ball jointed snaffles - horse swallowing tongue

Question
Hi Lisa. my uncle trains all his horses with ball joint O ring snaffles. i always think whether it puts too much pressure on its tongue and leads to swallowing. Is it so? Do horses really swallow their tongue bearing too much of weight on it?

Answer
Hi, actually, the way a bit such as a snaffle works is to put pressure on the bars of the mouth, along the jaw, and on the roof of the mouth not the tongue.  Think of the bit working like a nut cracker when it bends- with the joint moving up and into the mouth.  Also, horses cannot swallow their tongue.  If you see a horse doing a lot of chewing and moving the tongue, that may be one of a few things- the horse may be playing with the bit, it may be what is known as a sweet iron bit that encourages saliva production, or if the horse looks unhappy it may be a wrong sized or bit in the wrong position.  If the bride is too loose the horse can get its tongue over the bit, which is not a good thing.  

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have more questions.