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Jullelin — Bridle, Bit and Reins Tutorial
Published: 2011-01-19 19:14:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 113235; Favourites: 1479; Downloads: 0
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Description
A tutorial, from me!!!
Have you missed it?
I warn you, huge file!
Well, this time I learn you how to draw bridles, bits and reins. I got interested in it today when I saw pictures of horses which had sharp bits, but the horse is nice and easygoing. Strange, I though. And so I started to study about it, and thought that I would do a tutorial about it
Even I needed to look through what I was putting on my horses, even I have made some misstakes
Im a beginner, so there might be some errors in this. But if you find any, don't be afraid to correct me
I hope that this help you, and all the harpg memberso out there.
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Tools & Info 
Refference: Many References for information and pictures of bridles, bits and reins. Estimated time: About 6 hours Tools: Wacom bamboo tablet & Photoshop CS Layers: About 60 layers____________________________________________
It's forbidden to copy, download, transmit, distribute, display, reproduce, sell, heavily reference, claim, trace, reuse, license or anything else, without written permition of the respective owner. All rights are reserved!
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Comments: 143
thanks so much<3 i always used to just put whatever i normally saw. but this explains the little details, so i don't have to worry about if i had it right or not!
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Wow, this was really informative! Even though I haven't yet tried to draw anything on horses, or even draw a horse!; this was still informative because even though I ride, I didn't know what some of the bits/martengales were used for.
Thanks and good job. Keep up the good work
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love it now if i can find one for coloring and shading a body
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i just wanted to let you know that i refrence this all the time since you put it up 2 weeks ago
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Ayy Jullelin, you should do a tutorial ybout saddles as well.
this helped a lot and you did it veery great.:3
thanks a lot for it.
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i tried it and it worked to a point lets just hope this one doesent turn out like your last tutorial that person makes me soooooooo mad
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This is so good! I hope people get what they need to learn from it 
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Love this! I have a question because I'm trying to make a point to someone; say you have a 7-year old Thoroughbred who really hasn't been ridden in a couple years and is quite sensitive and generally touchy. If you were going to re-train this horse to ride, would you use a Western curb bit with long shanks on it, or a two-handed, loose-ring broken bit?
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Definitely the snaffle! A long-shanked curb bit should never be used on a touchy horse; it would ruin his mouth in a heartbeat. The long shanks give such leverage that only the lightest of touches is needed to send the desired signal. A sensitive horse that's out of practice and/or a heavy-handed rider can easily cause intense pain. Snaffles are much more forgiving in this, as there's no magnification of force between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth. Hope that helps!
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Thanks! It helps immensely.
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Hey, I have one question. Where have you seen someone use draw reins with the normal reins? Just asking because I've never used them that way.
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By me, for instance. Draw reins should always, ALWAYS be used together with normal reins because when the horse is correctly on the bit their effect should not be there. Think of a kid learning to ride a bike with training wheels that only touch the ground to prevent him from falling should he lose his balance. IMHO it is difficult to use draw reins correctly. You might consider the Thiedemann rein aka German martingale; it has a similar effect and is much easier to use unless you are experienced enough.
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It's just that no one where I'm from uses them with normal reins, so we don't at the barn I go to. I've even asked my instructor, but she won't let me.
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I am not your instructor but just a random on dA the world's most authoritative source for equestrian advice, yet still I think it might be safer to discard the draw reins altogether unless you really know what you are doing.
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I agree with this. I use draw reins in combination with regular reins whenever I'm schooling my stallion, though I almost never need to use the draw reins (he's such a good boy!). For me, it's more of a safety thing to use the regular reins as well- draw reins don't lend themselves to stopping a horse that has decided that lunge whip lying on the ground is really a giant horse-eating snake.
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Man! This is totally going to help me!
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Ser riktigt bra ut 
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I ride horses, but of course don't know everything, so I've only been drawing two types of bridles. Isn't the Achen bridle also called a Flash nose bridle? That's what I've always heard it called, anyway. I really like your drawings, they're all very expressive and pretty!^^ Your stories are a good read, too.
