The Untracked Mind Blog

A Bit On Bits

When asked about favorite bits, a friend of mine said, "I use the kind of bit that comes on a headstall." Well, I can get along with about any bit if I have to, but I have a few favorites for retraining off-track Thoroughbreds to be ranch mounts and work cattle. As a former jockey and later, a trainer who galloped my own string, I have an advantage getting into the mindset of the racehorse to "untrack" him.

The first thing I change in a retired racehorse's routine is the feel of all the tack he wears, from the heft of a western saddle with double cinches, to his headgear and bit. At the track, a ring snaffle and direct rein contact is the norm, so I take my training the opposite direction by riding with a curb bit, which uses leverage, and I stay off the horse's mouth. With long days gathering cattle on varying terrain, a horse has to learn to balance himself, so I can't be worrying about riding on contact or "wearing out the brakes."

My curb bits usually have a solid, thick mouthpiece with a mild port in the center for tongue relief and moderate shank length of around two inches, with big rings to keep the horse from lipping or grabbing the shanks. I like a "sweet iron" mouth, which is steel and gets better as it develops a coating of rust through use. A "correction bit" with shanks which move independently of each other is another handy transition too. The weight of a heavier bit is useful for keeping the head carriage lower, as are the harness leather training forks (running martingale) I make and use daily. I prefer a leather curb strap, as it tends to have less "bite" on the chin groove than a chain curb.

While some of my bits have a fixed shank and others a swivel action, I ride a curb bit with two hands until the horse has advanced to roping. This gives me a chance to introduce the leverage effect of the curb while incorporating some direct rein cues already familiar to the racehorse. Adding leg, spur and outside rein helps progress the horse toward neck reining, or indirect reining.

I seldom use broken-mouth curbs, sometimes mistakenly called a leverage snaffle, because of the nut-cracker effect on the jaws. While tack catalogs are full of this type of bit, I find it easier to fix tongue issues and quiet the jaw with a solid bit. Sometimes, taking a bit to the shop to weld, file and modify it to suit my needs is the only way to end up with the piece of equipment I want to use for a given horse.

Some bit companies like to rank the severity of a bit on the level of the horse, but I think it should be based on the level of the rider. Bits, reins or long-reins are no better than the hands at the other end.

This year saw a lot of changes for our operation here at Gate to Great/Horse Creek Thoroughbreds. Thank you to everyone who made it possible!

It's cold and we are bored, so we thought we would make these fun little videos of the boys.  Enjoy!

As many of you know, our RRTP Thoroughbred Makeover Duck has become very special to us and his journey over the summer of 2013 certainly changed our own.  This video is a tribute to what he means to us.

Ok, so we have SO MUCH amazing footage from Saturday's Newell Ranch Rodeo that getting it organized is proving a monstrous task.  So we took a few of the best clips and made a quick "preview" of all the fun we had.  "Team Duck" rocked!

Not only did Team Duck WIN the rodeo, but we also took the "Shoot-Out" at the end, which pits the top 4 teams against each other in one final competition.  We also won two "Top Hand" awards when Team Duck member Allen Stirling took the overall "Top Hand" and our youth roper, Jace Engesser, took "Top Youth Hand" on his little buckskin, Bucky, who was also named "Top Horse".  Our other team members included Karen Seaman (on the pretty Palomino) and our mutton buster, Ben Ismay...both of whom did a fine job! 

And let's hear it for the horses...Duck at his very first rodeo did GREAT and Swingn Slew filled in at the end to make sure the always-chaotic sheep tee pee went to plan when we saw we were in the running to win. 

All in all, it was a pretty good sweep for Team Duck!

Look for some more footage later this week, but for now we leave you with "The Preview Show".  Enjoy!

We assisted some neighbors branding calves this past weekend. Of the 230+ calves, Dale's horse, Swingn Slew roped and brought to the branding crew a fourth or more...this after spending 4+ hours rounding them up! Retired at age 5 in 2011 after 22 starts, this grandson of AP Indy has turned into an absolutely rock solid ranch horse and a GREAT GELDING! Thoroughbreds have the intelligence to learn any job and the heart to work all day!

Here a video of Slew roping a calf and bringing him into the branding pen: 

Some days our OTTB's really live up to their name! 

Yesterday we assisted our neighbors in moving a group of cows and calves down the road to a new pasture.  Dale was mounted on a horse in training, barn name Columbus but his registered name is "Bold Roar" (Roar x Nellie's Crown by Crowning for you pedigree buffs).  Columbus has been in the program since last fall and knows his way around cows, but he learned a whole new lesson on this trip.

The most difficult part about the route we had these cattle on was the bridge that crosses the creek...it is an old wood plank structure and sits about 30-40 feet above the creek bed below.  But the worst part about this bridge is that it has no guard rails of any kind, just a roa-width of planks and a long drop to the creek below.  Needless to say, the cows were not terribly keen on making the crossing, which made for quite a lot of work for the riders. READ MORE...