Van Hargis on the Snaffle Bit

Master Horseman and clinician from Texas, Mr. Van Hargis.

What kind of bit do you like to use, Van?

"Well, to me, I'm looking for something that's going to be extremely simple. I start all of my coats off. The first rides are usually with a halter and a lead rope and then I'll graduate to what I call a glorified loping hackamore, which is just a real simple one step above a halter. But the first bit I put in the horse's mouth is just a very simple smooth mouth snaffle. It's an offset D-ring snaffle. Well, I've got nothing against an O-ring snaffle. Almost every bit we ride a horse with outside of a snaffle is going to have some sort of straight edge on it on the corners of the horse's mouth. So if that's the case, I'm going to go with a mild bit of possibly cans that's got a straight edge on the side. There's probably not a better one out there that prepares my horse for the next bit, the transition bit that I would go to next. So what I tell folks to look for is this simplicity. Look for something very simple. Things that we know already work. Number one, smooth. I want smooth mouth because I don't want to flick more discomfort to a horse and this is what I absolutely have to. So I like a smooth mouth. First type of metal such as sweet iron seems to be very, very simple to a horse. It promotes salivation and it's porous enough that salivation isn't wasted, I guess you can say, for like a better turn. So I'll also look for enough smooth mouth snaffle that's with sweet iron metals. For my laziness aspect of it, I like for the cheap pieces to be stainless steel. And the reason I do is if they're quick and easy to clean, maintain a certain high appeal. And there's other bits out there that are pretty buggo that are stainless steel is just easiest and the quickest to keep clean. I like something like that. Again, just trying to keep my world simple as I possibly can for both of me and my horse."

Master Horseman and clinician Van Hargis.