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now i just see how many things i do wrong
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Haha! We all have made big misstakes with our tacks for our horses
Most welcome
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Oh, this is just gorgeous! And so incredibly useful!
I'm honestly always amazed by the enormous variety there are in bridles. I just recently met the bridle against laying the tongue over the bridle on a mare at my barn for the first time.
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You wouldn't mind if I did something similar to this would you? Giving you credit for the idea of course
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Wonderful tutorial, especially good with all those easy to understand explanations. I learned a lot from it
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very good!
but i think that you drawed the hanoverian bridle a little bit wrong....
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Haha thanks for this! 
Oh and I've also ridden with a rope bridle : D haha it looked so awesome on the horse, maybe you should add that one too?? c:
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Very useful and informative! Thanks a lot of posting this!
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omg, today in the morning I googled about tack for about two hours
It is a pity you did not add the full cheek snaffle bit which is very common for show jumping (as far as I know) - I had to search for an endless time until I finally found the English word for it. But of course you can not add every existing bit.
Very useful! Thanks for making this tutorial.
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Man this is great, especially for a western rider such as myself
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This is an excellent tutorial. I actually know nothing about English riding theory and practice, I'm a western rider, and only yearly if that...so I guess you can say I don't really get to ride, but that's life. Anyway, I love this because it teaches about the tack and what it is. I loved the part about the bits because you shared not only what the bit does but when to use it. Same thing with the bridles; I would love to know in what case would you use the Martingales and draw reins b/c I dont know anything about them. But I guess this is stuff I need to study on my own. I've always wondered how English riders teach a horse to be on the bit with the curved crest and all. Now that I reflect, I really know nothing about riding. Sad life.
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this is really nicely put together. i've been rising and showing for years and i never think about the bridal and bit in my art other than for aesthetic purposes. thanks you for posting such a simple and elegant tutorial for this subject!
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Lots of good information, however very unorganized and missing key components. You should keep information about the mouthpiece and the bit rings of the different bits separate, because they function separately. A snaffle bit is considered the gentlest because it uses direct pressure on the horse's mouth, not leverage. The bit ring is what determines whether your bit is a snaffle or a leverage bit. So, your loose ring, eggbutt and D-ring bits are all considered to be snaffle bits because of direct pressure to the horses' mouth. A D-ring, because of the straight edge, helps horses with steering problems, as well as the full-cheek snaffle bit. 3-jointed mouthpieces are softer on the horses tongue, but should not be used on a horse who tends to lean on the riders hands.
The elevator bits(the ones with multiple rings), curbs, and other leverage bits put pressure not only on the horse's mouth, but on the pole(top of their head). And you didn't mention this, but the cheek piece on the gag bit goes through the bit ring, so when the rein is pulled it puts a lot of pressure on the horse's pole. Elevator bits should be used with two reins, and the pelham(also two reins) is used for horses who pull. Gag bits are usually seen on polo horses.
There's also different types of nosebands, cranks and such. Pads and no pads, etc. A lot of dressage riders use double bridles, so the horse actually has two bits in his mouth, not pelhams.
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There needs to be a 'Like' button on here. Well said!
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haha Thank you! =]
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Very nice tutorial. I just wanted to mention a few things:
-The severity of the bit is determined by the thickness of the bar the in the horse's mouth. The thinner the bit, the harsher it is on the horse's mouth. Think of it like pushing a marker against the corners of your mouth versus pushing a knife against them.
-Jointed bits actually serve the purpose of breaking up if the horse tries to lean on them so that they can't just rest their head on the bit. There are horses that figure out how to lean against the bit even with these bits, but it's harder for them.
-Straight bits are used on horses with soft mouths or sometimes to start younger horses because they are thicker and gentler on the horse's mouth.
-Hackamores can be used by inexperienced riders, as long as the horse is gentle. I've worked with several horses whose mouths were too sensitive for bits, but with hackamores were perfectly gentle and taught many first-time riders how to ride.
