page_title: Curb bit
section_title: Styles
hierarchical_section_title: Curb bit / Styles
caption_attribution_description: English: Set of whippletrees or leader-bars for the two leaders in a team of four horses drawing a carriage.
context_page_description: A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders.
  Kimblewicks or "Kimberwickes" are modified curb bits, and a curb bit is used in a double bridle along with a bradoon. A curb bit is, in general, more severe than a basic snaffle bit, although there are several factors that are involved in determining a bit's severity. Liverpool bits are a type of curb bit commonly used for horses in harness.
context_section_description: Curb bits have tremendous variation, from the relatively simple English Weymouth curb or the simple western medium-port curb to very elaborate designs with complex mouthpieces and shank designs.  Some of the more common include:
  Weymouth or Weymouth curb: commonly used in a double bridle.  It is an English style with a straight shank. The mouthpiece can be one of numerous styles, but usually it is solid, with a low port.
  Grazing bit:  A western curb with shanks turned back nearly 90 degrees, allegedly to allow the horse to graze while wearing a curb bit.  Modern western bits with moderately curved or angled shanks are sometimes called grazing bits, even if the angle is less extreme than the original design.
  Spade bit:  A historic vaquero design with straight, highly decorated shanks and a mouthpiece that includes a straight bar, a narrow port with a cricket, and a "spoon," a flat, partly rounded plate affixed above the port, supported by braces on either side.  Considered a highly technical piece of equipment to be used only on a finished horse.
  Liverpool bit: A curb bit with several rein-attachment slots on the curb arms, giving a choice of leverage – the reins may alternatively be attached directly to the bit to use it as a simple snaffle.  Used for horses in harness, especially when working in teams, when different horses may require different treatment – their bits can be adjusted so the same tension on the reins of each horse gives a similar result.  This allows the reins of the different horses in a team to be joined together, minimising the number of reins the driver has to manage.
caption: A carriage team's wheeler, in a Liverpool bit set up with minimum leverage. The leaders' two pairs of reins can also be seen being joined into one balanced pair.
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