Futurity trainer Craig Brooks has a different way of utilizing the popular Kathy James gag bit by raising it up in the horse’s mouth and tightening the curb to hold up a horse that comes back hard around a barrel.
Samantha Flannery favors the Briggs bit, a short-shank square mullen made by Boutin Bits (formerly L&S Bits/No Hit Bits), for a naturally turn-y horse that doesn’t need a lot of help in a run, like her multiple 2021 futurity champion Promise Me Fame Guys, who went on to rodeo fame with Lisa Lockhart.
Barrel Horse News caught up with top professional barrel racers and trainers to ask, “If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one bit with you, what would it be?”
KayTee Bleeker developed Bar-O-aBit to help barrel racers save money through the expensive process of finding the right barrel racing bits.
The American breakaway roping champion and pro rodeo-winning barrel racer Jill Tanner turns to a short-shank Petska chain mouth as a daily go-to for her rope horses and barrel horses alike.
The Ed Wright medium shank gag bit gives futurity champion Vauna Walker lift and light control without constant contact with the horse’s mouth.
The short shank Jim Warner hackamore is NFR qualifier Leslie Smalygo’s choice for “Gus,” a bendy horse that goes on autopilot during a run.
Kassie Mowry adjusts a long shank three-piece Red River Bit to hang loosely in Famous Ladies Man’s mouth to dull out potential miscues, while pairing it with a bonnet to control the start in the alleyway.
