So you have decided to take the leap and start using a double bridle but you want to make sure you do it correctly. We have put our collective years of experience together to give some advice to help you achieve this.
First off, be aware that there are some horses that just don't like the double bridle and don't go well in it, no matter what you do. Some horses go better with a double bridle.
Horses with a thick, short neck, and a short poll, who are difficult to supple, may go better with a double bridle. The weight of the two bits in the mouth often has the effect that they become rounder.
Horses with a long thin neck, on the other hand, can easily get too low and behind the vertical, so it's almost not worth it to ride them with a double bridle. With these horses, it may be better to ride with a cavesson and the snaffle instead. There are parallels between the double bridle and the cavesson and snaffle, or the cavesson and curb. You can use similar techniques with both. Of course, if you want to compete with the double bridle, you have to find a solution that works.
As you introduce the double bridle, pay attention to the effect that it is having and be prepared to stop using it if it isn’t right for your horse. Take time to introduce it systematically to the horse to ensure success in the long run. Of course, you can just put it on the horse and ride as always. That's how most people do it. It can work, but when you explain it by connecting the horse’s legs to the two bits and the four reins, it opens the horse’s mind and body because he understands the language of the aids much better.
In the classical tradition, the double bridle is introduced by retracing all the training steps from the beginning up to that point, but in a shorter amount of time than before. In other words, don't go crazy with zig-zag half passes, piaffe, and passage the first time you use a double bridle, but ride forward on straight lines and large circles for a few days, because due to the increased weight in their mouth some horses hesitate to make contact with the bits. They lower the neck, get behind the vertical and hide behind the aids.
Begin by creating a back to front connection from both hind legs to the two bits. This is easier to accomplish by riding bigger lines and avoiding tight turns or complicated combinations of lateral movements.
What works well at first is to let the horse simply carry the curb to get a feel of the two bits, similar to the way we introduce the saddle to a green horse. We don't climb on and ride the horse right away, but we give him a few days in which he wears the saddle while we longe him and work him in hand without the weight of the rider. We repeat the same work with the saddle that we had done without the saddle up to that point. It’s the same when we introduce the bit to the green horse that's never been ridden. We let him carry the bit in his mouth while we repeat the same work at the longe line as before. By the same token, we let the horse merely carry the curb bit at first, but we initially make contact only with the snaffle bit.
For the rider, the biggest challenge is often to coordinate the four reins and to use the two bits separately. If you are just starting to ride with a double bridle yourself, keep the curb reins slightly slack and ride only with the snaffle reins to get used to the feel of the reins in your fingers.
Sometimes when I ride with the double bridle I keep the curb reins pretty slack and I only shorten them when I feel like I want to use the curb a little bit. The rest of the time I'm just riding on the snaffle. It can happen easily that the curb reins end up being tighter than the snaffle reins. So you have to check the rein length all the time to make sure that the curb reins don’t have more contact than the snaffle reins. The rein length also needs to be the same on both sides, because you can end up with one tight rein and one loose rein if you don’t pay attention to it.
For introducing the double bridle to a horse or a rider, I like the Fillis way of holding the reins, where the snaffle reins come in from the front, between your index finger and thumb. The curb reins come in underneath your little finger. Alternatively, you could hold them between your little finger and your ring finger. The more fingers you have in between the two reins, the more you can then differentiate between the two bits and develop a feel for using the reins separately.
Rotating your wrist so that your thumbs are raised a little towards your body activates the snaffle reins and relaxes the curb reins. Rotating your wrist in the opposite direction, so that your thumbs move downward toward the horse engages the curb reins and relaxes the snaffle reins. You can play with rotating your wrists up and down to develop a feel of the two different bits. The way of holding the reins that you see most frequently in competitions, with the curb rein underneath the little finger and the snaffle rein between the little finger and ring finger, doesn’t allow enough differentiation. It makes it difficult to use just one rein, but not the other. So people tend to put the same amount of pressure on both bits when they half halt.
Another challenge can be to find the right bits for the size of the horse’s mouth. This may take some time and some trial and error. Some horses have a small mouth that doesn’t have enough space for two bits, for instance, if the mouth is very short or the palate is low.
For a while, there was a tendency to believe that a thicker bit is nicer or gentler for the horse, but it's not necessarily true if it doesn't fit in the mouth. A really thick fat bit can be very uncomfortable if there is not enough room to accommodate it. So you have to find out what works best for your horse’s individual needs.
A curb bit with a larger port may be more comfortable if the horse’s tongue is large. But if the palate is low, it will potentially interfere. In this case, a low port may be better. This can be a challenge. Another element to take into consideration is the length of the shanks. The longer the shanks, the more leverage they will have, which means that the rein aids set in more gradually, which is an advantage for the refinement of the aids, but they can also exert more pressure. They tend to have a more longitudinally flexing effect.
Shorter shanks have less leverage, which means that the aids set in a little more abruptly, but they exert less pressure. Their longitudinally flexing effect is smaller. So longer shanks may work better with horses who have short, thick necks and fleshy polls, while shorter shanks may be more suitable for horses with long slender necks.
Hopefully, this information helps you as you introduce the double bridle to your toolbox. Make sure you have bits that work for your horse’s mouth, go slowly repeating the early stages of training, and concentrate on using the four reins properly to allow differentiation of the two bits.
