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Monday, April 4, 2011

Bitless Bridle

As with the tradition of horses needing steel shoes, comes metal bits inserted into the horse's mouth.  We all are guilty of this and the practice has not been questioned for hundreds of years until recently with the research of Dr. Cook.    Thanks to his work, more and more horse owners are recognizing that the old school of thought has been outdated and damaging.

When I first introduced Dr. Cook's bitless bridle to my horses, the look on their face was just amazing.  It was one of surprise and relief.  For many years, I struggled with trying different bits on my horse because he clearly showed anxiety when being bridled and became extremely nervous and agitated.  As time went on, this behavior got worse.  Eventually, he began exhibiting lameness only when bridled.   When lungeing with side reins he was a nervous wreck and the entire time of riding, even just standing on a loose rein he was fussing and clucking with the bit as if trying to spit it out.  

The first time bridling him with the bitless bridle, the conditioned behaviors started and as soon he realized there was no bit, he immediately stopped fussing and stood very quiet.  He even lowered his head into the bridle and was completely cooperative.  

From my experiences with Dr. Cook's bitless bridle, the horses respond to it positively.  It is as if they are stripped naked of all the evasions and now they can put their energy into working and traveling straight and correct with no pain.  It takes time to redo the negative behaviors that were created by the bit.  The horse becomes conditioned that the bit causes pain and is something to get away from, therefore the evasions are created out of self preservation.  They bulge their shoulders to either side, plow through your aids, track crooked, run, bolt, grab it and buck, pull the reins out the riders hands, bite down on the bit, curl behind it, break at the poll, cock their head, the list of evasions to the bit is endless.  

The retraining comes naturally as they begin to learn there is no reason to travel crooked, it is safe to move into the bridle and there is no pain.  For years we struggle with trying to teach the horse to get on our seat and leg aids and move forward into the 'bit'.   Steady hands are most important to not inflict pain and cause the horse to evade the contact.   Most of us are not olympic riders and although we do our best with quiet hands and seat, there are still times when we may pull or jerk on the reins, even a little bit, causes the horse to suck behind the aids, curl, tuck their nose, overbend etc.  

With the bitless bridle the horse is more than happy to move forward into the bridle and they will do so in a correct frame because they are allowed to do this without something inhibiting their natural movement.  I have found there is more control and more sensitivity with the bitless bridle.  The horse responds immediately and understands the request.  

A horse that overbends, which is often a difficult problem to correct because they are tucking behind the aids and tucking their nose behind the bit, will easily move up into the bitless bridle and stop overbending.  I have found you can collect, lengthen, leg yield, half pass, etc more correctly with the bitless bridle because it allows the horse the freedom to do so.   

The more I work with the bridle with different horses, the more impressed I am at how natural the response is from the horse and how quickly they catch on.  The aids for the rider remain the same, most importantly coming from the seat and legs and then into the bridle.  Halting is immediate. The signals with the reins are light yet the response is quick and precise.  It improves your communication with the horse.  

There are several companies making bitless bridles as they have become more and more popular.  I have not worked with other brands of  bitless bridles other than Dr. Cook's so I cannot attest to their effectiveness.  I am extremely impressed with Dr. Cook's bitless bridle.  

If you are still sitting on the fence about trying it, afraid you won't have control.   You have more control and  a happy horse.  Give it a try, your horse will love you for it.  


14 comments:

  1. I recently purchased a new gaited horse that seems to really hate its bit. It is a mikmar D ring snaffle that was made especially for her. She has wonderful ground manners, loves people, stands to be mounted, accepts the bit, etc. As soon as we start riding, she starts chewing the bit, rooting, acts nervous, etc. I'm afraid that if I keep on like we're doing, that her problems will escalate. She is starting to make me nervous because I'm still getting to know her, and my nervousness is making her nervous, etc. Is Dr. Cook's bitless bridle for horses that won't freak out and run off? I'm worried about not being able to stop her if I use a bitless bridle. Thanks for any help! I'm interested in finding relief for both of us. -Emily

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    1. Sounds like you have a wonderful horse. Please realize to stop a horse it is best to turn them. Pulling back on the reins to stop and kicking to go, is something we all probably learned years ago when we started riding. The correct way to start a horse, is to start walking in your own body first, raising your energy as if you had a lottery ticket and noticed you had two numbers. (A trot would be three or four numbers and a canter all five numbers.) To stop, breath out, sit deep and if your horse cannot "read" that, turn their head with your hand not going past your hip, so you may have to shorten up on the reins. ( Do not grip with your legs!) A bitless bridle will stop you as well as, or better, than having a bit. Practice riding with intent, focus, leg and rein as a last resort and you will be much safer. Get the bitless bridle and enjoy your horse!

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    2. yes, I agree! I have found by using this bridle that you become a better rider, more balanced and more effective.

