Understanding Horse Driving Bridles
Driving bridles are essential elements of horse tack, playing a vital role in directing and controlling your horse. It’s composed of a headpiece, cheekpieces, a noseband, and winkers. Let’s explore their individual functionalities in detail.
Components of a Bridle
The Headpiece
The headpiece is placed on the horse’s head, specifically over the ears. Cheekpieces are fastened to it mirroring the design of a riding bridle. It’s essential to note that these cheekpieces hold not only the bit but also the winkers and the noseband.
The Browband
The browband is a central band that crosses the horse’s forehead, held in place by loops connected to the headpiece. Designs vary widely for browbands; they could feature a plain or ornate aesthetic, often adorned with a design in brass or white metal. To complete the setup, a matching metal rosette, plain or decorated, usually covers the browband loops.
The Throatlatch
An essential component that contributes to bridle stability is the throatlatch. It’s secured under the horse’s throat, buckled up just enough to prevent the bridle from slipping off.
For decorative purposes, some opt for an addition of a facedrop. It’s a purely ornamental piece, often made from leather, highlighted with a metal crest or monogram, and buckled from the top of the head to hang centrally on the forehead.
Varieties of Driving Bridles
Private and Heavy Horse Bridles
Driving bridles used privately typically resemble those used for riding. The key difference usually lies in the noseband and winker attachments. Some designs stand out, featuring cheekpieces with decorative swells and earbands curving around the ears down to the temples, replacing browbands.
For heavy horses, large buckled bridles are the standard. Despite their robust look, these bridles are designed not to exceed a weight limit of 2 kg or 44 lb, irrespective of the horse’s size.
Full-Faced Bridles
A full-faced bridle, while providing warmth to the horse, features a broader leather piece. This stretches from the top of the headpiece to the browband, extending down the nose to connect with the noseband. Though providing additional warmth, they’re heavier and may cause the horse’s face to sweat more than with a regular bridle.
Understanding Winkers in Bridles
Often referred to as blinkers or blinders, winkers play a crucial part in a horse’s bridle. Depending on whether a bridle incorporates winkers determines if it is referred to as a ‘closed’ or ‘open’ bridle. Let’s delve a bit deeper into what winkers are and their diversity in design and functionality.
Types and Designs
Winkers vary widely in design. They can be round, square, shell-shaped, D-shaped, or hatchet-shaped, introducing a wide flexibility of choice for horse owners. Often adorned with the owner’s crest or monogram in the center, these accessories bring a personal touch to the bridle.
Structurally speaking, two winker stays – buckled to the top of the headpiece – provide the necessary supporting framework for these add-ons.
Purpose of Winkers
While the use of winkers often sparks debates among equine enthusiasts, a generally accepted explanation is that they help prevent horses from seeing the vehicle following them, thus averting any potential fright. However, this reasoning isn’t entirely foolproof, as demonstrated by military and commercial horses who are routinely trained without winkers without any adverse effects.
The Role of Bits in Driving
The bit, the critical link between the horse and the driver, plays an essential role in communication during driving. It’s through the bit, transmitted via the reins, that a driver’s hand movements reach the horse, affecting several sensitive parts of the horse’s mouth and head.
Points of Contact
Every tiny movement made by the driver’s hands is channeled directly to various parts of the horse’s mouth and head, much like in traditional riding. These seven points of reception – the bars, lips, tongue, the roof of the mouth, the poll, the curb groove, and the nose – are incredibly sensitive and pivotal in controlling the horse.
Past and Present Bits
Despite the delicate nature of these control points, history shows us some rather inhumane designs of bits that led to the horse experiencing torture and irreversible damage to the mouth. However, such brutal designs have been replaced in the modern horse driving world with standard driving bits that are safe and unlikely to inflict any harm if used properly.
Varieties of Bits
There are several different kinds of bits available today, catering to the specific needs of horses and drivers alike. Among them, the most commonly used ones include the Wilson snaffle, and the Liverpool, Buxton, and Elbow curbs. The selection of a particular type depends on the horse’s comfort, the driver’s preference, and often the specific driving style or discipline.
The Wilson Snaffle
The Wilson snaffle is a popular and straightforward bit design, featuring a jointed mouthpiece accompanied by four ring cheeks. Let’s examine its structure and how attaching the reins impacts the horse’s mouth.
Structure and Reins Attachment
Two of the four ring cheeks are attached to the mouthpiece, while the other two are left hanging loose. Typically, the reins are buckled to both the fixed and loose rings, but one can modify the attachment to increase or decrease the intensity of control depending on the horse’s needs.
