Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Gag
Today we have our weekly visit into the horrors of the horse world. This bit is advertised as a TRAINING bit for a TWH. Can you imagine? it is a gag bit with no real limit on the amount of sliding action of the shanks and a nice big chain for the mouthpiece. Seeing crap like this just makes me want to scream and bang my head on the wall. The shanks on this thing are over 10" long. Why the hell do you need something like this? Walking horses are saints to tolerate this crap.
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Ugh... just one look at this and my stomach cringed. I can't imagine the pain this bit would cause! Its like a torture device from the movie "Saw" and the horse is the unlucky victim!
ReplyDeleteThat makes MY mouth hurt!
ReplyDeleteDoes the owner wear skin-tight black leather and carry a whip and handcuffs when working their horse with this thing?
ReplyDeleteI really think gaited horses are saints to allow this crap. I almost wish they weren't. I also have to look back at the kind of people who originally bred gaited horses in the south and remember that if they treated people that bad can you even imagine what the horses delt with?
ReplyDeleteLooks like bad industrial sculpture to me. I see that thing and nowhere in my brain is the image or the word horse conjured. The things people are willing to do disturb me.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit, Batman. I think this one is definitely one of the worst ones I've seen. You'd have to be the biggest piece of shit in the world to put that in a horse's mouth.
ReplyDeleteHoly Shit!
ReplyDeleteHoly.
F%CKING.
SHIT!
People who buy these, let alone use them, have an obvious, blatent disregard for their horse(s). They need to excuse themselves from the planet.
There are LOTS of ignorant (not necessarily stupid) people out there who truely don't know any better. I was riding with a family I know who bought their daughter a new barrel horse. They were told to get the bit the horse was being ridden in with her. The poor thing was being ridden in a draw gag with a thin snaffle mouth piece(not wire thank God)with a very thin wire over the crown. The poor horse rode the whole day with her mouth gaping. I sent them a copy of the emails you published with the young girl who initially thought her horse needed a "stronger" bit and in the end was riding her horse bridleless. Hopefully they'll learn. I wanted to cry watching that horse suffering all day.
ReplyDeletehorses should NEVER have to put up with crap in their mouth such as this.....
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ReplyDeleteHere's my $2 worth, as a TWH owner, instructor, gaited horse person....
ReplyDeleteThose kinds of shanks are WRONG. They are used for "headset," which TWH "trainers" know nothing about.
BUT, I will be really, really, REALLY honest here. A chain mouth is actually not painful if the chains are linked so they are flat and do not pinch the tongue and the links are 1/2" or bigger. I was VERY skeptical of how this could cause pain in the horse's mouth, but then I actually put one on the underside of my arm (where the skin is sensitive) and pulled. It is not painful, and actually releases the tongue and the bars of the mouth. I rode a 3-yo mare in it who has only been ridden in a snaffle. But honestly, I don't think it made too much of a difference. She did reach for the bit more and had a quieter mouth, so we now know that the snaffle may not be the right choice for her. We are going to use a broken mouthpiece snaffle instead.
This bit pictured does not have the chains linked so they lay flat, so they will pinch the tongue and cause pain. Plus, a chain mouth that is smaller than 1/2" can cause pain, as can the oh-so-classy "mule mouth" bit, which is a bicycle chain that pinches the tongue constantly. (At least, that's what I hear gaited horse people call that kind of bit--not sure what the true name is.)
But, for the record, a chain mouth is still a gimmick, and I'll stick with my snaffle, broken mouthpiece snaffle, or bitless bridle, thank you very much.
BTW, I distinguish between trainers and "trainers." "Trainers" are those who rely on gadgets and gimmicks to ride their horses--therefore they are not real trainers and are hypothetical, and therefore deserve quotes.
Sorry for the multiple deletes--I wanted to rewrite my post and put everything together. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine why a horse would need a bit with shanks that long... or why a horse would get to this point without being made into a sandwich, honestly.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep my French link, thank you very much.
PRS - not to be rude, just agreeing to disagree :]
ReplyDeleteWe ride all our barrel horses in draw gags at home. I tune my barrel horse up in a smooth snaffle and martingale, and ride him everyday on trails, and what not in a draw. They keep our horses nice supple and soft and create lots of bend. Its actually very light compared to our running bits
http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/cat/3447/display/5154135
ReplyDeleteI came across this just now. if you think those TWHs are saints for allowing stuff like the bit posted, check out that link. I can't really tell how many bits are in this horse's mouth.
also as a comment for this post, I don't think the TWHs are saints. I think they're just too tired and worn out from all of the soring! I'm sure, if they could, they'd kick their owners right in the kahonies.
ReplyDeleteMonday,
ReplyDeleteActually, TWHs are bred for a "saintly" temperament so they will put up with all the soring and abuse they get. Horses that resist are considered "duds" and are sent to auction as "trail horses." It's very upsetting, that's for sure.
As for the photo you posted, I see that that horse is wearing an overcheck bridle, which is the bit that is connected to the piece that goes over his face. This is to keep the horse from lowering his head and trying to buck. Which of course I don't agree with--I've ridden horses with overchecks on and all it does is piss them off. As for the cables and stuff...who the F knows.