page_title: Bit shank
section_title: Shank designs
hierarchical_section_title: Bit shank / Shank designs
caption_attribution_description: A western style curb bit with silver design, suitable for show.
context_page_description: The bit shank is the side piece or cheekpiece of a curb bit, part of the bridle, used when riding on horses. The bit shank allows leverage to be added to the pressure of the rider's hands on the bit. Shanks are usually made of metal, may be straight or curved, and may be decorated in some disciplines. The headstall and curb chain or curb strap of the bridle is attached to the top of the shank, and the reins are attached at the bottom. Shanked curb bits are used in western riding for nearly all adult horses, and are seen in English riding disciplines primarily as part of the double bridle used by advanced dressage riders, and on the hybrid pelham bit that includes a ring for a second rein attached at the bit mouthpiece.
  Direct pressure snaffle bits have no shanks, instead they have a single bit ring.
  Bits that have shanks coming off the mouthpiece create leverage and place pressure on the poll via the crownpiece of the bridle, to the chin groove via the curb chain, and, especially with a "loose jaw" shank, may also touch the sides of the mouth and jaw. The shank and its leverage action is what defines a curb bit as a curb, regardless of mouthpiece.
context_section_description: Shanks come in a variety of types, which may affect the action of the bit. Some shanks are loose-jawed, meaning they swivel at the point where the mouthpiece attaches to the shank. Others have a fixed shank that does not move.  Some shanks have a loose, rotating ring for rein attachment, others have a solid, fixed ring molded into the shank itself.
  Any moving parts on a shank that allow slight movement in the shanks before the bit engages provide a "warning" to the horse, allowing it to respond to lighter pressure, thus allowing more subtle communication between horse and rider when on a loose rein or when introducing a young horse to curb pressure.
  The cheek-to-shank angle also varies, with some straight up and down, others with the shanks curving backward. Some shanks have a dramatic S-curve. Cheek angle influences the angle at which the bit engages and thus way the horse carries its head. Therefore, the type of shank needs to be considered according to the use of the horse. Horses that maintain a more vertical head position, such as dressage horses and western horses trained in the "straight up" or Vaquero tradition generally use a curb bit with straighter shanks. Those that have a nose-out head position when working, such as cutting and roping horses, more commonly use a more curved shank.  Shanks on certain western bits that curve back are sometimes called a "grazing bit."  Though a horse should never be allowed to graze in a bridle, the term came from the mistaken notion that the turned-back shank was to allow the horse to eat with a bridle.  In reality, the design simply allowed the horse to comfortably travel with its nose well ahead of the vertical. An S curve in a shank does not have a major effect on the angle at which the rein engages, but may alter the balance of the bit at the point the lever arm joins the mouthpiece.
caption: A fixed shank, common shank length, show-legal
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