educate me about mule bits

[JDeereGn]

I am new to working teams. I recently purchased a pair of 6 yr old Belgium mules. They came with rusty straight O ring bits. I am having new harness made and need to select the bits. From what I see there are tons of them available. What are the pro’s and con’s of the different types; straight, snaffle, Liverpool, military, curb chain, etc. Thanks Ralph

[Donn Hewes]

Hi John Deere, Big question, What are the mules like? Have you driven them? How much driving experience do they have? What kinds of work do you want to do with them? Short answer – If they are working well and know how to do their job, buy the same bit only not rusty. Otherwise you might want to consider some other factors before you change bits. My two cents.

Mules wear a bit for the same reasons a horse does; and the same variations based on teamster preference, driving stlye, and animal temperment will determine what bit each uses. Donn

[Gabe Ayers]

I would go with the military elbow bit, it is adjustable and you can use it as a
straight bit or with leverage if you need to adjust there forward rate of travel.
It is the only bit we use on all our horses, except a couple with egg butt snaffles that are really soft mouthed, but a draft animal can run away with anything other than a lever bit and sometimes even with those. Try them individually in an enclosed area first and then put them together after you have a feel for how they go with what you put in their mouth.

[Ronnie Tucker]

i prefer to use rusty bits on workstock or ridingstock .stainless steel for some reason keeps them from slobbering.i always heard a dry mouth was not good.why i dont know .i only use straight bits wrapped with smooth wire. it is not hard on them if they dont need it. you can be rough if you need to. you can also use a chain under their jaw and snap your line on to it instead of the bit. ronnie tucker tn logger

[JDeereGn]

Thanks for the replies. I have been around horses most of my life and I am an experienced rider. This is my first experience with mules and driving and so far I have only used a sled. I intend to use the mules to pull wagons only, often on the highway and sometimes in parades. These mules are supposed to be trained and I believe they are to a point. So far I have had a truck behind the sled for safety. After they get settled down I unhook the truck. They steer good and respond to gee and haw but when we start out they are really hot and want to go. A couple of times if it weren’t for the truck they may have run away. I stop them frequently to get them used to standing still. Once or twice while stopped they tried to pull away and were stopped only by the truck. When I got them the bits were wrapped in smooth wire but one of the wire ends was making a sore so I removed the wire.

I was wondering if more bit would make it easier to hold them back especially at first. I hope this additional information helps. Thanks again for your replies.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Ralph, There was a long and interesting thread about training mules a while back. You can find it in this “mule” section, in a thread titled “helping a friend train some mules”. In this thread you will read many different views of how to proceed with a young team of mules. Good luck with them. Donn

The elbow bit that Jason is referring to is part of a larger class of bits that all include leverage with a light chain or strap under the horse or mules chin. Liverpools, both straight and snaffle (broken) fit in this group. I use these bits on all my horses and mules, even though some may not need any leverage at all. Depending on how you choose to train them and drive them, these bits could give you an added degree of safety. What ever bit you use I highly recommend teaching them to go lightly on the bit. That is how you make the leverage into a safety tool, that is there if needed.

[Ronnie Tucker]

just keep the wire replaced when needed. it sounds like your mules are just sorta broke. they need considerable work. you said they tried to run a couple of times while tied to the truck . they need to pull that truck a long time before you go to any parades. if they are broke you can hold a lot with your voice. just bits are not the answer.nothing takes the place of wet collar pads ronnie tucker tn logger

[JDeereGn]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the time you each took to help me. I already knew it would be a while before I took these mules off my property.

[OldKat]

@Biological Woodsman 10632 wrote:

I would go with the military elbow bit, it is adjustable and you can use it as a
straight bit or with leverage if you need to adjust there forward rate of travel.
It is the only bit we use on all our horses, except a couple with egg butt snaffles that are really soft mouthed, but a draft animal can run away with anything other than a lever bit and sometimes even with those. Try them individually in an enclosed area first and then put them together after you have a feel for how they go with what you put in their mouth.

Jason, I think I have seen you mention these bits before. I googled them and see that there is a mullen mouth version and a lowport version (at least). Which version do you use and where have you found to be a good place to buy them?

The nuclear hot days of summer here seem to be waning (hasn’t been over 105 in weeks!) and I am anxious to start working the girls again, but I think I want a little more control than I have been getting out of the eggbutt snaffle.

[Gabe Ayers]

Not that I want to decrease the business for any retail harness shops but since we often help folks get started and have the right equipment to be safe we keep a bunch of bits and collars around in particular. We sell them for a little more than they cost us just to provide a service to the community of interest without costing us any money. We usually just refer folks to harness makers if they are looking for a new set.

So years ago we found out who used to make the Military Show Elbow bits when we were on a trip to Holmes county and started buying them directly from them. Unfortunately they only make a few these days and I am not sure which models or styles – because all of the ones we bought this spring in an order had cute little tags on them that said – Made in China.

Yes they are cheap and fairly decent quality, but I still like the original ones made from brass that was poured and finished right in the shop in Millersburg, Ohio.

If you write them, they will send you a catalog which over the years has gotten larger and larger. The Amish are business people like everyone else and will buy cheap goods if they can find them and if they meet their needs. They don’t have a telephone, so you have to write them or go directly to the business. There address is:

Hillside Harness Hardware LTD
4205 Township Rd. 629
Millersburg, Ohio 44654

Their byline is: Distributors of:

Brass, Stainless Steel and Chrome Hardware, Bio-Plastic, Nylon, Bio-Plastic Parts, Grooming Supplies, Animal Health Products and More….

They are good to ship promptly and fair prices, but we buy as a harness shop, not as a private consumer….

As mentioned above we like the old solid brass ones, but have several solid Stainless Steel elbow bits. Most are the straight bar with the knurled side on the bar on one side and smooth on the other. We tend to use the least amount of pressure (smooth side to the animal) to achieve the sensitive level of control desired with the bit choice, but have the leverage to increase the stopping power of the bit.

I do have one of the port ones, but haven’t use it yet. I don’t recommend the chrome plated ones as the chrome always peels off eventually and then you have a common steel bit that could injure a horses mouth in the process of loosing the chrome plating. The brass bits seem to create a white slobber that lubes the bit good and they seem to be comfortable with it in their mouths.

I think an important point is to fit the bit to the animals mouth width wise. The movement in the corners is constant and the construction of the bit to not have much play in the corners keeps the bit from pinching their lips. If the bit makes their mouth sore they won’t operate with the power steering we like. Generally the 6 1/2 inch width works with our 1700 pound sized horses. They make them in 5 1/2 widths too. We tend to use the first setting of leverage on most horses, but the soft mouths one have no leverage at all. It is very nice to have the adjustment right there so you can change it in response to the horse’s attitude about going forward or response to your driving signals.

These bits work best with lines that have buckles on the ends instead of snaps. The lines go through the slots or corners on the bits very well and don’t get caught up like snaps.

Good luck with them, work’ em often, starting on a work sled, ground slide or stoneboat, whatever it is called in your region, with a reasonable load they can start easily, but not empty so they know they are doing something besides walking around with no resistance. Rest them when the bit contact, line pressure, tenison and pace feels perfect – always using whoa as a reward. It is hard to stop when everything is going perfect, but that is the time to reward them for doing what you want. Positive reinforcement.

This approach will get you to the point where whoa is their favorite command and as I have said many times before – to where they have a Park. Without a Whoa and Park, none of the other gears count.

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