Professional's Choice Bob Avila Correction Bit AVB-101
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Legendary horseman Bob Avila knows a bit about bits. Well, actually, a lot. His Bob Avila Collection is one of the most popular bit lines in Western performance.
Last year alone, horsemen bought more thanof Avila's signature bits. As Bob said, he could easily write an entire book about bits and correction bit bob avila reining proper use. But we asked him to distill his knowledge down to an easily swallowed drink. He obliged us with candor and characteristic graciousness.
Avila says that he's got several hundred bits in his tack room, but that they are all based on three basic designs. This stems from a sort of a mental game he's played in which he answers the questions: A ring snaffle is a type favored by trainers for starting colts and taking them through most reining maneuvers.
The snaffle consists of a bit mouthpiece attached to round or D-shaped rings on either side. The mouthpiece applies direct pressure on the tongue and bars of the horse's mouth, while the rings act on the sides of the mouth and, sometimes, on the sides of the jawbone. Instead, a bit is a snaffle because it doesn't have mechanical leverage. The amount of pull exerted by the hands is equal to the amount of force felt by the horse's mouth.
A curb bit has shanks attached to the mouthpiece that create a mechanical advantage by multiplying the force exerted through the rider's hands. In principle, this is not to punish the horse or force it to comply, but rather to allow the rider to lighten his or her hands and increase responsiveness.
One has to be careful, however, not to abuse the force these put correction bit bob avila reining one's hands. Avila's preference is a grazing bit, one of the most gentle kinds of curb bits. Characteristically, the grazing bit has a low port, or curve to the mouthpiece, which exerts little or no pressure on the top of the horse's mouth.
This is an ideal bit for many green riders who are not capable of keeping their hands still, have a tendency to balance themselves with the bridle, or who simply pull on the reins too hard out of inexperience. On young horses, grazing bits are often used as an introduction to the curb bit. In expert hands, they can be precise and responsive. Avila's third correction bit bob avila reining is a correction bit, one of the most misunderstood designs. A correction bit is a type of curb bit.
Typically, there are hinges on either side of the correction bit bob avila reining, as well as hinges on the cheeks. This gives the bit lots of movement in correction bit bob avila reining mouth, which Bob feels helps to keep the horse more supple.
Though there are other types of bits, Bob shared this secret: Avila says the first thing people need to understand is that bits are tools, not training solutions. But they do not, in and of themselves, solve holes in a horse's training. When confronted with a problem, he says, they reach for a new bit. When that doesn't solve the problem, they reach for a bigger more severe bit.
He only steps up to a curb bit—one that brings mechanical leverage into the equation—when he feels the horse is sufficiently capable of doing its correction bit bob avila reining. If he starts to encounter difficulties in the horse's training, he told us, his solution is not to look for a more persuasive curb-type correction bit bob avila reining, but to regress back to the ring snaffle. And that, unfortunately, can mean trying and owning a large collection of bits if you are maintaining a stable of riding horses.
But don't be tempted to buy and change bits frivolously; they are not fashion accessories. The bit itself is the frame.
He goes with what worked in training. As for the metals that go into his bits, he is a firm proponent of copper. In his line, he says he looks for any correction bit bob avila reining every opportunity to add copper to the mouthpiece. It loosens up the salivary glands. That's why almost all my bits come with copper inlays, or copper bands. Many horsemen believe that a sweet-iron bit accomplishes the same thing as copper, as the rust and steel also tend to stimulate the horse to salivate.
It's something one has to experiment with to determine what the horse actually prefers. In some cases, it may simply come down to rider preference. Asked which bits in his collection get the most interest from buyers, he says that correctional bits are his biggest sellers. But he doesn't always feel it's for the right reasons. A correctional does correction bit bob avila reining a lot of feel and action, so knowing how best to use it is a key to success.
Though some suggest that a horse be kept only in a correctional correction bit bob avila reining for the purpose of correcting correction bit bob avila reining deficit, Avila says he often keeps horses in one of these complex bits throughout its riding career. Do you need to spend lots of money on a bit? Bob doesn't think so. I went with what I call a 'Walmart' approach. But every bit we make, I test. And I get rid of the ones I don't like. And they're good quality—we guarantee them for life.
Those are the evergreens correction bit bob avila reining his barn, the ones he goes to again and again and again. I can't even tell you why. But he cautions against thinking that the bit he uses, or correction bit bob avila reining used by your trainer or your barn buddy, is necessarily the right one for you.
Just as guitarists often say that 90 percent of a guitar's tone depends on the person playing it, the same rule seems to apply to riders when it comes to bits.
And you can take bits and one person and get as many. So, in short, there is no easy solution. It's a game that requires much trial and error, experience and, unfortunately, sometimes a lot of money amassing a collection. But if there's one bit of advice that you come away with after this discussion with one of the horse world's premier riders and teachers, it is this: Published by National Reining Horse Association.
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