Good point. Two quite different worlds with different expectations and different standards.
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A jointed pelham will feel most similar to the bit you have on the horse to the horse. Learn to ride with two reins and use a pelham.
What kind of shows are you planning on?
There are more options for kimberwicks. Myler brand bits are really well balanced and many horses seem to like them. Here is a “prettier” kimberwick that I think is a little less harsh and more balanced than your usual kimberwick:
https://www.google.com/search?q=myler+kimberwick+bit+with+hooks&rlz=1C1EKKP_enUS773US773&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF5dXTzKrZAhURWa0KHc4aCc4Q_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=xEuI1gspNYpzPM:
My gelding goes very well in the above bit with a low port, he needs the tongue relief. I don’t have the reins in a slot so they are free to slide (looking for a normal D ring with same mouthpiece, but will continue to use above bit for shows).
The bit the OP showed would not be acceptable at any breed show I know of in a hunter class. Standards for hunter classes as far as bits is much the same as regular hunter shows and a western shanked bit is not acceptable.
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The bit you linked to is not a Kimberwick, it’s a snaffle with “hooks.” It has no curb chain. I vaguely recall that bits with hooks may not be approved for showing under some associations’ rules, but I’m not really up on that.
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Going off of that, snaffles don’t have leverage. 
The bit I posted would not be legal in dressage, but is legal in every open/stock horse show I’ve ever looked into.
What does that have to do with what I said?
Kimberwicks have a curb chain. The bit you posted a link to does not. Thus, while the bit in your link does have hooks, which allow the headstall to be fixed in place in pseudo-kimberwick fashion, it is not, contrary to what you posted, a kimberwick.
Neither does the bit to which you posted a link offer any leverage. Without the action of a curb chain, you have no leverage.
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Agreed. The myler snaffle with hooks linked is not a kimberwicke.
it’s legality in the show ring is not the point being contested. It is not a kimberwicke !!
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@NoSuchPerson @lifeishorsesarelove Yikes, was just trying to offer a suggestion. When you have a “snaffle” with hooks, yes, you are supposed to use a curb chain. It’s like having a short, shanked bit with no curb chain. I was just trying to offer a quick suggestion before heading off to class, I should have used a better picture example. I get it. It isn’t a true kimberwick. But it offers a “prettier” alternative, which was my point.
OK, @Spotless, then what you really meant to say is something like this:
You don’t use a curb chain on a snaffle with hooks like the one I linked to before. See, e.g. this video from Action Rider Tack about how the snaffle with hooks is used. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agtEyEOK6B0
When used this way, the snaffle does not provide leverage and is not a substitute for a kimberwick or other shanked bit.
However, some Myler snaffles with hooks also have little loops on the ring where you can attach a curb strap/chain. They don’t give as much leverage as a kimberwick, but more than a plain snaffle. If you just want a tiny bit of leverage, then this set up might work and it’s prettier than your standard kimberwick.
Look, I know you think I’m being a pedantic bitch. But there is so much misinformation floating around about bits and, frankly, so many stupid unfounded beliefs, that I think it’s important to state things correctly when you have the opportunity.
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I’m pedantic about bits but…there’s differences in common terminology between the disciplines and marketing throws out alot of fancy sounding names that are hilariously incorrect but sound good to an ad copy writer. These discussions are getting tangled up in semantics.
The whoie Kimberwicke controversy doesn’t take note of the fact the original design was a two rein curb that has been redesigned into something totally different and largely for the Western market, it looks like an English bit and Western trained horses are comfortable in it. We simply aren’t talking about the same bit even though the latest version, which lost the slots for the two reins and the curb chain decades ago, is marketed under the same name.
Im happy when people know the basic difference between the action and purpose of a snaffle and a curb and which is which despite the fancy rings, shanks, names and marketing. IMO even the dumbest trainers should include that in their lesson plan. Wishful thinking…
Speaking of semantics, that Mylar Kimberwicke with hooks linked to above is a good example. I have that SAME bit for my Hunter, but it’s sold as a “Comfort Snaffle”, comes with or without hooks. And when I read hooks, I think curb chain hooks for hooking a chain to. I would call these holes in the top and bottom slots for a gag rein, there’s no hooks to attach anything to.
But I learned something…I always knew hooks on tne Mylars were frowned upon in Hunters and not allowed in some other competitions. I didn’t get it since I thought hooks referred to a place to attach curb chains if desired. Now I know it’s big old slots for a friggen gag rein that look like crap in a dressy show situation. Not to mention hinting the horse needs a serious addition to the headwear.
So, even I sometimes am not thinking of the same bit when somebody mentions one.
Agree wholeheartedly. Like I said, just a quick suggestion which would be fine for stock horse flatwork (still waiting to hear from OP about what classes!) but not for over fences, dressage, etc. Apologies for the miscommunication/confusion.
I’ll join in on the pedantry! Not 100% sure if I’m reading you right, but the Kimblewick bit (called Kimberwicke in the US for reasons unknown) was developed from a Spanish bit by Lieut-Col. F.E.Gibson for Phil Oliver (dad of international SJer and course designer, Alan Oliver), who lived in the village of Kimble Wick in Buckinghamshire, England. Nothing to do with Western riding AFAIK and around since at least the early 1950s in the UK. Also AFAIK the original design was a plan D ring, with the Uxeter (slotted cheek) coming later.
(Maybe you’re referring to the OP’s bit tho, if so sorry)
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Thank you all for your responses! There actually was some miscommunication with the trainer. The way they worded things I thought she was never ridden in a snaffle, only a curb but she was just only ridden in a curb on the farm where she was bred. She was trained in a snaffle, so I’ll reteach her some of that and remind her how it works Again, thank you all for all your bit advice! If she really doesn’t like the snaffle I will try some of the other bits listed.
Neue Schule did a study of poll pressure effects for different mouthpiece and cheek styles. This is a great resource
https://issuu.com/neueschule/docs/neue_schule_poll-pressure-guide-201
Wow, how interesting! Thank you for sharing!
I’m fascinated that a baucher offers poll relief. I’ve always thought that it was getting the bit up off the bars that the horses liked–never guessed that it also offered relief to the poll!
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Technically, in terms of action
- A Myler D with ‘hooks’ (loops), or a kimberwick without a curb chain used, act as a mild gag bit
- A Myler D with ‘hooks’ (loops), curb chain added via the small holes beside the upper loop, and rein fastened to the lower loop acts as a kimberwick bit
- A Myler D with ‘hooks’ (loops) used on the top only or a ‘kimberwick’ without slots or curb act as a baucher
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That is a great resource. I remember seeing it and being so surprised at how much the curb chain decreases poll pressure (although I guess it is also adding chin pressure) for the same bit. And the universal bit, which seems quite commonly used with a single rein on the bottom loop and no curb was the only bit rated +4.
