In a recent episode of The Farm House Tack’s podcast, Bit By Bit, Michelle Drum, E-Commerce and Marketing Manager and co-host Adam Rittenberg, owner of AJR Sport answered a few bit questions from our guest host, influencer, and amateur show jumper, Francesca Zazza.
Francesca has competed all over (including in her past life as a figure skater), but is currently based in Mexico City. She hosts her own podcast, FZ Equestrian, where she interviews other riders from all over the world. And be sure to catch her live chats with riders on Instagram! We thoroughly enjoyed getting Francesca’s perspective on bits and learning about her journey as rider and hope you will too.
Francesca
So, I am an amateur rider. I have my three horses back in Mexico City. One is like a new project that I got like a few months ago. So it’s kind of in the process of getting to know him and everything. I’m, you know, enjoying the process and it’s not easy, but I’m really liking, I like the challenge.
All my three horses are extremely different. I’m constantly changing bits. Like I have four bridles set up and I literally rotate them. And then I have a fifth bridle in which I only use for jumping. So it’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s been so complicated finding like an accurate bit for me to like use day to day.
Adam
Michelle, we were talking about this, I think a couple podcasts ago when we were at when one of the questions I was asked was how often should I change a bit? Right?
When we talk about changing bits all the time, I don’t love that topic. And the reason is, is because in order to create consistency for a horse, for a rider, and for the feeling, you have to use a bit for at least a week to truly know if it works or it doesn’t work. Of course, if you put the bit in its mouth and it’s offended right away, of course, logically, it’s not a good fit.
I don’t love it because I think actually you can do more harm than good, not physically, mentally for yourself as well. Riding is a mental sport, as you know. We have to be very focused when we’re riding. There’s a lot of more important things in life than riding a horse, except when you’re riding a horse.
So we have to work backwards. You said you have four bridles, right? Tell me what are on the four.
Francesca
So I have, I have literally a three-piece snaffle that I use for flatting. I don’t dare to go over any poles or anything, just literally for basic flat riding. I have actually have two Western bits on my other two bridles.
I don’t change every single day. Like I may stick with one bridle for a whole week, but then my horse might get offended eventually because I don’t know something in his clicked that day and he doesn’t like it anymore. So that’s when I change. But I usually do keep them for like a few days, like five days and then change or depends.
So the one that I have is like a Western bit, which has like a big ring with a different placings for the rein in which you can do a little bit more leverage. And inside it’s like twisted, but it’s only like two articulations. So that’s the one I use that actually it’s weird because he’s very easily offended with the things on his palette, like strong things on his palette. He doesn’t like that.
I have tried Swale bits with him and it did work for a certain time and then it got too strong for him and he didn’t like it. So I had to switch again for jumping only.
Adam
This is really interesting because when I break down these bits, what it’s screaming to me and I think Michelle will laugh because I say this every podcast, but I love my hinge bits. I love my hinge bits. And why do you think this horse likes that wire more than the other bits? The horse likes that bit because the wire has a thinner diameter. And because the wire has a thinner diameter, the horse probably doesn’t have a lot of space in its mouth. And because it probably could have a low palate, it would make sense that he would prefer a twisted wire than a thick port or something else, a thick snaffle.
When I piece this all together, my first instinct is A, this horse probably needs a hinge and you’ll never have to change your bit again because he’s going to be happy. Or you need something that like rubber, like the rubber block, a flexi bit that tapers towards the center of the bit to leave more space for the palate in the top.
Francesca
Yeah, no, and absolutely I agree with you, but like this horse came to me like his anxiety level was wild. I can’t tell you how bad it was. It was really bad. So it took a few months. The first month I literally only could ride him in a Western bit because if I would trot on a straight line, he would take off and I was gone. know, like, and I know like obviously his face was all like closed up and it was clearly, he was clearly unhappy and he was clearly not right.
It did take a few months for him to start to relax, to kind of open up his face and like be able to go down. Like just knowing that I can do a flat ride with a snaffle, it’s like a milestone.
Adam
So we talk about this all the time on this podcast as well. I think there’s an application for bits as a training tool. You use the tool and you put it away and you downgrade when you achieve the result.
