Once the horse understood the bit, the bosal was removed and the horse was ridden in just the curb bit for a while until ready to go into the full spade bit, at which point the horse went back into the two-rein when the spade is first introduced. She introduced horses to the spade bit at the age of seven or eight, if they had suitable conformation and temperament to carry it. When she selected and fully trained a spade bit horse for her own personal use, that particular horse stayed with her for life and was never sold. Varian considered Arabians the most "people-oriented" of any horse breed.
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A young horse is started in a bosal, then is transitioned into the spade by wearing both the spade bit with progressively smaller diameter bosals, with the rider usually carrying the reins in the 3 in 1 hold. The reins of the spade bit are romal style, with light chains or small lead weights added between the bit and the rein so that it balances perfectly in the mouth of the horse. Over time the trainer uses the bosal less and less until the horse travels with lightness and collection on the spade alone. The process of moving from a bosal alone to a "straight up" spade bit horse using the spade alone can take many years, as long as it takes to bring a Dressage horse to Grand Prix level.
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The process of training the spade bit horse takes five to seven years to complete. Its emphasis has always been on producing a finely tuned working horse and partner, emphasizing quality rather than on how quickly the goal is reached. The conformation of the horse is also a factor; to become a spade bit horse, the animal must be bred to have a higher neck set and well-carried head. Varian compared the ride and handling of a horse trained in this manner to that of a Jaguar automobile.
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Trained in the 1940s by some of the last of the original Californio reinsman, Connell recorded this knowledge that provide an overview of the methods of training a "made" spade-bit horse resembling the famous horses of the past.
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Hackamores are used in the classic Vaquero tradition to teach young horses softness, and to give readily to pressure while leaving the mouth untouched for the spade bit later on in training. Bosals come in varying diameters and weights, allowing a more skilled horse to "graduate" into ever lighter equipment. Once a young horse is solidly trained with a bosal, a spade bit is added and the horse is gradually shifted from the hackamore to a bit, to create a finished bridle horse. Some horses are never transitioned to a bitted bridle, and it is possible to use the hackamore for the life of the horse.
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Traditionally, the vaquero method starts a young horse using a hackamore, which is headgear that uses a heavy rawhide noseband, called a bosal instead of a bit to control the horse. As the horse gains skill with a rider, it moves to lighter bosals, and next into a transitional period in its training; carrying a bridle with a type of curb bit called a "half breed" which is a modified spade bit worn in conjunction with a light bosal. The rider carries two sets of reins, one set on the bosal and one on the curb, giving this gear its name, the "two-rein." After several years in a two-rein, the horse graduates into the spade bit.
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She soon realized that the way to achieve her goal was to begin breeding horses. Her first Arabian was the mare Farlotta (Lotnik × Farza), obtained in 1952. Farlotta became a finished spade bit horse who won both stock horse (reining) and western pleasure championships. Although loved and cared for by Varian, the mare had been neglected in her first two years prior to being purchased by Varian, and as a result of underlying health damage died at the age of seven.
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Today, the Dexter ring bit is the most common, used primarily in horse racing. Most snaffle-based ring bits have a jointed mouthpiece, with the ring linked to the bit rings or lower cheeks.Register of Nationally Approved Gear, p. 20 Retrieved 2010-8-15 In parts of western North America influenced by the vaquero tradition of Spain and Mexico, a spade bit called a ring bit had a metal ring that fastened at the highest point of the port or spoon of the bit mouthpiece passed through the horse's mouth, and surrounded the lower jaw.
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A port places more pressure on the bars, but provides room for the tongue. A high port may act on the roof of the mouth as it touches. Some Western style curbs, particularly the spade bit, have both a straight bar mouthpiece and a high welded port, thus acting on the bars, tongue and palate. In the wrong hands, such bits can be extremely severe, but on an exquisitely trained animal, they allow the rider to communicate with the horse with a simple touch of the fingertips to the reins.
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Most ranchers were struggling to survive the Great Depression. This trend continued through World War II; few people had the time to be concerned with the history, the horses and the training programs of "the old days." Only a handful of horsemen who remembered the old Californios or worked with them on the remaining California ranchos learned the old ways of training a "made" reining horse. Among those who maintained the tradition in its purest sense is Ed Connell, author of the definitive spade-bit reining horse training manuals Hackamore Reinsman and Reinsman of the West.
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Younger horses, three-year-olds, can compete with a snaffle bit. Four- and five-year-old horses can compete in either a snaffle bit or bosal; six year and older horses compete in a "bridle", which utilizes a curb bit, usually a milder version of the original spade bits used by the Californios. Occasionally, one will see a skilled rider with a horse in a spade bit, but because of its potential severity, the difficulty and time involved in training a horse to a spade, and the well-bred horses of today which can perform without such bits, most horsemen avoid the spade.
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A distantly related variation on the English double bridle is the "two rein" setup used in the western riding classic vaquero tradition (also known as the "buckaroo" or "California" tradition) of developing a "spade bit" horse. Rather than use of a bit and bradoon, the trainer uses a thin bosal style hackamore over a complex type of curb bit known as a spade. This tradition originated with the same haute ecole and military uses of horses in the Middle Ages, but developed differently from classical dressage since approximately the 16th century, when Spanish horse trainers arrived in the Americas. In this tradition, the ultimate goal is use of one hand on the spade alone.
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A western style curb bit. Bits that have shanks coming off the bit mouthpiece to create leverage that applies pressure to the poll, chin groove and mouth of the horse are in the category of curb bits. Most curb bit mouthpieces are solid without joints, ranging from a straight bar with a slight arch, called a "mullen" mouthpiece, through a "ported" bit that is slightly arched in the middle to provide tongue relief, to the full spade bit of the Vaquero style of western riding which combines both a straight bar and a very high "spoon" or "spade" extension that contacts the roof of the mouth. The length of the shank determines the degree of leverage put on the horse's head and mouth.
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It is particularly useful for encouraging flexion and softness in the young horse, though it has a design weakness that it is less useful than a snaffle bit for encouraging lateral flexion. The classic vaquero and modern practitioners of the "California" cowboy tradition started a young horse in a bosal hackamore, then over time moved to ever- thinner and lighter bosals, then added a spade bit, then eventually transitioning to a spade alone, ridden with romal style reins, often retaining a light "bosalito" without a mecate. This process took many years and required an expert trainer. The "Texas" tradition cowboy, and most modern trainers, will often start a young western riding horse in a bosal, but then move to a snaffle bit, then to a simple curb bit, and may never introduce the spade at all.
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Bit shanks, such as those on this spade bit, work as a lever The relation of the upper shank (purchase)--the shank length from the mouthpiece to the cheekpiece rings—and the lower shank or lever arm—the shank length from the mouthpiece to the lowest rein ring, is important in the severity of the bit. The standard curb bit has a " purchase and a " lower shank, thus producing a 1:3 ratio of purchase to lower shank, a 1:4 ratio of purchase to full shank, thus producing 3 lbs of pressure on the chin groove and 4 lbs of pressure on the horse's mouth for every 1 lb placed on the reins (3 and 4 newtons respectively for every newton). Regardless of the ratio, the longer the shank, the less force is needed on the reins to provide a given amount of pressure on the mouth. So, if one were to apply 1 lb of pressure on the horse's mouth, a 2" shank would need more rein pressure than an 8" shank to provide the same effect.
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