Question on correctional bits?

Correction bits are used instead of going to the bother of educating the horse to understand and respond to a more humane bit. They are most often used by people who have already ruined the horse's 'mouth' (really it's the mind that responds to the bit, not the mouth) through ignorant riding and insufficient education.

NO! It should not be used on a young or green horse. If the horse hasn't already been ruined, slapping a big harsh bit in its mouth and pulling will do the job!

If I bought a horse that had been ridden with a vicious bit, I would switch to bitless (NOT a mechanical hack) to get entirely put of her mouth and start her training over, to give the foundation she never got the first time. Ground drive, to teach the correct responses to rein action. Work around obstacles to give her an understanding of what the cues mean.

After the horse is going light and soft in a padded sidepull or rope halter or flat halter, I'll start riding him with the same halter/bitless I used on the ground. You can never over-emphasize Whoa in a horse's education. Practice lots of up and down transitions and lateral moves. Turns on forehand, hindquarter, in line, and sidepassing are BASIC maneuvers that every horse and rider should know. Once those are in place, get out of the arena and hit the trails to practice them in real life situations.

Your friend is probably not going to listen to anything anyone says, especially if she believes she needs a vicious bit to control her horse. Send up a prayer for the horse.

These so-called "correctional" bits are used to correct for the fact that the rider is either lazy or lacking in the skills necessary to correctly train a horse. Very very few problems with horses can be solved with a different bit, and most of those can be solved with a milder bit, not a stronger one. Asking a horse to bend has everything to do with the rider's weight and leg pressure, not a bit. Stopping a horse involves very little pressure on the bit. Your friend needs to correctly train the horse, not punish the horse with painful bits. You've already said that the horse doesn't know much, and your friend obviously doesn't know much about educating the horse, or just likes to take shortcuts without regard for the horse's welfare.

You are correct that green horses should be trained in mild bits like a snaffle. Harsher bits should only be used on well-trained horses by expert riders who can use the bit with a lot of finesse and barely any pressure on the reins. Horses only pull through a snaffle when they have not been trained how to respond correctly. Causing pain to the horse's mouth doesn't teach him anything. It just makes him more hard-mouthed and probably resentful because he's getting punished when he doesn't understand what he's supposed to do. Your friend needs to find a trainer to help her, but she may be one of those people who already knows everything and blames her poor horse for all her problems. There may be nothing you can do other than pray for the poor horse.

Things like rollers help some young horses relax and salivate to be comfortable with the bit. I put my mare in a thinner three-ring double-joint snaffle elevator to help keep her off her forehand because she has the old habit of diving on her forehand and leaning on a rider's hands, I wouldn't use it for usual pleasure riding but because I have her doing training Dressage for Eventing, I need the little help to keep her from leaning or getting heavy on her forelegs when I want her in a low outline for her hindend to engage. For training purposes only though--- her primary bit is still a plain, thicker Korsteel frenchlink O-ring snaffle.

There are numerous correction bits (CB) out there and they all serve different purposes.

Just depends on what the problem is. CB have different types of ports, shanks depending on what you need. If you use the wrong one, it can mess up the horse, too harsh and your horse will fight, to soft, your horse won't listen

http://www.scruggsfarm.com/correction-bits.html

kinda explains what bit does what.

To correct the headset of the horse also to break any bad mouthing habits like chewing or chomping on the bit

I would not use a corrections bit on a jackass it will cut the tongue and mouth causing both to bleed.