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  2. Don't worry, you will have plenty of stopping action. I have found it to offer more control with less effort. It is quite amazing how the horse responds to this bridle. I ride large warmbloods, one is 19h and the other is 16.3 and I can stop them better with this bridle than with a bit. They do not fight this bridle. All of the anxiety goes away. One of my horses is extremely nervous and as soon as I would put the bridle on he would get so nervous he would have diarrhea and constantly fuss with the bit. Since using this bridle all of the anxiety stopped. He actually drops his head willing into this bridle. It is awesome. Another horse I have used this on had a bad habit of doing a bucking bronco act when he didn't want to do something. With this bridle, the first time I used it, he tried to do his bronco act and stopped within a second of trying when he realized there was nothing to grab onto. He no longer gets obstinate and pushy against my aids. It has transformed him into a gentlemen. I would not go back to using a bit. The transformation is dramatic. I have realized just how much discomfort and pain the bit was causing and I am a balanced rider with very light hands and still they were having a hard time with it. I have also realized just how many evasions the bit has caused and how we work so hard to ask the horse to go forward and take contact but we are asking them do something that causes pain so they divert this energy into evasions to avoid doing it correctly. I would not hesitate to give it a try on your horse. You will be pleasantly surprised. I can understand your apprehension about it as I thought the same thing, I would have no stopping. I was astonished at just how much stopping power I had.

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  3. The post was informative and finally I found the article that I am looking for. Thanks for sharing your ideas and hopefully that this will not be the last. Fastastic!

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  4. This bridle is really amazing… I started riding when I was 11-12 years old. It was the best feeling in the world but I was feeling terribly sorry for the horse since I could imagine what they have been through in training. At that age I wasn’t fully aware that the bit could hurt them so much. You know, everybody told me things like “oh come on, the horse is huge it doesn’t even feel your weight. His mouth is big and flexible, a little piece of metal is not a problem for him” etc. These answers never satisfied me but I kept on riding because it was my only chance to be around horses, spend time with them. Since I don’t have my own farm or horse, I had to accept the methods of riding schools in my country. I regret someone like Alexander Nevzorov doesn’t exist here to train them properly and nobody cares to use a bitless bridle. Now, every time I pull the bridle, I feel like a torturer. I think I will quit riding until I have the opportunity to own a horse and ride it without torturing:/

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  5. I've heard all those excuses also. It is easy to justify it that way. It's a lot harder to admit that as a rider or horse owner you have been causing your horse pain in this way. I hope you can get your own horse soon so you don't have to miss out on the joys of riding.

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  6. I've been thinking of proposing this method to my current riding school. Maybe they can let me ride with a bitless bridle. But I have some concerns about it. All of the horses there were trained in the traditional way of horror and painful bits. That's why I'm afraid that I won't be able to control them without a bit anymore, since they are used to obey in that manner. Also, I'm not a professional rider. Eventhough I'm able to control the horse in trot etc, I cant say that I completely trust myself if something goes wrong. So what are your opinions? Should I even try proposing this to my riding trainer in this case?

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  7. It is a misconception that most people have in that you will not have control if riding in a bitless bridle. Dr. Cook's bridle is a cross under, not a side pull and that makes a big difference in the action on the horse. I have found that I have much more control, more stopping action and quicker response from the horse using this bridle. Control would not be an issue at all. The horse automatically understands it because it speaks to him in a language he understands which is a pushing action, not a pulling action.

    My horses are very large warmbloods, one is 19H. They are powerhouses and using this bridle has made them even more reponsive to my aids then before. It allows the rider to become a better rider because you learn to ride with your seat and legs.

    The problem is getting your trainer to trust it and give it a try. The old misconception comes up about not enough control and can't get the horse on the bit. That is the opposite of what really happens as I mentioned before. I think unless your trainer is willing to try it first so he or she can understand it's action on the horse, they will not want to let a student ride in one because of liability reasons. If they try it and like it, they will then feel comfortable with letting a student use it. So perhaps the best approach would be to first introduce them to the idea of it by quoting some research on the damages that a bit causes the horse and the evasions and bad habits that come with it. If you present it in a way that is informing perhaps they will look into it further and be willing to give it a try.

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  8. I will definitely try this, thank you for your advice :)

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  9. are these bridles usable in show I think I heard that the USEF is not recognizing them.
    either way I look forward to using mine for the fist time as I got it in the mail today.

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    1. As far as I know they are not recognized yet. I spoke with Dr. Cook about that and he is still working on trying to get them approved. I am hooked on them and my horses are so happy it is amazing the difference in them. I hope it works out for you.

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    2. I wonder why. I want to enter my Knabstrupper Quartz in a show jumping competition in Calgary with this awesome bridle.

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  10. I just had to share our results with you. Finally purchased the bridle and have been working with my horse in it. This bridle is absolutely amazing!

    She was used to it instantly. It didn't take her much to figure out how to pivot, back, and sidepass with it. In fact, I started her in the RP with the bridle, but she caught on so quickly, we went down the trail the same day. She was wonderful.

    Also, it's much easier to bring her down when she gets all edgy out on the trail. She's one of those that just when you think everything is going good, something will freak her out and suddenly there are monsters everywhere even though there aren't any.

    She used to get bucky with the bit when I would try to bring her mind down to her feet with redirection exercises, but not now.

    And I honestly feel that this bridle has way more stopping power than the bit.

    Amazing! Amazing!

    Here's to years of happy trail riding!

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