@chedog08 A properly trained horse actually does like a spade in its mouth... anyone who understands the process of training a bridle horse and who has the commitment and knowledge to do it will have a horse that is at the pinnacle of training. Don't take my word for it though... just learn about the process so you can understand why these bits have developed this way and what kind of people advocate and use them. They are at the highest level of horsemanship.
If someone is doing it right, they've spend about 6 years training the horse, from a snaffle, to a bosal, to a two rein set-up (so they can use the bosal if they need to pull) before they will introduce this bit.The mouthpiece spreads the contact area over the horse's mouth so that his cues can now come from the weight and movement of a loose rein. A rider who has invested the time to train his horse to this point wouldn't dream of using it in a way that would ever hurt or scare him.
@1overthehillsfaraway The purpose is irrelevant, as the bit is far more severe in that it can cause far more pain far more easily than a snaffle for example. I get that the point of the bit is that with the slightest pressure or movement of the reins there is a very clear signal, but it's also completely unnecessary. The slightest overexertion of pressure will cause pain, and the horse has no choice but to follow the feel. With sufficient training, no horse needs a bit.
@1overthehillsfaraway Well, thing is this.. far better horseman than you graduate there horse to spade bits. I ride my horse in a hackamore now. She has never had a bit in her mouth. I'll got to two rein though, eventually, and then a spade bit. It is a badge of honor for a properly trained horse to wear a spade bit. People who have no understanding of what they are talking refer to it as being severe. Show me once instance in which you have seen a horse hurt by a spade bit
If a horse is well trained the bit might even be unnecessary. If you travel around the world you will see bits made of wood, leather, rope (under or over the tongue) and of course metal. 2 of mine go bitless and they do what the others do. I did away with the bits when I saw that those 2 were not at all happy with them.To be honest sometimes I think I don't really need bits, but use them cos I know the horses will listen faster and better with them,but why? Like it or not back to my first point.
The spade bit should not be used on a horse. It gives conflicting signal to the horse. The leverage of the curb makes the horse lower its head to relieve the pressure of the curb and bit on it's lower jaw. The spades action on the roof of the horses mouth makes the horse raise it's head to relieve the pressure. If you have both on the same bit it is nothing more than a insturment of torture. It is a lose lose situation for the horse.
Obviously you've NEVER ridden a bridle horse...one truly "in the bridle"...The Vaquero horseman and the horseman of the Californios would have a good laugh at your expense...horses in the spade react to the slightest of pressure...the slightest...it takes YEARS to make a bridle horse, YEARS.....get a little knowledge would you....troll on over to the Californios website.....or Martin Blacks website or Buck Branaman's websit or Ray Hunts...
@fluffythekillerbird I apologize if this offends you but almost everything you said here is wrong.....it is not a leverage bit it is a signal bit.....
@fluffythekillerbird Your really have no idea of what your talking about...your just flapping your lips with nothing meaningful coming out. The proof in what I am saying is that some of the best horsemanship ever displayed where horse and rider are one is a result of training a to be a bridle horse. Torture? You are just another ill informed lip flapper. That is an insult and clearly shows your lack of understanding and stupidity. Good luck with that...
I used to think a spade was the worst thing ever, basically a land mine in a horses mouth, when you realise how it works and that they are not for beginner horses/horsemen and that a bridle horse is a fine piece of horsemans art, one can really admire the great bridle horses and the fine horsemen that develop them!
Many years ago I felt that spade bits were very harsh. I called them can openers at the time. I have since educated myself on how they are used, the LONG process of bosal to two-rein to straight up in the bridle. A spade bit is not used like the grazer bits we see. A spade is NOT a leverage bit, it is a signal bit. Experienced riders only!
why would someone need to pull a horse that hard? i can use my ring fingers to pull the reins and control my horse. i dont use any bit'. my horse knows what i want him to do by my legs and voice.