I preach this constantly. You are always welcome to use a training tool when needed. Yes, you have to use a training tool. That’s why they exist. But training doesn’t mean all the time. And it’s exactly what you said. You used it, and then you put it away and you downgrade it to something that is simple and easy and you have a nice result using that. So that’s the right way to do it.
Francesca
Switching to the topic of bits that I’ve tried with him, I kind of wanted to go a little bit into what I’ve heard about the new Swellham bit by Karl Cook.
Adam
So we have the leather covered port, okay. We have that in the long shank and we have that in the short shank. We have the swivel Swellham, which is the swivel shanks. We have that in short and we have that in long. And then we have the short shank.
These are Karl’s designs. I contributed just to that mouthpiece. The rest is Karl. I mean he did an unbelievable job with that bit. He’s got to be one of the most in tune, you know, attention to detail, precise riders. And you can see it in the results at the Olympic games.
It took me a long time to get this design exactly how he wanted it because down to the length of the stem where the outside where that ring is affects how the bit works. So the Swellham is very interesting as you mentioned combines a swale and a Pelham. A lot of people ask me about that half-moon element. Why did we go with that? I believe his intention with that was to leave more clearance for the horse’s face; it reduces pinching.
Francesca
Yeah, some people wonder like, how do I know whether this bit is going to pinch my horse’s mouth, etc. So I kind of wanted to get into that topic a little bit. I feel like it’s a little interesting.
Adam
How do you know when a bit is pinching your horse’s mouth? I love that question.
Michelle
Yeah. We’ve talked about how to fit the bit and how long it should be, but as far as when to recognize there are combinations between cheek and mouth where you’re gonna have more possibility to pinch is definitely a fabulous question.
Adam
I love that, so thank you for asking that. I think you have to use a little bit of intuition if we’re not talking about the obvious cues, right? If you turn your horse, your hot horse out in a paddock and it doesn’t go for a bolt, well, that’s probably a good indication. Maybe there’s something when I’m riding this horse that’s irritating it.
The problem is most people in the sport, they have grooms. They don’t know what their horse does or doesn’t do on the ground. This is a problem. This is a fundamental flaw. So I know we’re talking about how do you know if a bit pinches. Well, you should probably start with, you know your horse up when you’re off?
If it pinches, you would also see the flesh on the gums or the cheek would be discolored probably. You would see, of course, an opening, a wound. You would see signs of distress in the horse’s eye.
Francesca
What do you recommend for us to use with horses that have a little bit of an unstable contact and that you need them to grab onto the bit a little bit more and for them to have a steadier grip?
Adam
For a horse that’s on and off the contact, I really hate a Waterford because a Waterford is typically when they’re fixing on the bit, right? And it gives them nothing to lean on because it has so many joints they can’t fix on that bit. If he’s leaning into the bridle and he’s too heavy, it kind of breaks up his ability to fix on it.
Francesca
I’ve seen it around here in Mexico a lot. That’s why I wanted to clarify that because I had a horse that had a thousand pounds in his mouth and I used the Waterford to take that away from him.
But in the case of the horses that are a little too unstable. I usually tend to use like rubber flexible bits so that they have a little bit more to grab. I think that works. Does that help a little bit or not?
Adam
You just have to look at the whole picture. How does the bridle sit? Is it causing them a headache? Are there other things contributing?
I use a nose band a lot of the times for this on and off topic. Typically I will start from zero. I will give the horse, you know, the most basic of all things, like you said, a flexible bit, something in silicone is fine as well. And you can use different types of nose bands and play around with it.
Michelle
It seems like we default back to like the acceptance of the bit in that scenario, you know, where the horse is inconsistent in the bridle and he’s not taking your hand. There’s also an issue of compassion here though, as well.
Like, I we have to be compassionate as riders and understand like there’s a fitness level as well. Like the horse can’t carry itself, you know, from the day you start riding, you can’t expect it to be able to hold contact because it can’t. It’s got to develop the musculature through the top line.
Adam
Yes, it’s all in the context of realistic expectations.
Thank you so much to Francesca for joining us and Adam for answering all the questions! The Farm House publishes weekly podcasts on YouTube and Spotify with more information on bitting. If you have any questions for The Farm House or for AJR Sport, email farmhousetack@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
