Thursday, April 23, 2009

Bit of the Week - "The One Hander"


As strange as it looks, the "One-Hander" seems to work on my boyfriend's rope horse. It may be the craziest looking bit I've ever seen, but that's why I'm mentioning it!

The bit has an adjustable mouthpiece so you can fit it to your horses bars exactly, and the shanks that come together are connected by extremely flexible springs. 

I was so skeptical of it when Corey, my boyfriend, brought it home to try. He is a team roper, and his horse Cherokee has always been very strong and hasn't had a great stop. Corey had a correction bit on him for the better part of the horse's life, and his mouth was a bit tough. He would always stick his tongue out and play with the bit, and every time Cherokee was asked to turn he would begrudgingly fight the bit. 

Now, with this bit, however the pressures hit him, he never fights it. The "One-Hander" is not nearly as severe as the correction bit Cherokee was used to, but its mechanics just keep this old broke horse much happier. He's been roping steers with the bit for a week now, and as strong as Cherokee is coming out of the box, Corey's had complete control. 

I can't say that this particular bit would work for most barrel horses, but it seems like a great riding bit for a nice broke horse. The maker of this bit, American Bridle Bit, makes different bits with an adjustable mouthpiece that aren't connected, so they might be a better choice for barrel horses. They also have custom port options for varying port needs. 

Made only in America and available only from the inventor of the bit, this bit is sort of expensive. It's on sale now for about $140, when it is normally $160. It comes with a lifetime guarantee and a 30-day warrantee, though. 

3 comments:

  1. thta first bit scarred me when i saw it. i dont think i would ever use a bit like that on my horse. but if anyone wants an amazing bit i highly recomend looking up the pee wee bit. they have their own website about it. im getting one for my jumper. ive heard nothing but amaizng things about it. its perfect for all diciplenes!

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  2. I definitely don't think this bit would work for a jumper! It is a nice idea though, with its rotating mouth piece that adjusts to the size of the horse's mouth. They do have some others on their site that could work for a jumper, though.

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  3. I bought a Pee Wee Bit for my friends horse we are starting. I liked it originally because it was curved and was mullen mouthed. I hate the traditional snaffles because of the nut cracker effect so liked the mullen mouth piece and always want my bits to curve forward to allow full freedom for the horses tongue to swallow and breath. But when I tried it on the horse I seen that because it started curving starting on the rings it puts all the pressure on the tongue and bars and didn't allow the tongue to move up in the mouth! Very bad design I think. He still fliped and roots his head. And I am an experienced good handed trainer! I have tried it on 3 other horses and no good drastic results! It might work for some but not for me!

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