Leverage bit with poll relief bridle?

[HereComesZach]

I feel like this is maybe a dumb question, but I’m so confused and would love to discuss!

I have an OTTB I’m bringing along who is otherwise fine, but can get very strong cross country. I’m not a ‘bigger’ bit person, so I currently don’t have anything with leverage in my collection, so I was perusing some bits I was thinking about trying for her. It made me realize that one part of the action of these bits is to apply poll pressure… but all of my bridles are the newer, anatomical/comfort poll bridles. Right now she’s going in a stubben freedom bridle.

Will a leverage bit and a poll relief bridle cancel each other out? Will it change the dynamic of how the bit works in her mouth if it can’t pull ‘down’ on anything? Worse, is there any risk of the bit pulling the poll of the bridle forward and possibly over her ears?

Basically do I need to purchase a new bridle to check out if a bigger bit is a solution for this horse?! help me :lol:

[Scribbler]

The leverage bit works primarily on the bars of the mouth. The poll pressure is not a major part of the cue. I would think any stable headstall configuration would provide enough of an anchor for the fulcrum effect of a leverage bit. The chinstrap or chain is very important as well, too tight and bit won’t rotate, too loose or missing and the leverage disappears.

I rode Western for years as a kid, so curb bits are familiar to me. I realize in English we don’t use them until we double bridle for higher level dressage or if a jumper is too strong, and many of us never use anything other than snaffles.

But I would suggest just putting it in your existing headstall. I’m sure it will be fine!

[TheHotSensitiveType]

The leverage must go somewhere, and looking at that bridle it looks like the leverage would be spread across the poll and the brow. You honestly would have to see how your horse responds to it in a more controlled setting like the arena. She might flip out so be careful if you try it with your current bridle.

Unless you are going for a gag bit type or the like, mild leverage bits don’t ‘pull down’ the horses head. The leverage action is mostly in the mouth and chin area (why when they are used forcefully you see horses open their mouths!) with a little bit of leverage at the polls.

I have never seen a leverage bit that could pull a bridle over a horses ears… Do I want to know what you are looking at?

Have you looked at pelhams? If you can ride with 2 reins, they can be really good for those occasional moments when you need to be 'Hey! Pay attention to me!" while you ride of the direct rein most of the time.

[HereComesZach]

@TheHotSensitiveType

I have never seen a leverage bit that could pull a bridle over a horses ears… Do I want to know what you are looking at?

LOL that was probably just in my head - I learned the hard way that you can’t use bonnets with poll relief bridles because they don’t have enough pressure to hold them on, and instead the whole bridle will just pop off over the ears! I’m actually looking at super mild leverage, like a beval/wilkie or MAYBE a cartwheel.

I have used and loved pelhams, yeeeaaarrrrs ago on a freight train of a horse I used to event. That will probably be what I move up to if the milder option doesn’t cut it.

[beowulf]

. I have ridden in ergonomic bridles with a pelham (which is slight leverage) and have had zero issue.

Poll relief is a misnomer, and a marketing buzzword. There really is no such thing as a (poll) pressure-free bridle. In order for the bridle to be stable, it has to put pressure around the poll, and, the corners of the mouth – and however tight you (g) fasten the noseband is directly proportional to the additional pressure applied. Certain manufacturers might claim their bridle is poll pressure free, but unless it is hanging on the bridle rack and not a horse’s head, it is not pressure free.

With a gag bit, the bridle won’t cancel out the leverage action. It might distribute it over a broader area if it is an ergonomic bridle, but the same general fulcrum principle is applied, regardless of padding.

I’m currently riding one of my OTTBs XC in a Tom Thumb rubber Pelham and I like it much better than the ‘wonderbit’ (cartwheel bits). :encouragement:

I admit I wasn’t keen on bumping him up from an HS eggbutt, because he’s so wonderful and soft on the flat, but I had two XC lessons where I was just working way too hard to get him to obey my half-halts after a fence. He’s my main hunter-pace horse, so he’s not exactly green to speed on terrain. My coach had me try a rubber pelham, and it made a big difference; instead of nitpicking stride after stride about his rhythm, I can ride him uphill and he’s soft in the bridle. He has a tendency to get long and flat, and the pelham has really helped.