(Shanked bits, how to choose the least severe):
"Anytime you have a shank, it's much more influential and much more "severe."
That's why none of my bits are shanked bits.
If you have to ride in a double, I choose the Weymouth, the curb that is the least severe.
Let me tell you how you know.
This is called the port.
You want as low a port as possible, the higher the port, the more severe.
There you go.
How easy is that?
So in the Western bridles or in the double bridles, the port sometimes go way up to here.
They're just monsters.
The higher the port, the more severe.
Stick with the low port, if you can.
The longer the shank, the more severe.
Stick with the shortest shank you can find.
Those are hard and fast rules across the board."
(Western Shanked Bits, how to choose the least severe):
"Western people please pay attention.
A lot of the Western riders do ride in shanked bits.
A lot of the Western disciplines require a shanked bit to compete, you got to have it.
A lot of Western riders feel like you can't really ride a horse one handed properly unless you're riding them in what I call a full bridle or a shanked bit.
I try not to.
The shorter the shank, the less severe, the longer the shank, the more severe.
There you go, you have it.
Across the board, the lower the port, the less severe, the shorter the shank, the less severe, and it does have a curb chain, and it's just part of riding with a curb bit."