Intensity of Control
If the reins are fastened only to the fixed rings, a more severe form of control is achieved. In this configuration, the mouthpiece applies pressure to the horse’s tongue and the roof of the mouth, while the loose rings squeeze the lips. Such a method of control should be reserved for extreme cases, as it can be quite harsh on the horse. The proper use of the Wilson snaffle, along with a considerate approach to the horse’s comfort and responsiveness, can ensure safe and effective communication during driving.
The Liverpool Curb Bit
As the most common driving bit, the Liverpool curb resembles the riding Pelham bit in its design and functionality. To better understand its features and versatility, let’s explore the details of its structure and the various rein attachments.
Mouthpiece and Cheek Design
The Liverpool curb’s mouthpiece is a straight-bar, with one smooth side and one corrugated side. The rough side should never come into contact with the horse’s sensitive bars. Mouthpieces vary in width, and some come covered in leather for added softness. Ports of different sizes can be incorporated, either to accommodate the horse’s tongue or to prevent the horse from getting its tongue over the bit.
The bit cheeks are circular, with hooks for the curb chain and extend to straight bars. Each bar has two slots, known as the “middle bar” and “bottom bar,” for attaching the rein billets.
Rein Attachment Positions
There are four different positions for attaching reins to the Liverpool curb bit, each with increasing degrees of control and intensity:
- Plain cheek: The least severe, buckling reins to the cheek rings.
- Rough cheek: Billets wrapped around the arms of the bit below the mouthpiece, creating a slight curb action.
- Middle bar: A more pronounced curb action when billets are slotted into the middle bar.
- Bottom bar: The most intense curb action, used only for hard-pulling horses when billets are slotted into the bottom bar.
These two lower positions should be used with caution and adapted to the horse’s needs.
Liverpool Bit Variations
Liverpool bits come in various patterns, including fixed, sliding, or swivel cheeks, and a range of lower arm designs. Some offer three bar adjustments. For coaching or pair driving, the ends of the bit arms can be joined together to prevent any entanglement between the bits.
The Buxton Curb Bit
The Buxton curb bit, while similar to the Liverpool curb in both action and functionality, stands apart in both size and design. This more ornate variation is often used in specific instances.
Design and Aesthetics
Compared to the Liverpool curb’s more straightforward design, the Buxton bit is larger and features curved arms, adding a touch of elegance to the functionality. This intricate design makes the Buxton bit not just a tool for control, but also an asset in enhancing the overall aesthetic of the horse and carriage presentations.
Ideal Usage
The Buxton is especially suited for “smart” pair and team formations, where uniformity and aesthetics play a significant role. Moreover, due to its ornate presentation, it’s especially appropriate for ceremonial occasions where the presentation is essential. Just as with all bits, though, the comfort and response of the horse remain the primary considerations when selecting the Buxton curb bit.
Elbow Curb Bit (Army Reversible Bit)
The Elbow curb, also known as the Army Reversible Bit, features functionality very similar to the Liverpool bit. Despite some distinct design elements and historically widespread usage, this bit is less commonly seen in private driving today.
Fundamental Design and Purpose
The main characteristic of the Elbow bit is the right-angled positioning of its cheeks from the mouthpiece, directed away from the horse’s lips. This unique design serves a clear purpose: preventing a horse from taking the cheek arms into its mouth and bolting.
Usage History and Variations
Despite being extensively utilized by professional coachmen in the past, the Elbow curb bit has seen a decrease in its use in modern private driving. This change can be attributed to evolving horse driving techniques and more diverse bit offerings.
Even less commonly seen is a variation of the Elbow bit known as the Wimbush bit. Like all bits, both the elbow and its variation should be selected with a balance of horse comfort and responsiveness in mind.
Care and Positioning of the Bridle
Proper care and positioning of the bridle play a crucial role in maintaining its functionality and keeping the horse comfortable. Paying attention to these factors ensures both the safety of the horse and the effectiveness of your driving performance.
Storing Bridles and Harness Equipment
It’s essential to store bridles and all pieces of harness equipment in a dry room to prevent deterioration and preserve their quality. A specialized rack can be used, offering separate support for the winkers, which ensures that the bridle hangs correctly and maintains its shape.
Correct Winker Positioning
When putting the bridle on the horse, care should be taken to ensure that the winkers are correctly positioned. The horse’s eye should be centrally located within the winker, and the stay strap must not be too tight, as this might cause discomfort.
Importance of Wearing Winkers
In driving, a whip may be used for encouragement, or to distract the horse during an emergency. Without winkers, the horse may see the whip coming and anticipate the correction, making it less effective.
Additionally, if winkers are not worn in pair or team harness, a horse that doesn’t need correction may see the whip and become frightened. Wearing winkers helps maintain the focus of the horse and prevents unnecessary reactions to the whip.