@Weaponsmaster8595 Funny how people just automatically think a spade bit is nasty and harsh, and I admit before I actually learned what they were about I probably would have thought the same. But then I learned how to bridle train a horse to a spade bit and realised that they are as about as gentle a thing you can do with a horse and still actually be doing something with horse.
@thecowgirlandherhors Why? are you afraid that if you use a bit like this you might NEVER put any DIRECT PREASURRE on your horses mouth? Are you afraid if you use a bit like this you might NEVER harden your horses mouth? Are you afraid that you may never have to use anything other than a slight wrist movement to gently whisper to your horse what you want?
I learned to bridle horses from a friend of mine anyway he was telling me when I was a kid about how the californios had their origins in Spanish horsemanship, and they learned it from the moors, and the moors were Arabs who went to north Africa and conquered the Spanish. Well now I study anthropology and went and spent some time with Bedouin in Jordan they couldnt believe how I could ride a horse I couldnt believe that the bit they used was just like a miniature spade bit without the braces
would you like that in your mouth?
chedog08 2 weeks ago
@chedog08 A properly trained horse actually does like a spade in its mouth... anyone who understands the process of training a bridle horse and who has the commitment and knowledge to do it will have a horse that is at the pinnacle of training. Don't take my word for it though... just learn about the process so you can understand why these bits have developed this way and what kind of people advocate and use them. They are at the highest level of horsemanship.
1overthehillsfaraway 2 weeks ago
If someone is doing it right, they've spend about 6 years training the horse, from a snaffle, to a bosal, to a two rein set-up (so they can use the bosal if they need to pull) before they will introduce this bit.The mouthpiece spreads the contact area over the horse's mouth so that his cues can now come from the weight and movement of a loose rein. A rider who has invested the time to train his horse to this point wouldn't dream of using it in a way that would ever hurt or scare him.
highvalley77 2 months ago 4
Yikes, why would you ever put something like this in a horse's mouth? I've really never seen the reason for any bit more sever than a snaffle...
xxibitsuxx 2 months ago
@xxibitsuxx You need more learning about horsemanship if you think the purpose of this bit is to severe... it is not that at all!
1overthehillsfaraway 2 weeks ago
@1overthehillsfaraway The purpose is irrelevant, as the bit is far more severe in that it can cause far more pain far more easily than a snaffle for example. I get that the point of the bit is that with the slightest pressure or movement of the reins there is a very clear signal, but it's also completely unnecessary. The slightest overexertion of pressure will cause pain, and the horse has no choice but to follow the feel. With sufficient training, no horse needs a bit.
xxibitsuxx 2 weeks ago
@1overthehillsfaraway Well, thing is this.. far better horseman than you graduate there horse to spade bits. I ride my horse in a hackamore now. She has never had a bit in her mouth. I'll got to two rein though, eventually, and then a spade bit. It is a badge of honor for a properly trained horse to wear a spade bit. People who have no understanding of what they are talking refer to it as being severe. Show me once instance in which you have seen a horse hurt by a spade bit
1overthehillsfaraway 2 weeks ago
If a horse is well trained the bit might even be unnecessary. If you travel around the world you will see bits made of wood, leather, rope (under or over the tongue) and of course metal. 2 of mine go bitless and they do what the others do. I did away with the bits when I saw that those 2 were not at all happy with them.To be honest sometimes I think I don't really need bits, but use them cos I know the horses will listen faster and better with them,but why? Like it or not back to my first point.
akanewe 2 months ago
The spade bit should not be used on a horse. It gives conflicting signal to the horse. The leverage of the curb makes the horse lower its head to relieve the pressure of the curb and bit on it's lower jaw. The spades action on the roof of the horses mouth makes the horse raise it's head to relieve the pressure. If you have both on the same bit it is nothing more than a insturment of torture. It is a lose lose situation for the horse.
