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Strange bit, need identification

They have several spots for sure, but never 2 lines when driving. Ever. I have seen it for riding, not driving.

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what’s your definition of a lip strap then?

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I admit I have mostly done ADS pleasure driving and seen work horses so I haven’t seen everything. I have never seen a horse driven with 2 reins, but I won’t say it doesn’t happen. For the horses in Times Square I might be able to see it as they generally aren’t looking for detailed driving at speed and I think, once the horse learn their job they don’t need that much direction so the driver could use the snaffle rein, but I can also see the driver wanting an emergency brake just in case when driving in city traffic.

With standardbreds (and pleasure and fine harness horses) I have seen the check rein also attached to the bit, but that is something completely separate from the regular reins.

I would be interested in seeing the whole picture of what you posted to see how the reins are set up. Based on the picture those look more like police horses, which I have seen ridden in pelhams, to me. It also looks like the type of bridle I have seen for police horses.

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The set up that @Christa_P shared above is a lip strap.

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Yikes, I was in a hurry and the wrong link copied over as I was searching for images

This is what I mean. This “Western D” ring, along with a normal loose ring, usually has a lip strap used with it

And yes, even some curb bits get a lip strap instead of a chain

Not all Western bits are leverage bits :slight_smile:

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I call those curb straps (and in the case of the snaffle it’s a repurposed curb strap). On the curb bit is does the same job as a curb chain. A lip strap is used with a curb chain, not by itself.

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Nope, curb strap, not lip strap.

Builds a hill, climbs up and plants a flag…a lip strap is used with a curb chain on an English style Pelham or similar. They are not used in Western.

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Joining KBC on the top of that hill.

This is a lip strap:

The photos posted by @JB are curb straps.

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I looked in my bit books but didn’t have any luck finding anything with the weird snaffle rings your bit has. It would be interesting to know why the bit maker chose the elongated rings.

@JB , No Such Person and KBC are correct. Lip straps (or lip chains ) are used on Pelham or Weymouth bits. They aren’t curb straps or curb chains and Western bits don’t have a place to attach a lip strap.

I always hacked my gelding in a full bridle and always used a lip strap on the Weymouth. You run the lip strap through the dangling link of the curb chain (that is there for exactly that use), and attach both ends to the little slots on the shank of the bit.

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That was my first thought as well, but I didn’t post because you could fill many books with everything I don’t know about bits, driving or riding.

Rebecca

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Just to be contrary, here’s a modern Argentine snaffle with rings for a lip strap.

IMG_5210

From: https://dark-horse-tack.com/products/argentine-snaffle

Not a nice looking bit with leverage and a corkscrew mouth. The OP bit looks hand made, couldn’t fathom why the snaffle ring is shaped like that, though.

More than once I took the traditional Pelham curb chain and hooks off and replaced it with a leather western style curb strap. My horse was happier with it.

That bit, no matter the name, is a form of Pelham.

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And NOT a snaffle in anyone’s discipline, builds another hill to stand on…

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I’ve never seen an Argentine Snaffle with a port. Anything with a port in the western world I ride in is never referred to as a snaffle anything, unless it doesn’t have shanks.

stands midway up KBC s hill :smile:


It’s attached at the bottom of the shank, but this kind of western bit hobble serves the same general purpose as a lip strap.

Just curious, how much time have you spent at the track? Asked my DH who’s got almost as many years experience at the track and training STBs as he’s been alive and he’s never seen it.

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No, it doesn’t. Quote from an old thread here at COTH: The purpose of the lip strap “is to keep the chain in place,from flopping around, keep it flat, and if it should become detached from the hooks it will still be attached to the bit.” It doesn’t serve the same purpose as a bit hobble.

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If you Google “Argentine snaffle,” you will find a variety of mouthpieces, including ones with ports, on bits marketed as “Argentine snaffles.” Apparently some manufacturers label any curb with loops for both snaffle and curb reins as an Argentine snaffle.

However, some manufacturers do label that kind of bit with a ported mouthpiece as an “Argentine shank” bit, which would certainly be more correct.

The world of bits is a confusing place. Depending on the manufacturer or the region in which you live, the same bit can be called different things and different bits can be called the same thing.

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I’ve ridden and owned STBs. I see about four in-training STBs a week, since I take my horse to a STB track/facility on a weekly basis. Here’s my 3 y/o’s filly’s first exposure to one warming up:

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