Once, there was a time where you had to think about your own horse in horse shows. You had to treat your horse kindly, ethically. Rollkur wasn’t existent, though I must say, secretly, people ripped horses’ mouths apart whilst prancing them about, with rough curbs.
When that was a concern, you could win the show by sneakily doing abuse. The answer were curb bits. While you don’t need to bother ’bout them nowadays, it’s nice to know this for the sake of curbs, or bits.
To know how they could do that, you must have an idea about how curbs or any leverage bit works.
The bit displayed in the above picture is also referred to as a standard curb, and for good reason. You can get any amount of leverage bits, from gags, to kimberwicks, blah blah blah… but all tend to serve the same function and have the same ‘mechanics’.
How the leverage bits work:
Look at the example of the classic curb in the diagram above. Then picture the rest of the bridle in place, consisting of the crown piece and the reins. Imagine the reins to be in the curb slot, not the snaffle slot. Ignore all the other bits and pieces just for now. Then imagine that someone who is riding to start pulling the rein. What happens? The shanks tilt backwards, rotating the fixed mouthpiece with it, as well as tilting it backward against the horse’s mouth. Eventually, the purchase starts pulling the crownpiece down, applying poll pressure.
Even another leverage bit that isn’t the classic curb works almost the same way. The curb chain is there so that as you pull the reins, it will rotate into the sensitive chin of the horse. It goes in the cheek slot.
The shape and length of the shanks and purchase all affect different areas of the horse’s head.
How can curbs secretly apply pressure?
You must know enough by now to know that when you pull the reins, it applies pressure, as described above. But that would make the pressure quite obvious, wouldn’t it?
That’s where stiff reins step up. If you ride with stiff reins, not your loopy, normal riding reins, then you can pull your hands higher up and more forward, closer to the horse’s head and higher than usual, which was apparently not minded by the judge, particularly in western riding.
Stiff reins won’t loop down under the shanks, but instead lift them up; the reins are too stiff to to stay otherwise. They have to stay straight. Thus, even with ‘loose’ reins, one can lift the shank and apply pressure, forcing the horse’s head into the desired curled up position, nowadays achieved by double bridles, which have two bits, a snaffle and a curb.
Are curbs bad bits?
So when you have to be ethical in horse shows, the curb bits always come into action by ‘ethically’ positioning your horse’s head, while it actually isn’t a kind deed…
That doesn’t mean that all curb bits are bad. Curbs, in the right, soft hands, are amazing bits. Another leverage bit that looks like a snaffle with rings on top and bottom of the original ring, has equal leverage and poll pressure. It is a great bit for some horses.
If you are a experienced rider, than you can try dual-rein bits, like pelhams, where you can use one rein for curb pressure and another rein that just uses the snaffle ring!
But DON’T let this post tell you what bit is ideal for your horse; snaffles are more frequently suited to sensitive horse. Do your own research and you might wanna talk to your trainer – if you have one – about what bit would suit best. Trying multiple bit can be worth it as well. Some horses adjust very well to having a pelham with a rein converter, which limits the curb pressure by joining it with the snaffle.
Note from future self: Any person with a keen eye can tell easily when curb pressure is being used, stiff reins or not.