fluffythekillerbird 2 months ago
@fluffythekillerbird
Obviously you've NEVER ridden a bridle horse...one truly "in the bridle"...The Vaquero horseman and the horseman of the Californios would have a good laugh at your expense...horses in the spade react to the slightest of pressure...the slightest...it takes YEARS to make a bridle horse, YEARS.....get a little knowledge would you....troll on over to the Californios website.....or Martin Blacks website or Buck Branaman's websit or Ray Hunts...
crstardust 2 months ago
@fluffythekillerbird I apologize if this offends you but almost everything you said here is wrong.....it is not a leverage bit it is a signal bit.....
jaquima36 1 month ago
@fluffythekillerbird Your really have no idea of what your talking about...your just flapping your lips with nothing meaningful coming out. The proof in what I am saying is that some of the best horsemanship ever displayed where horse and rider are one is a result of training a to be a bridle horse. Torture? You are just another ill informed lip flapper. That is an insult and clearly shows your lack of understanding and stupidity. Good luck with that...
1overthehillsfaraway 2 weeks ago
nothing makes it to a "good one"!! its cruelty!!
MyBigHorseLove 2 months ago
I used to think a spade was the worst thing ever, basically a land mine in a horses mouth, when you realise how it works and that they are not for beginner horses/horsemen and that a bridle horse is a fine piece of horsemans art, one can really admire the great bridle horses and the fine horsemen that develop them!
DominicanDaylen 3 months ago
They look like torture instruments, I would never use any of it on my horse!! It is too much iron construction in a horses mouth - WHY??
Biscaya2000 4 months ago
Many years ago I felt that spade bits were very harsh. I called them can openers at the time. I have since educated myself on how they are used, the LONG process of bosal to two-rein to straight up in the bridle. A spade bit is not used like the grazer bits we see. A spade is NOT a leverage bit, it is a signal bit. Experienced riders only!
friskiedgrrl 5 months ago
who says anything about pulling?
Equinista 5 months ago
why would someone need to pull a horse that hard? i can use my ring fingers to pull the reins and control my horse. i dont use any bit'. my horse knows what i want him to do by my legs and voice.
lexusowner 5 months ago
Very interesting thank you sir.
Delfinmar 5 months ago
why would any one want to use a spade bit i don't get it (poor horses who had that in their mouth)
TheCalippl 5 months ago
You guys would be surprised how unharsh spade bits actually are. You can do a lot worse.
Obviously they are not for a beginner however. Only for the experienced, and the person that knows how to use one.
Weaponsmaster8595 6 months ago
@Weaponsmaster8595 Funny how people just automatically think a spade bit is nasty and harsh, and I admit before I actually learned what they were about I probably would have thought the same. But then I learned how to bridle train a horse to a spade bit and realised that they are as about as gentle a thing you can do with a horse and still actually be doing something with horse.
foiran 6 months ago
i would never put that horrible bit in my horses mouth !!!
thecowgirlandherhors 7 months ago
@thecowgirlandherhors Why? are you afraid that if you use a bit like this you might NEVER put any DIRECT PREASURRE on your horses mouth? Are you afraid if you use a bit like this you might NEVER harden your horses mouth? Are you afraid that you may never have to use anything other than a slight wrist movement to gently whisper to your horse what you want?
foiran 6 months ago
@thecowgirlandherhors Your statement shows, with astonishing ignorance , that you have no idea what a bit like a spade bit is about.
foiran 6 months ago
You can show in them in most organizations, but always check the rule book first!
Equinista 1 year ago
I have always wanted to use one of these. Can you show in them?
EveryonesQT 1 year ago
Good stuff to study, I wonder if he knew Ed Connell.
WildBills44 1 year ago
I learned to bridle horses from a friend of mine anyway he was telling me when I was a kid about how the californios had their origins in Spanish horsemanship, and they learned it from the moors, and the moors were Arabs who went to north Africa and conquered the Spanish. Well now I study anthropology and went and spent some time with Bedouin in Jordan they couldnt believe how I could ride a horse I couldnt believe that the bit they used was just like a miniature spade bit without the braces
foiran 2 years ago