I have had a 14 yr old gelding standardbred/welsh mix for 4 years. He is a good little horse and quite well mannered; was previously owned by the Amish and used to drive children to school with a buggy, but also ridden. When I bought him, he was using a curb bit so that is what I stuck with. It is a Reinsman "C" bit 1/2 in. Medium port described as a low leverage bit and moderately light. He didn't know how to neck rein and I taught him with no problems. Now I am getting interested in learning some of the Parelli methods, ground manuvers and games, etc. All websites on natural horsemanship talk about using snaffle bits. Is it necessary to get a snaffle bit since he has always used a curb bit and seems to respond with it? Would it be difficult for him to adjust to it and would he be able to readily work with either a snaffle or curb bit? ...or once he is used to a snaffle would I just stay with the snaffle? Can you teach "lateral moves" effectively with a curb bit? I would have to buy another headstall if a snaffle was important as I wouldn't want to switch bits all the time. Thanks for any advice.
Last edited: