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Measuring and Anatomy

We welcome back Olivia Turner our bitting and horse behaviour expert, who we have teamed up with for our bitting blogs. In this bitting blog, we look in more detail at how to measure your bit, the ‘parts’ of a bit and finally learn about the anatomy of a horse’s head. This information is just the starting point of understanding how to select and fit the right bit for your horse.

There is no standard bit or mouth size for every horse or breed, like people, every horse is individual.

Try this…

On a piece of paper try this exercise. Draw out the ‘average’ measurements with a ruler. Next, lay your horse’s bit on top of them. How does it look? How does your horse’s but compare to the average sizing?

Average Mouth Dimensions

Width of hard palate = 2-3.5 cm

Distance between bars = 4-6.3cm

Distance between upper and lower jaws = 2.5-4.4cm

This diagram shows you the average mouth dimensions for a horse. Note that the tongue takes up almost 90% of the interdental space (this, of course, can vary between horses).

Bitting Anatomy – learn all the ‘bits’!

How to measure a bit

How to measure a bit…

So, you have had a good look at your bit, learnt the parts but do you know how to measure it correctly?

Check the diagram below for an easy way to check your bit size, it is easily measured with a ruler or flexible tape measure.

Next, we move on to the more detailed observations…

Firstly, have a look at the anatomy diagram below. Familiarise yourself with the positioning of the teeth and where the bit sits.

How familiar are you with the anatomy of a skull? Is there anything you have learnt from looking at this diagram?

In our next bitting blog we look at how to make an accurate assessment of your own horse (something we always do in our one-to-one fittings)… this is where the detail comes into play!