I have used this bit for different horses and know it gives me so much information from the horse sometimes before you pick up the cues because of the cricket! Thank you!
I've just ordered my missing link snaffle from the disciplined ride website, really looking forward to trying it, the horse I've ordered it for, my appaloosa gelding, has a big fat tongue and he's always licking stuff and playing with things with his mouth, I'm hoping this will help him keep focus and the Mullen type design will give his tongue room rather than put pressure on it.. Thanks for all the great advice and tutelage Pat!
I am really liking the missing link snaffle I purchased from you all. It really aids in the pressure relief direction method. Pat, out of all the horse training videos I’ve watched your style has helped me to reconcile all the training methods I’ve been taught from my mentors who have passed on. Take care and thank you for making these videos! Best wishes, Mark from TX Panhandle.
I'm so excited!!! I finally ordered me one and it came in last week and oh my goodness the weight and craftsmanship no joke it feels worth it I even had to order a new headstall and split reins because why not!!! I've wanted one of these since I first saw one and I admire y'all and you have helped me a lot with my rescue twh with collection. God bless y'all!!!
I have a four year old coming on 5 in the spring I've never stepped foot on him but I've been doing ground work and working on my space that he can't come in unless invited. Overmatched Pat and wish you where much closer so I could get tips as we move on. Your friend from cold Wisconsin
Thank you for making this! I have two rides using this bit and am amazed at how fast my mare has adjusted to it. She is super responsive to it. ~Your friends from Arkansas
@@PatnDebPuckettNo problem! Y'all have helped me before. Just a little extra information. My mare is an 8 year old quarter horse. The previous owner used a bosal on her. I transitioned her to a snaffle for a couple of months and now the missing link snaffle. Pretty neat bit. Yes, it is expensive, but it is very well made. With proper care, it will outlast any of us.
Pat, chinacos videos have really grabbed my attention. Can you educate us more on the Lusitano / Spanish breeds? Since their used primarily in English style I wonder what the differences are going from your typical quarter style horse to something with more carriage. How do they go to cattle?
Iberian breeds are born in collection with their necks coming out high on their shoulders and their forehand higher than their hind end so you don’t have to do much to get them to work on their hindquarters. While they might be used primarily in the English riding disciplines in the US, in Portugal and Spain, they are ridden in the Doma Vaquero, Working Equitation, and to work and fight bulls. So they are very aggressive on cattle. The ones who weren’t aggressive did not survive. Their dispositions tend toward being willful but once they understand the job, they excel at it. They lack some of the speed of the quarter horse, but we have long ropes, so that isn’t a problem 😆
Ha ha!!! I love it! How unique. I sure enjoy watching Pat work with the Lusitanos. I love a nice quarter type horse but always a treat to see something different. Thank you!!!
First of all, on this Veteran's Day, I do want to 'Thank You', Pat, for your service. Secondly, do you use your Missing Link snaffle on the mules you work? I keep seeing the double twisted wire snaffles being recommended. I do know the severity of the bit has a lot to do with the sometimes idiot holding the reins, but does a mule really need that kind of a bit if being properly worked with? Is a mules mouth so different from a horses mouth? What are your thoughts? You both do such a service for the equine community. Thank you.
As with horses, it all depends on the individual mule and what experiences they have had. With the mules we get from Baja, we go directly to a western bit. With a young mule, we have a hackamore set up that Pat came up with. As you may have already experienced, mules are known for bolting. That’s something that they inadvertently learn to do. It’s important that they not be allowed to do this so, while we don’t condone a twisted wire snaffle ever, using our Missing Link Snaffle would have to be on a case by case basis. Pat rode a really nice, soft little mule a couple years back at Bishop Mule Days for a man with the Missing Link Snaffle and had great success. The mule we now own, Chula, rides in an ‘S’ Shank western bit just fine. Because she’s really forward, I probably wouldn’t school her in a Missing Link Snaffle. She is taking to the lateral work without help of a direct pull bit. Hope that “explanation” didn’t add to the confusion.
@@PatnDebPuckett Thanks, Deb, for the come back. This mule is a sweetie, but also very forward. Don't know breeding, but big and beautiful. She is a natural runner - 7 years old - 15.2+ and may be out of a Thoroughbred mare. She is new to me. Has some soft ground work done on her. Needless to say, I want to be prepared for a bit of 'accentuated forwardness' when on her so the bit will come into play. Not overly harsh, but something she will listen to and respect. Looking at keeping her as quiet and respectful as possible when working with her. I will start her from scratch to see what she knows. In the mean time, I have time to find a couple western bits that may work. There is just so little mule information and they are more complex to deal with. Thanks for the tip on the bits.
