Bits

[ratherrapid]

hmmm. anybody care to comment? looking at one of these new(very) expensive hs sprenger bits in one of the catalogs. these look to be superb bits. in particular for racing i'm looking at the newest which is the "Dynamic RS". It is a D ring snaffle bit with a jointed snaffle lozerenge over the tongue. the lozerenge is rotated at correct angles to provide even more comfort for the horse.

One problem that i see with the above. The bit material is a copper alloy caused Aurigan and the material is designed to cause the horse to "salivate".
This comment is also prompted by the picture of Showing Up before the Hollywood Derby in the saddling paddock foaming at the mouth. Horses foam with all sorts of bit materials, but, given the volume of foam in that pic ive got to believe that B. Tagg was using a copper bit on Showing Up.

Hillary Vernon (the closest i've seen to someone that does in fact understand bitting) writes on her website that the reason you want the horse to salivate is because if the mouth is dry the "movement" of the bit becomes very unconfortable to the horse--the unspoken words being that the bit would rub on the dry mouth causing friction, hence irritation.

But, here is the fallacy of this, and u see so many fallacies in this business because people just fail to take their thinking all the way to the logical conclusion: salivation may indeed be caused by copper bits, BUT, the horse is going to salivate regardless of the bitting material used. You are in any horse's mouth never going to have a "dry" mouth. (and this is other than to say that there is some bitting material such as maybe iron--i don't know--which might actually dry out the mouth). In point of fact i have never noticed that any of my horses using steel or aluminum bits have dry mouths or are suffering in any way because i am using something other than copper. I believe steel or aluminun or alloy combos of those are just fine for racing purposes.

Now, here is my concern about shelling out $150-$200 for one of these expensive copper allow hs sprenger bits: in thinking about it, do we want race horses to salivate--i am thinking we do not. consistent with comfort,
do we want as little saliva as possible. if there is excess saliva the horse has to swallow. the primary function of most bits prevents or hinders swallowing. hence, does not excess saliva caused by copper really make the horse uncomfortable because he or she bitted has trouble swallowing.

Conclude: though these hs sprenger bits are well designed they are to be avoided due to the copper material???