-The simple bridle is more often used for Western riding than English riding.
-The Standing Martingale is often used with horses that toss their heads. They dislike the pressure and tend to keep their heads lower.
-Draw Reins are mostly used a training aid. The hope is that eventually the horse will lower his head without the draw reins.
Fun fact: The extra strap on the Aachen bridle is called a flash.
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A thicker bit can be Very uncomfortable for a horse with a small mouth, making the horses mouth to not be able to close completely. The most comfotable for a horse would be a thin bit with a soft hand. Giving the horse space in his mouth
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Standing martingales are suitable for jumping, though not over any great height, as long as they are properly adjusted. This is the type of martingale typically used in the hunter ring. It's only purpose is to prevent the horse from throwing its head up, not to restrict normal head movement.
Running martingales are used for jumpers and equitation horses, as well as cross country, but they don't attach to the side of the horse. It, too, attaches underneath the horse at the girth. The difference is the pressure is applied to the bit if the horse throws his head, not the noseband, and so it lessens the risk of injury to the horse over higher fences. It also helps to prevent the reins from flying over the head if the rider looses them, though this is not its primary purpose.
Figure 8 nosebands and flash nosebands (what you called the achen) are used for the same purpose - to keep the muzzle shut so that a horse cannot open his mouth to avoid the bit or cross his jaw. It also holds the bit steadier in the mouth. Some people believe that figure 8s allow more comfort and ability to breath for the horse - that is the only difference.
Curb bits do not use two bits. (Only double bridles use two bits. Curb bits work by combining bit pressure with pressure on the chin groove and poll. These are leverage bits. Pelham bits work by using, instead, two reins. The top rein operates the bit in a snaffle, or direct contact fashion, while the bottom rein allows the use of leverage.
A good idea, just a few key mistakes.
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Great Tut on drawling! I needed the help, but hey, you can jump in a standing martingale 
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Oh, I wish that those 3 and 4 ring bits were banned from show here in Sweden as well. Seeing those children tug at their ponies reins with those bits -shudder- I heard that those 3, 4 ring bits that only have one joint in the middle create a nutcracker effect, which means it stands right up in the horse mouth when you pull it, the horse tries to escape it and appears to look like it's walking on the bit, with it's head, but it's actually the opposite. I know there are lots of different thoughts about horses 
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Other than a few spelling and gramatical errors, this is superb tutorial! I very much enjoyed the explanation of the different types of equipment used, as well as their purposes. I will definitely be looking at this later in the future, as I'm only knowledgeable in what's used for saddleseat dressage, ahah c: Well done~!
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Haha, you haven't listed the bit that I use. Though it's probably hardly common. I use this: [link] A Kimberwick. Does the job so its okay.
But cool tutorial, would probably help a lot of people who don't have horses and haven't worked a bridle to draw them.
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I wish this was around when I put my real bridle together XD
Instead, it will help me a lot with drawing them! Thanks so much *Jullelin
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THAT WS AMAZING. Excellent stuff.
Then you ought to make two for saddles from both continents. XDD
(haha, I;m just giving you tons of work, aren't I? ) XD
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Ah, very helpful!
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great idea! I would however like to ad that maybe you should make it known that Anti-Rear bits are ONLY used with leadropes. never meant to attach reins to one of those babies! ouch!
Also i dont means to correct you this is meerly my understanding, but i was taught the french snaffles with the double joint in the mouth are softer than the regular one jointed snaffle as the singular joint when halted forces pressure on the roof of the mouth however the double joint eliminated that, reducing pain, therefore being less harsh.
that is JUST my understanding, although i'd be suprised if i am wrong.. i have dont quite a lot of horse related study at university. BUt hey teach me somethign new
Still i think this is a fantastic idea, i think a lot of peopel use curbs because they look fancier with the double reins etc xD silly people!
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Durrr i read back over your comments and realise you've already been told abotu the three/two peice mix up >.< SORRYY!
still might be worth ading in that anti rear bits are for leading
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