I couldn't really tell in the video but do you have a curb strap on the bit? I just got the missing link snaffle in the mail and am wondering how to set it up. Thank you in advance.
You should always ride snaffle bits with curb straps for safety. It keeps the bit from pulling all the way through the horse’s mouth when you do a one rein stop.
Just received the bit in the mail. I have a gigantic Mustang and had not seen this video but luckily hung it on him and let him wear it. Do you ever make them wider as his head is so big that there is not a lot of release on the sides of the corners of his mouth. Beautiful workmanship on the bit by the way
We appreciate the transitional and "re-educational" value of the snaffle and find we can and maybe should roadmap that for transition to the Bosal as the base case destination versus more and bigger leveraged iron in and around the mouth. What are we concerned about in eschewing the Bosal election? I believe I've seen some impressive Bosal-manship right here on this channel. Is not the snaffle transition period conducive to Bosal as the destination? It's a serious question on my part. Is one a pressure/release proposition and the other a signal proposition so the two are incompatible or counter-productive from the standpoint of the horse's overall career of work? Serious question.
We only use a bosal on horses that we have started and will go to a spade bit. We don't put anything in their mouths except a spade bit once we have arrived at that stage. The bosal is the perfect tool to teach the horse collection and then to respond solely to the rider's body. We do not ride horses in a bosal for life. We need a higher level of collection than can be accomplished in a bosal and we need to the finer level of communication that a spade bit offers. We also ride our horses outside at speeds in a pasture to doctor cattle. So, no, a bosal is not a destination. It was developed by the Jaquima a Freno school of horsemanship so you can't leave out the Freno. Now people use bosals because they don't like the idea of a bit in a horse's mouth mostly because they don't understand how it is supposed to work.
@@PatnDebPuckett Fair enough - if we don't question and experiment (safely) we can not advance but, indeed, what you say is true and correct about the utility of the spade in soft hands. Those last two words being the most important of all as you very clearly know and demonstrate - even with a hackamore, maybe especially with a hackamore. No doubt it's probably impossible to engage a horse in an advanced career of work with just a bosal. Also, no doubt, the leverage applied in bridal rigs multiplies risk as much as leverage in a financial transaction increases risk. It then becomes a fine line between great success and disastrous failure when leverage is involved. Either way, leverage or no; eggbutt or gagger; hackamore or heavy iron, it's usually the horse that loses biggest when we make a mistake and abuse the leverage.
@@Franklin-pc3xd you seem to have missed the point of a spade bit. It’s not about leverage. It’s about signal. People forget that part. Also I’ve seen more damage done to horses’ mouths with Snaffle bits than spade bits. If the curb strap is adjusted properly on a spade bit, you aren’t leveraging the spoon against the horse’s mouth. You’re simply signaling the horse to listen to your body.
Do you see advantages or disadvantages using the half-breed over the spade? You also seem to go from the snaffle directly to the half-breed without use of the hackamore? Thanks.
We don’t use a snaffle when we make a spade bit horse. We reserve that process for colts that are started first in a halter, then go on to the bosal, two-rein, and straight up in the bridle. We use the Missing Link Snaffle on older horses who have already been started and have been ridden incorrectly in some kind of bit, whether it’s a regular broken snaffle, correction bit, or something else. There have been a couple of horses that we’ve started as colts, gone to the bosal, and are ready for the spade, who have not liked the spade bit. Those horses have gone to a half breed. I hope that answers your question.
It depends on where you are: Great Basin: Big, stretchy type horse because of the big circles and high desert ground. Mountains: Stout, short back, hard feet, quarter type. Hill country: Quarter type, big bone. I don’t use Arabs or gaited horses because they can’t take the hit when roping and they’re not catty enough in the corral. My favorites: Quarter horse/Thoroughbred cross, Quarter horse/Thoroughbred/Draft cross, Foundation quarter horse with size 1 shoes. You should also consider natural cow sense and a calm, teachable disposition. Thank you for the question...
Elliott C One that is broke well, just because they look good with a cowboy doesn’t mean they will stay broke if they are not getting ridden a lot, time off and well fed they can get fresh pretty quick.
