Double vs Snaffle

For a lot of years I rode Hwin exclusively in the double. Even though most of what you read and hear says that everything you do in the double you should be able to also do in the snaffle, I felt that that didn’t really apply to us.

As soon as I was able to compete in the double, I switched to it. Hwin can be strong and heavy and I felt that I was able to accomplish more in the double, but always felt a little bad about it. When I brought it up to my trainer at the time, she confirmed for me that I was doing nothing wrong and should just continue in the double if it prevented me from having fights with my horse. I believe her exact words were, “You use the double correctly, and those articles aren’t written about your horse.”

So I trusted that and continued what I was doing. Hwin was special and not built for the sport. It was hard for her to stay round in the appropriate collection for the level, and she routinely felt like a freight train in my hands. If I needed the extra leverage of the curb to make things easier for both of us, so be it. She’s not a warmblood, and my trainer didn’t have a problem with it.

When I started training with Katie, one of her first questions to me was why I never rode in the snaffle. I told her, and while she didn’t agree with my motives, she tolerated it while encouraging me to ride more in the snaffle.

I have ridden more in it over the last few years, but not routinely or for a majority of my rides until this fall and winter. My rides in the snaffle remain calm, and I never expect to get more accomplished than keeping her light in the contact. For a while I couldn’t even canter during those rides, but now we can often work on more advanced movements, and I just have to remember to take a step back if she does get harder to manage.

Riding in the snaffle more has forced me to concentrate more on the basics. I can’t just force working on the “tricks” that the extra leverage of the double allows. I can’t always work on what I want to in the snaffle, but it has made my work in the double that much better. The contact is better and she is lighter and more responsive. So now my one ride a week in the double is more productive than four or five used to be.

Riding at all times with the help of the curb made me feel like I was able to accomplish what I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. However, if I had stuck with the snaffle, I may have actually gone on faster and done better than I did. Though, it may not have felt like it at the time! Short cuts make long delays!