mouth. Ported bits will lay on the horse's tongue at rest, but when pressure is applied to the shank the mouthpiece will rotate causing the port to contact the top of the mouth. A taller port can exert more pressure on the palate compared to the pressure on the bars because of the leverage involved, but it actually contacts the roof of the horse's mouth further back. Therefor a taller port does not always mean more pressure, even though it can. Higher port bits are designed to be ridden on a loose rein with little direct contact and it is important not to use them until you and your horse are prepared for them. Port bits should always be used with a properly adjusted curb strap to limit the amount the bit can rotate, thus preventing damage to the horse's mouth.
Speaking of curbs, they work on our next pressure point - the chin. When the shank of a bit rotates the bit connection moves up tightening the curb and applying pressure under the horse's jaw on his chin. Most curbs are either chains or straps, though some are other materials. The theory here is the same as the pressure points on a snaffle bit. The more contact with the horse chin, the milder the curb. A wide leather curb is on the mildest end of the spectrum and it moves up to the thin chains with small links. The wider the chain and the more links in it, the milder it will be. Pressure to the chin is caused by the rotation of a shank bit, so you only have chin or curb pressure with those types of bits. Curb straps are often used with a snaffle bit to keep the rings down alongside the horse's face to prevent them from pulling through the mouth, but they are not actually putting pressure on the chin.
The rotation of the bit also causes the bridle to tighten down over the horse's poll, or behind his ears. A bit with a longer purchase (the area from the mouthpiece to the bit connection ring) will cause a little more pressure at the poll. Some types of bits have what is called gag action and work much more off the poll than others. Gag bits can be shanked or draw types. With a draw gag the specially designed headstall goes through the bit and connects to the rein. When you pull on the reins, the crown piece tightens down on the poll and the bit tightens up. A shank gag bit has a limited amount of travel, there is an amount of gag action (with the poll tightening and the mouth moving up) but there is a limited amount of travel. When the mouthpiece reaches the end of the travel there will not be any more tightening and the shank will then rotate and work like a normal shank.
Most bits move from side to side in the horse's mouth putting pressure on the horse's cheeks and lips. This pressure is most apparent when you ride direct reined with two hands rather than neck reining. Cheek pressure is more thought of in snaffle bits for that reason. In a snaffle if you pull on the right rein, the but will slide to the right and your horse will feel pressure on the left cheek. A straight edge to the back of your snaffle makes contact with a larger area on the horse's cheek, suck as a full cheek or dee ring. This usually gives a clearer signal to the horse. The horse also feels pressure at the corners of the lips. A smaller diameter mouthpiece exerts more pressure. Twisted wire or chain mouths are more abrasive than smooth. This pressure is felt more on the side of the pull.
Hackamore and combination bits also work on the horse's nose. Wider nosebands are milder, thinner ones have more bite. Chain or rope noses have small pressure points at the chain links or rope crowns and therefore give a stronger signal to the horse. The length of the shank gives leverage so the longer shanked a hackamore or combination bit is the more the pressure you apply to the reins is magnified into the pressure the horse feels. This can be a wonderful alternative for horse's that have damaged mouths or are extremely sensitive. Combination bits have both a noseband and a mouthpiece. The pressure to the noseband helps reduce the pressure in the horse's mouth. Some combination bits are also designed to allow the noseband to tighten, further shifting the pressure balance to the nose and away from the mouth.