To clarify, the diameter of the bar refers to the thickness of the metal. A smaller diameter would make the bit more severe. This is the reason Pat selected the diameter that he did when designing this bit. Hope this helps you understand it. We have used this bit on many different sizes of horses with no problems.
The Missing Link only comes in the 5 1/2” width. It’s a very forgiving bit to “size” because of the curve of the mouthpiece and the desire to have it fit a little on the wide side for the pre-signal mentioned in the video. Hope this clarifies things for you...
Hello Sir, My name is Roberto Lomeli from Salinas California. I enjoy watching all of your videos, they are very helpful and informative.I have a question I noticed the curb strap is behind the reins on your snaffle bit is this how you use your set up with this snaffle or is this how you always ride any snaffle. if so, can you please explain the benefit of riding one this way. I may have been doing it backwards all along thank you very much appreciated have a blessed day.
We ride any snaffle bit with the curb strap behind the reins. The presence of the curb strap on a snaffle is for safety...so when you do a one-rein stop, your don’t pull the bit through the horse’s mouth. The reason it’s above the reins instead of below is to keep the horse from lipping the curb strap which sometimes happens on longer muzzled horses. The way we do it keeps it higher than the horse can reach with his lips.
I have used this bit for different horses and know it gives me so much information from the horse sometimes before you pick up the cues because of the cricket! Thank you!
I've just ordered my missing link snaffle from the disciplined ride website, really looking forward to trying it, the horse I've ordered it for, my appaloosa gelding, has a big fat tongue and he's always licking stuff and playing with things with his mouth, I'm hoping this will help him keep focus and the Mullen type design will give his tongue room rather than put pressure on it.. Thanks for all the great advice and tutelage Pat!
I am really liking the missing link snaffle I purchased from you all. It really aids in the pressure relief direction method. Pat, out of all the horse training videos I’ve watched your style has helped me to reconcile all the training methods I’ve been taught from my mentors who have passed on. Take care and thank you for making these videos! Best wishes, Mark from TX Panhandle.
I'm so excited!!! I finally ordered me one and it came in last week and oh my goodness the weight and craftsmanship no joke it feels worth it I even had to order a new headstall and split reins because why not!!! I've wanted one of these since I first saw one and I admire y'all and you have helped me a lot with my rescue twh with collection. God bless y'all!!!
Thank you very much Pat and Deb
I wish I had seen this a year ago before I saved 3 months of wages from work to buy a Tom Balding snaffle...
I just now finally got to order one and I'm ecstatic!!!!!!!!!!!! God bless y'all!!!!!
I have a four year old coming on 5 in the spring I've never stepped foot on him but I've been doing ground work and working on my space that he can't come in unless invited. Overmatched Pat and wish you where much closer so I could get tips as we move on. Your friend from cold Wisconsin
I have watched Pat
Thanks so much. Grew up driving teams. Trying to learn the transition into riding
Love to try this snaffle Pat. Going to order one now. Thanks
Thank you for making this! I have two rides using this bit and am amazed at how fast my mare has adjusted to it. She is super responsive to it.
~Your friends from Arkansas
Thank you for the excellent testimonial!
@@PatnDebPuckettNo problem! Y'all have helped me before. Just a little extra information. My mare is an 8 year old quarter horse. The previous owner used a bosal on her. I transitioned her to a snaffle for a couple of months and now the missing link snaffle. Pretty neat bit. Yes, it is expensive, but it is very well made. With proper care, it will outlast any of us.
Love this bit.
Thank you!
Pat, chinacos videos have really grabbed my attention. Can you educate us more on the Lusitano / Spanish breeds? Since their used primarily in English style I wonder what the differences are going from your typical quarter style horse to something with more carriage. How do they go to cattle?
Iberian breeds are born in collection with their necks coming out high on their shoulders and their forehand higher than their hind end so you don’t have to do much to get them to work on their hindquarters. While they might be used primarily in the English riding disciplines in the US, in Portugal and Spain, they are ridden in the Doma Vaquero, Working Equitation, and to work and fight bulls. So they are very aggressive on cattle. The ones who weren’t aggressive did not survive. Their dispositions tend toward being willful but once they understand the job, they excel at it. They lack some of the speed of the quarter horse, but we have long ropes, so that isn’t a problem 😆
Ha ha!!! I love it! How unique. I sure enjoy watching Pat work with the Lusitanos. I love a nice quarter type horse but always a treat to see something different. Thank you!!!
