Curb Bit

According to contemporary equestrian manuals, this was a gentle-medium bit, good for horses with a good mouth but a thick tongue and sensitive bars (part of the horses’ jaw without teeth). The gooseneck canons of the mouthpiece were meant to give more freedom to the tongue. The banquets, the parts of the cheekpieces where the mouthpiece is attached, can be opened to switch out the mouthpiece, a feature particularly appreciated on dressage bits in Germany.

If the very long shanks look impressive, and would logically add more leverage effect, and so more strength, they would actually have been blocked at some point by the horse’s chest, reducing their impact. Curb bits were also at this time used with a very light hand, the well-trained horses responding by anticipation to the slightest move of the reins.