Twisted/serrated Bits
All twisted mouthpieces are considered more severe than smooth mouthpieces. In general, they are not appropriate for novice riders or those with harsh or unskilled hands. Neither these nor any bits should be used to the point where they cause bleeding of the horse's mouth.
If a rider believes such a bit would benefit his horse, he should first look at the animal's training and his own skills. Many problems can be resolved through proper training, rather than harsher bitting. Usually, it is the less-skilled riders who find the need to use harsher bits, because they can't control their horses in anything else.
That being said, there are cases in which skilled riders can use such bits to their advantage, and improve the horse's training. These bits are NOT permitted in dressage competition, and are generally not used for schooling dressage horses.
Read more about this topic: Bit Mouthpiece
Famous quotes containing the words twisted and/or bits:
“He gets red roses in different places,
the head, that time he was as sleepy as a river,
the back, that time he was a broken scarecrow,
the arm like a diamond had bitten it,
the leg, twisted like a licorice stick....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all, just as an intelligence without the possibility of expression is not really an intelligence. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing.”
—Luis Buñuel (1900–1983)