Is a sweet iron copper inlay bit just for green horses?

Question

I keep hearing about how this is the perfect bit for training green horses. Is it just for green horses??

Answer 1

My horses are 21 and 22...when I use a bit, it is a sweet iron mouthpiece...it helps them salivate and makes the bit more comfortable for a horse at any age.

Answer 2

Copper is a metal that is very sweet and therefore makes a horse develop more saliva, however, it's a very soft metal - a bit with a mouthpiece made completely of copper can become quite a hazardous device if a horse chomps at it or chews or something that causes gouges and sharp edges.

Sweet Iron is a metal that is intended to oxidize, the oxidation also creates a sweet flavor or a flavor that causes the horse to salivate as well (I think the "sweet" might be a misnomer, as we don't know what horses consider 'sweet').  However, these bits look kinda poor when they've oxidized a lot.

Thus the copper inlay - it allows the copper content to create salivation while not endangering the horse's comfort with sharp or irregular edges.

Stainless steel on the other hand creates a drier mouth - if a horse is overly drooly, stainless steel can help take care of that problem.

I would not make a general statement that bits such as you've described are only for green horses.  It is a known fact that a moist mouth is more able to detect movements of the mouthpiece than a dry mouth.  Therefore, we try to keep the horse's mouth as moist without becoming too much so and keep it quiet (which can also play a part - if the horse is keeping their mouth closed to perhaps suck on the bit like a candy, they are properly positioned to listen - get what I mean?

Quite often young horses are worried a bit by what is happening and may become rather dry-mouthed.  The swet iron and copper tend to help them keep thier mouths moist.

I personally can't remember a time using a bit without any copper in it.  My horses, young and old have always seemed to do better in such a bit than those without anything like that.

I think what's more important is knowledge in bit mechanics - once one knows how and why a bit works and is able to use it competently as a communication tool, such items as copper mouth or not can simply fine-tune what's working - if one is having bit problems, such as resistance, copper likely isn't going to take care of the problem - a whole different bit will be needed and perhaps the copper just becomes the small part of the equation that gives it just a little boost.

Hope you get what I'm trying to say.....

Answer 3

Nope, it is just a goood bit for a green horse...you can certainly use it on an older, fully trained horse!  

Answer 4

Absolutely not!!  In fact I won't use any but a sweet iron and/or copper mouth piece.  It is good for keeping a horse's mouth soft.

Answer 5

No, you can use it on any horse. They just recommend it for green horses because it is yummy to them and encourages them to accept the bit. Regualr stainless steel bits do not have the sweet/salty/rusty taste to them that many horses enjoy.

Answer 6

The sweet iron is to keep their mouth moist. It can be used in any horse mouth. The iron is in all kinds of bits.