Family tree of bits

Lullabye

New Member
May 7, 2009
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England
My gosh i never knew there was so many types of bit :eek:

To help myself remember them I am trying to arrange them into a sort of 'family tree'

Starting with the bit families so;

Snaffle - jointed/ double jointed/ straight bar - loose ring/ egbutt, D ring

Gag - dutch,

Pelham - erm?

Bitless - :eek:

???

As you can see i don't know much, anyone want to fill in the gaps?

:D
 
My gosh i never knew there was so many types of bit :eek:

To help myself remember them I am trying to arrange them into a sort of 'family tree'

Starting with the bit families so;

Snaffle - jointed/ double jointed/ straight bar - loose ring/ egbutt, D ring

Gag - dutch, cheltenham, american

Pelham - erm? butterfly,

Bitless - :eek: english hackamore, german hackamore, Dr cook

???



As you can see i don't know much, anyone want to fill in the gaps?

:D

i filled in some in red for you :p
 
What a great idea to try and arrange all the bits to make it more understandable.

I have to admit that I tend to think in terms of the mouthpiece first and then think about what jobs each of the different styles of shanks does and how it affects the chossen mouthpiece.

I'd love for a knowledgeable person to wave a magic wand and do some sort of a flow diagramme for guidance of numpties like me :)
 
The shop4bits webby is fab for finding out about bits and what they do.

Well worth a little look see. It's where this numpty goes when someone mentions a bit I'm not familiar with - which is quite often :eek:
 
Remember that whatever mouthpiece you can find in a snaffle is usually found in all the other families.

Then think of all the various 'sides'

Also need different materials.

Globe and Kimblewick belong in the pelham family

Main family you have missed is doubles, combinations of snaffle (called bridoon) and curb, again in various mouths.

Dont go down the myler/combination routes as well or you will be writing a book!!
 
My gosh i never knew there was so many types of bit :eek:

To help myself remember them I am trying to arrange them into a sort of 'family tree'

Starting with the bit families so;

Snaffle - jointed/ double jointed/ straight bar - loose ring/ egbutt, D ring

Gag - dutch,

Pelham - erm?

Bitless - :eek:

???

As you can see i don't know much, anyone want to fill in the gaps?

:D

Snaffle - John Patterson (loose ring, eggbut, french link); hanging cheek; full cheek; french link; Dr Bristol; fulmer.

Gag - Cheltenham (aka English); Balding (similar to Cheltenham); Dutch/3 ring/bubble/Continental; American

Pelham - jointed; plastic, metal or rubber straight bar, mullen mouth; ported; globe (which looks a bit like the curb bit of a double bridle) Sam Marsh

Waterford; cherry roller

These are just a few off the top of my head. Could add more but too lazy to go and find the book. Hope it helps.

Rideaway's catalogue has a fairly comprehensive listing with pictures..
 
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Snaffle - jointed/ double jointed/ straight bar, lozenge - loose ring/ egbutt, D ring

Gag - dutch, bubble bit(?)

Pelham - rugby pelham

Bitless - sidepull, german/english hackamore, dr cook, bosal, rope halter, scrawbrig, happy wheel.
 
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