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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
    
Location: Georgia |
So after 15 years of barrel racing, I literally have a total of 10-12 bits and I'm beginning to think they are all useless! LOL So I've decided im going to start buying bits on a regular basis to help my collection grow. What are some of your must-have, go-to, most useful bits in your tack room? Thank you!
Edited by Runninbay 2015-02-04 8:47 PM
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | I'm interested. I have bit collecting tendencies though I haven't found "the one". My newest horse, I'm pretty sure I could put a small stick in his mouth and he wouldn't care. He just likes to chomp on em. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 209
| I have a continually growing bit collection, I just can't help myself. Some of my favorites and go-to bits are my original charmayne james grasshopper, and my kathy james. I have several others I love as well but those are probably my top two. |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | I have a Dave Elliott 06/10 that I work EVERYTHING in. It keeps horses round, helps them to get/stay collected and using their hind end, REALLY helps support a horse in quality movement. I will NEVER EVER EVER be without this bit in my tack room.
I also use my twisted o-ring A TON.
I also have a couple of Neil Merrill/Mylers that I love that work really well with my hands, which are very soft and fast. When I take hold of a horse, I want a response RIGHT NOW. I don't do well with most gag bits for this reason. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| Hodges futurity bit (chain mouth) can't live without it!
A dutton long shank with a roller
Any Ed wright bits but preferably the locked gag ones and his JD hack
Stivers hack
I'm a bit hoarder so I have a ton but the first one is my fave |
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Member
Posts: 18
| Hodges futurity Bit & a basic o-ring |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
Location: London Ontario | I love a good old twisted wire snaffle on a D ring. I also love a training fork with the twisted wire when I am tuning on one. I will not go without! |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | I love twisted wire loose ring snaffles. I have every thickness. I also LOVE waterford full cheek bits for starting them.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1028
| I think I may have all of Sherry Cervi's bits.. I'm a "bit" of a fanatic. My favorite is the short shank with the dog bone mouthpiece.
I have a Petska chain bit that I think I've rode everything in at one point or another.
I have a really old sliding D ring gag with a big twisted wire mouthpiece that nobody could give me enough money for. Love the weight of it and my horses seems to really love it too. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Carol Goosetree everything.
I love her Simplicity line, especially the chain mouth. The chain double gag shank bit is phenomenal. They work beautifully on a horse that wants to brace on a bit.
I'm riding a Goosetree designed long shank low port curb bit on my bendy bendy horse.
I ride a Pozzi short shank twisted wire lifter on my really broke and finished mare, it makes her turns sooo snappy. Unless you're educated in how the hip works though, shank bits should be left alone.
For o rings, I like three piece o rings with a dogbone. They don't pinch. I do ride a tiny twisted with a German martingale or headsetter if I need somebody's attention, but they don't usually stay in it.
I love my little CJ Chappy bit. Everybody carries that when I'm trotting/loping their first patterns. Great little bit.
Edited by classicpotatochip 2015-02-05 8:30 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| L&W bits are my fav because I've had the fancy ones and they really do no different in a run than than the fancy ones.I've paid for the $150 dollar ones and if I was a reining person whose horse kept a lot of buttons in the run for what I was needing to do yea I would probably pay the money and prefer to have a bit all balanced BUT L&W works just as good for a run. I have lynn mackenzie, martha josey, cervi's, pozzi, loomis, and a few other "gimmick bits" hanging in the trailer. I say gimmick because you can get the same for cheaper at any bit maker and probably customize it better to your needs.
O-ring snaffle's from twisted to hex mouth pieces in all thicknesses. A gaggle of lift bits, five bits, six bits, and combo all different mouth pieces and thickness in the trailer.
Must haves and favorites: Lift bits in med and long shark with medium hex mouth, small twisted wire snaffle, medium smooth mouth snaffle, combination steel nose hack, and six bit with copper mouth
The steel nose hack or "alpo" bit is something one only needs when they are being naughty and it is only on for tuning but I've had the occasionally horse that gets run in it only. Its NOT something you use everyday and if I get a horse in that requires it my goal is to get them light enough to not need it at all.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 635
Location: Cedar Hill, TN | I have a dutton combo bit with a dog bone and I love it! It is my go to!!! |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | I have the Elliott Spur Up 03 long shank with the 07 mouthpiece and it is an AWESOME bit. I want to add more Elliotts to my collection.
The bits I use the most:
draw gag (loomis)
simplicity either the smooth snaffle with chain in the middle or the 3 piece twisted wire
Ed wright medium shank 3 piece twisted wire and we also have an ed wright med shank mullen we use, i have a short shank but i don't use it a lot
The Elliott bit I mentioned already
and a Pozzi hackamore
I also ride my colts in an O ring or D ring and I have a few of those. I just haven't gotten around to riding the colt I have at the moment!
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | My must haves:
o-ring
Loomis draw gag
Lw 5 bit
Lw short shank lifter
Sherry Cervi short shank lifter
Lifter bit w/rope nose
Ed wright pretzle bit
Jim Warner hack
I feel like with these I could ride about anything. I like a 3 piece w/chain center or dr Bristol type mouthpieces. I am on the hunt for a good o-ring or simplicity type combo bit tho! |
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 Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | My go to for every horse except one is just a regular old chain bit. That is what I use for everyday riding unless I am trying to fix something.
Other than the chain bit I love my Simplicity's and I have a locked gag Ed Wright. We have a ton of bits in the tack room but I have 4 that I go to the most often.