That's really nice / the bit. Thanks I enjoy your videos
First of all, on this Veteran's Day, I do want to 'Thank You', Pat, for your service. Secondly, do you use your Missing Link snaffle on the mules you work? I keep seeing the double twisted wire snaffles being recommended. I do know the severity of the bit has a lot to do with the sometimes idiot holding the reins, but does a mule really need that kind of a bit if being properly worked with? Is a mules mouth so different from a horses mouth? What are your thoughts? You both do such a service for the equine community. Thank you.
As with horses, it all depends on the individual mule and what experiences they have had. With the mules we get from Baja, we go directly to a western bit. With a young mule, we have a hackamore set up that Pat came up with. As you may have already experienced, mules are known for bolting. That’s something that they inadvertently learn to do. It’s important that they not be allowed to do this so, while we don’t condone a twisted wire snaffle ever, using our Missing Link Snaffle would have to be on a case by case basis. Pat rode a really nice, soft little mule a couple years back at Bishop Mule Days for a man with the Missing Link Snaffle and had great success. The mule we now own, Chula, rides in an ‘S’ Shank western bit just fine. Because she’s really forward, I probably wouldn’t school her in a Missing Link Snaffle. She is taking to the lateral work without help of a direct pull bit. Hope that “explanation” didn’t add to the confusion.
@@PatnDebPuckett Thanks, Deb, for the come back. This mule is a sweetie, but also very forward. Don't know breeding, but big and beautiful. She is a natural runner - 7 years old - 15.2+ and may be out of a Thoroughbred mare. She is new to me. Has some soft ground work done on her. Needless to say, I want to be prepared for a bit of 'accentuated forwardness' when on her so the bit will come into play. Not overly harsh, but something she will listen to and respect. Looking at keeping her as quiet and respectful as possible when working with her. I will start her from scratch to see what she knows. In the mean time, I have time to find a couple western bits that may work. There is just so little mule information and they are more complex to deal with. Thanks for the tip on the bits.
I couldn't really tell in the video but do you have a curb strap on the bit? I just got the missing link snaffle in the mail and am wondering how to set it up. Thank you in advance.
You should always ride snaffle bits with curb straps for safety. It keeps the bit from pulling all the way through the horse’s mouth when you do a one rein stop.
Just received the bit in the mail. I have a gigantic Mustang and had not seen this video but luckily hung it on him and let him wear it. Do you ever make them wider as his head is so big that there is not a lot of release on the sides of the corners of his mouth. Beautiful workmanship on the bit by the way
You can have your farrier hit the bit on his anvil. where it curves on each side. This will flatten the curve slightly and add more width.
@PatnDebPuckett thank you!
We appreciate the transitional and "re-educational" value of the snaffle and find we can and maybe should roadmap that for transition to the Bosal as the base case destination versus more and bigger leveraged iron in and around the mouth. What are we concerned about in eschewing the Bosal election? I believe I've seen some impressive Bosal-manship right here on this channel. Is not the snaffle transition period conducive to Bosal as the destination? It's a serious question on my part. Is one a pressure/release proposition and the other a signal proposition so the two are incompatible or counter-productive from the standpoint of the horse's overall career of work? Serious question.
We only use a bosal on horses that we have started and will go to a spade bit. We don't put anything in their mouths except a spade bit once we have arrived at that stage. The bosal is the perfect tool to teach the horse collection and then to respond solely to the rider's body. We do not ride horses in a bosal for life. We need a higher level of collection than can be accomplished in a bosal and we need to the finer level of communication that a spade bit offers. We also ride our horses outside at speeds in a pasture to doctor cattle. So, no, a bosal is not a destination. It was developed by the Jaquima a Freno school of horsemanship so you can't leave out the Freno. Now people use bosals because they don't like the idea of a bit in a horse's mouth mostly because they don't understand how it is supposed to work.
@@PatnDebPuckett Fair enough - if we don't question and experiment (safely) we can not advance but, indeed, what you say is true and correct about the utility of the spade in soft hands. Those last two words being the most important of all as you very clearly know and demonstrate - even with a hackamore, maybe especially with a hackamore. No doubt it's probably impossible to engage a horse in an advanced career of work with just a bosal. Also, no doubt, the leverage applied in bridal rigs multiplies risk as much as leverage in a financial transaction increases risk. It then becomes a fine line between great success and disastrous failure when leverage is involved. Either way, leverage or no; eggbutt or gagger; hackamore or heavy iron, it's usually the horse that loses biggest when we make a mistake and abuse the leverage.
