Cold bits....

[Cochise]

Does anyone else warm up their horses bit in their hands before putting the bridle on?
I hate the thought of putting a freezing cold bit in my horses mouth especially on a cold or winters day

[Evangelista]

Yes, definitely if I'm using a metal bit!

[cvb]

most definitely - even with a warm saddle room, the bits get horribly cold going from there to horses mouth when the ambient temperature is -15 centigrade. I figure my horse is not going to be too happy with me, nor with her mouth, if I bung a bit of freezing (literally) cold metal in her mouth.

[snailspace]

Yes, I do, though it has never been suggested to me by anyone in real life. I picked it up in a book I read when I was a little girl! It's funny how all those horsey books I read as a child have come in handy now that I'm actually around horses for real :)

Is there a quicker way than just holding it in your hands, though? We have no heat at all in the tack room, and it takes FOREVER to get the bit even remotely warm by holding it. Maybe someone should invent a "bit warmer", along the lines of those baby wipe warmers:)

[Tootsie4U]

Actually, I only do it on occassion. Especially when I think the bit will stick to their tongue. We give our horses ice cubes for treats sometimes, so I dont think they really care about the coldness....

[cvb]

I hear that tucking the bit in your coat does the job. Though this could look odd if you have a bulky bridle attached to it ! :D

[Jay.o]

we have a bowl of warm/hot water and all the bits [well tims, blackies and jacks] goes in to there for about a minute then out into their mouth !

[floppy]

our tack room is luckily quite warm with no heating in it!
so i rarely warm the bit up but if i do i put it in a bowl of warm water as holding it in my hands never gets it warm because of minus temperatures and hands that get cold quickly. i tried putting in my glove but my hand froze from the cold metal when i left my bridle outside once

[Gracie]

I always warm up the bit a bit before putting into their mouths. Most of us don't shove cold things directly into our mouths and if you've ever got brain freeze you'd feel conciderate of your horse!lol!:) Im a sucker though when it comes to my horse, she gets better treatment then I get!

[Cochise]

My car is my tack room!! sometimes on a really hot day the bit is scorching hot!! so i dunk it in the water trough to cool it down first.
But lately we have had a bit rain and southerlies (thank god, hopefully enough to stop the drought!) and I thought of it again.

[rachelk]

Hi Cochise,

Hasn't the weather lately been a drag still we can certainly do with the rain!

I have a friend who will pour hot water on her bit on a cold winters morn however i must admit i have never done it in the past and now as i tend not to ride in cold weather (being the big sook that i am!) i don't either, but this winter when I suddenly become really motivated i will certainly be a little more considerate.
I suppose you could put it by your car heater on the way to your paddock that would probably take the chill off it.

[Cochise]

The car heater idea is great rachelk!
Yes the weather has been pretty trying, I have come down with a cold since the hot weather and hayfever, then the sudden drop and rain then hot again, it made me a bit sick yuck!

bit was hot again today!! grrrr