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| It's not my must have bit, but my horse's! He absolutely loves the 3 piece smooth mouth piece on the Dutton bits. He doesn't really care about the shank or anything else. If I use a 3 piece mouth, but made by someone else, he won't open his mouth the next day, I have to use my thumb to open his mouth. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | Oh geeze! Is this a bit-o-holics Annonimous thread? Lol
Hi my name is imturnin3 and I'm a bit of a bitaholic. Hahah
I used to have about over 30-40 plus bits
I'm prob down to 12-15 but
My must haves:
3 PC smooth L&W
3pc twisted cervi
Chain bit Rosie gag
Camarillo w/lifesaver
Twisted wire jr cowhorse
Loomis draw gag
Rope hack
Looking to get a Waterford
Liking the professionals choice Futurity and derby lines
Edited by imturnin3 2015-02-05 9:55 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| My favorite bits
Dave Elliott spur up in a Mullen and a 3 piece
Sheri cervi diamond lifter in a 3 piece
Lynn Mackenzie short gag with a 1 mouth piece made by myler
Dutton snaffle bits 3 piece
Dutton draw gag 3 piece
S shank hack
If I need more rate I will use the Charmayne James grasshopper bit
If I need more nose control, I will use a o-ring combo, or a Dave Elliott Dee Butterfield combo bit with a 3 piece
I also have the Ed wright fixed lifter bit in small and medium (I just seen classic equine Sheri cervi line has come out with a replica)
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 Regular
Posts: 96
| I will be the first to admit, I'm a bit hoarder. I have close to 50+ and still buy ones I don't have on a regular basis. Out of those 50ish my top 4 go to bits are:
Ed Wright Med shank dogbone (locked)
I also have the unlocked of this I will use depending on the horse
O-ring chain snaffle
Ed Wright Long Shank Chain
and a Pozzi Med Shank Smooth mouth lifter, has very little gag.
I have about every bit in the Ed Wright collection, and for some reason, no matter how many others I try, I always end up going back to one of them.
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 I don't want to screw up!
Posts: 3881
Location: North Dakota -> Colorado | I have three "must-haves" for finished horses that will never leave my possession. I have the Ed Wright 3-piece Dogbone (fixed or unfixed), the little s hack, and a Reinsman Light Lifter that I like to condition horses in. I also have a couple of Dutton bits, and a series of 3 piece dogbones in various shank lengths. |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | If I could only have two bits, I would keep my Jim Warner hack and my chain mouth Rosie gag bit. I'm pretty sure I could run any horse on the planet in one of those two bits.
Beyond that, I love my chain mouth Mike Beers bit, a smooth mouth Jr Cowhorse with a roller and a longer shanked Billy Allen reining bit with a roller. My trailer is full of hacks, chain mouth bits and 3-piece bits with rollers, and I have several different versions of each. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 964
Location: Alberta, Canada | Have a bit of a collection but my favorite bits
o-ring snaffle (have several different mouthpieces)
sweet 6
camarillo trigger bit ****THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!!!!
pozzi short shank lifter
tender touch
original grasshopper
camarillo chain bit
Have lots of others that I like and have used but these are ones that I find myself using over and over with all different horses! |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | GLP - 2015-02-05 9:46 AM It's not my must have bit, but my horse's! He absolutely loves the 3 piece smooth mouth piece on the Dutton bits. He doesn't really care about the shank or anything else. If I use a 3 piece mouth, but made by someone else, he won't open his mouth the next day, I have to use my thumb to open his mouth.
I've had a lot of horses like that mouthpiece. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| rodeowithjoker - 2015-02-05 1:33 PM
If I could only have two bits, I would keep my Jim Warner hack and my chain mouth Rosie gag bit. I'm pretty sure I could run any horse on the planet in one of those two bits.
Beyond that, I love my chain mouth Mike Beers bit, a smooth mouth Jr Cowhorse with a roller and a longer shanked Billy Allen reining bit with a roller. My trailer is full of hacks, chain mouth bits and 3-piece bits with rollers, and I have several different versions of each.
I have tons of chain mouth bits, large and small. The rosie is one of my favorites... Once I saw how many troubled horses and young horses enjoyed the chain mouth, I buy almost every bit I can with a chain mouth. My other is a egg butt snaffle with a curved mouth. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Look at this cool gadget... I had a big buckskin that I could of most certainly used this on. He wanted to be bucking horse of the year at least 3 times a week....
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
| theerebel - 2015-02-05 10:11 AM
I will be the first to admit, I'm a bit hoarder. I have close to 50+ and still buy ones I don't have on a regular basis. Out of those 50ish my top 4 go to bits are:
Ed Wright Med shank dogbone (locked)
I also have the unlocked of this I will use depending on the horse
O-ring chain snaffle
Ed Wright Long Shank Chain
and a Pozzi Med Shank Smooth mouth lifter, has very little gag.
I have about every bit in the Ed Wright collection, and for some reason, no matter how many others I try, I always end up going back to one of them.
I have about every bit in the Ed Wright collection, and for some reason, no matter how many others I try, I always end up going back to one of them.
ABOVE STATEMENT |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | My horse is a rope horse and he prefers a ported bit, so I really like the Ed Weight pretzel. Even better than that, I like the Mike Beers ported chain--seems to be easier to pack. I cannot live without the hackamore that L&W bits makes...I think it's the Carl hack. On the website it is shown with metal nose, but I got the rope nose and it is light, but it'll get you some whoa if you need it. |
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