With all due respect, I don't believe in using any tricks, devices with weights, or any other artificial means to "cause" a horse to bend at the poll. It can also "cause" unnecessary pain and sometimes injury. Have you ever seen a horse with a broken poll? I have and it's not pretty!
I like a horse to bend at the poll because it's been properly ridden over enough time for the correct muscles to develop. With properly developed muscles and a sensitive rider conversing with the horse, he/she will naturally bend at the poll and with no discomfort. To me that is true horsemanship (vs. mere strong-arming with bits or devices). While numerous books offer help, the best way to learn is through a qualified instructor because no book explains any where near all that's involved in the process.
Riders seeking merely the "look" of a highly gymnasticised horse going 'on the bit' have in reality no more than a "look". To the trained eye, a horse reveals the quality of their training via their way of going, As Mark Rashid said: "horses don't lie".
Best Wishes, Judy in NE TN
<stevehud58@...> wrote: . . .
>> One little trick I came up with to add weight and better balance to the bit, (causing the horse to stay bent at the poll), is to make leather "shanks" out of the narrow Weaver slobber straps by placing them through the lower uxter slots of the D ring on the Kimberwick.
>
> One half of the strap I shave down so it will fit through the slot.
>
> I drill and place a chicago screw up close to the bit and one more down close to the rein hole in the strap. This makes it just stiff enough to work as a shank when neck reining but when direct reining it flexes enough to become part of the rein. The weight it adds requires the horse to be bent at the poll to keep the port comfortable in his mouth.
>
> I usually use a sport (1/2" rope) rein with this setup. I buy the fleet farm, braided utility rope and pull the center cords out of it so that it lays a little flatter. It comes in about any color you can imagine.
>
> Just another note is that any horse that is used in a shanked bit should be taught to vertically flex in a snaffle bit before advancing to a shanked bit. Otherwise the horse will often throw their head in fighting the bit. Then the owner goes to a tom thumb style bit to "fix" that problem not realizing the danger they are putting themselves in.
>
> Steve
> http://fixabrokehorse.com
>
>
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