@@Franklin-pc3xd you seem to have missed the point of a spade bit. It’s not about leverage. It’s about signal. People forget that part. Also I’ve seen more damage done to horses’ mouths with Snaffle bits than spade bits. If the curb strap is adjusted properly on a spade bit, you aren’t leveraging the spoon against the horse’s mouth. You’re simply signaling the horse to listen to your body.
Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
Love all the info just wondering why the chin strap is above the rains
So the horse doesn’t start lipping it.
Why does Pat ride with the chin strap above his reins opposed to below? Thanks Jake
To keep the horse from lipping it. The reins keep it high and out of reach.
Hi there, the Missing Link Bit. In which size they Made? Greetings
They are 5 1/2 inches wide.
Ok so my horse is 6 inches outside cheek to outside cheek your bit says 5 1/4 I think so do you have other sizes
If you place an order, email me at debpuckett@gmail.com with the order number and we’ll modify your bit so that it is wide enough for your horse.
Nice ♥thank you
Do you see advantages or disadvantages using the half-breed over the spade? You also seem to go from the snaffle directly to the half-breed without use of the hackamore? Thanks.
We don’t use a snaffle when we make a spade bit horse. We reserve that process for colts that are started first in a halter, then go on to the bosal, two-rein, and straight up in the bridle. We use the Missing Link Snaffle on older horses who have already been started and have been ridden incorrectly in some kind of bit, whether it’s a regular broken snaffle, correction bit, or something else. There have been a couple of horses that we’ve started as colts, gone to the bosal, and are ready for the spade, who have not liked the spade bit. Those horses have gone to a half breed. I hope that answers your question.
@@PatnDebPuckett Yes, thank you. I hope you will do some videos on the proper use of the hackamore and transitioning into the spade. Thanks again.
Will it still be 4-5 weeks after purchase of the missing link to be shipped, just wonder for when I buy one.
Hey from north texas!
Yes. We are still running about 5 weeks behind.
@@PatnDebPuckett okay thanks
Would this bit be considered a replacement for a regular snaffle bit, or the next step after a regular snaffle? Thanks!
Replacement.
Hey, I am from Washington and I was wondering what to look for when trying to buy a good ranch horse.
It depends on where you are:
Great Basin: Big, stretchy type horse because of the big circles and high desert ground.
Mountains: Stout, short back, hard feet, quarter type.
Hill country: Quarter type, big bone.
I don’t use Arabs or gaited horses because they can’t take the hit when roping and they’re not catty enough in the corral.
My favorites: Quarter horse/Thoroughbred cross, Quarter horse/Thoroughbred/Draft cross, Foundation quarter horse with size 1 shoes.
You should also consider natural cow sense and a calm, teachable disposition.
Thank you for the question...
Elliott C One that is broke well, just because they look good with a cowboy doesn’t mean they will stay broke if they are not getting ridden a lot, time off and well fed they can get fresh pretty quick.
Do you think you could make this with a smaller diameter bar? I think it’s too big for my horse
To clarify, the diameter of the bar refers to the thickness of the metal. A smaller diameter would make the bit more severe. This is the reason Pat selected the diameter that he did when designing this bit. Hope this helps you understand it. We have used this bit on many different sizes of horses with no problems.
How can I get my hands on one of those snaffles?
You can go to our website: www.thedisciplinedride.com/store . Thank you!
How do size a Missing Link Snaffle to the conformation of a horses mouth?
The Missing Link only comes in the 5 1/2” width. It’s a very forgiving bit to “size” because of the curve of the mouthpiece and the desire to have it fit a little on the wide side for the pre-signal mentioned in the video. Hope this clarifies things for you...
@@PatnDebPuckett It clarifies things. Thank you for quick reply.
Hello Sir,
My name is Roberto Lomeli from Salinas California. I enjoy watching all of your videos, they are very helpful and informative.I have a question I noticed the curb strap is behind the reins on your snaffle bit is this how you use your set up with this snaffle or is this how you always ride any snaffle. if so, can you please explain the benefit of riding one this way. I may have been doing it backwards all along thank you very much appreciated have a blessed day.
We ride any snaffle bit with the curb strap behind the reins. The presence of the curb strap on a snaffle is for safety...so when you do a one-rein stop, your don’t pull the bit through the horse’s mouth. The reason it’s above the reins instead of below is to keep the horse from lipping the curb strap which sometimes happens on longer muzzled horses. The way we do it keeps it higher than the horse can reach with his lips.
the devil's in the details. thanks from bama