Bitless bridle

[Zoeypxo]

This may have been done 100 times before but im tempted to try my horse bitless. Does anyone have any recommendations for bridles?
I know i have a hackamore somewhere but not sure if they are old fashioned now!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I have ridden bitless for 4 years now and I use a micklem, but I use it just as a very expensive headcollar lol ?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Not attached through the reins or the poll but with the micklem you can if you need extra pressure ?

 

[SEL]

I tried a tonne of different nosebands on my pony with the soft palate problem. The traditional cheap hackamore was her favourite

 

[Taliesan]

I ride bitless all the time and my preferred bridle is the Transcend.

Much like with bits though, not all styles of bitless bridle will suit all horses. There are loads of different types, of which a hackamore is one (but even then there is a variety of hackamore styles which range in severity - although all pretty much work on leverage pressure on the poll and nose) but you've also got sidepulls / sidecues (the Transcend is one of these), bosals, crossunders, etc.

The crossunder bridles seem to be a bit like marmite - people either love them or hate them. Personally I am not a fan as I don't like the fact that the release isn't always instant but that could be a bridle design thing as well. Some may well be better than others.

An easy way to try bitless riding is to clip reins to each side of your horse's headcollar and see how that goes. That will work in pretty much the same way as a sidepull / sidecue. (Although not quite as nicely as headcollars are generally a much looser fit than bridles.)

Here's a photo of one of my horses in his Transcend to give you an idea about what it looks like. I've got the double version but you can get them as sidecues without the curb bit underneath.

 

[Zoeypxo]

I ride bitless all the time and my preferred bridle is the Transcend.

Much like with bits though, not all styles of bitless bridle will suit all horses. There are loads of different types, of which a hackamore is one (but even then there is a variety of hackamore styles which range in severity - although all pretty much work on leverage pressure on the poll and nose) but you've also got sidepulls / sidecues (the Transcend is one of these), bosals, crossunders, etc.

The crossunder bridles seem to be a bit like marmite - people either love them or hate them. Personally I am not a fan as I don't like the fact that the release isn't always instant but that could be a bridle design thing as well. Some may well be better than others.

An easy way to try bitless riding is to clip reins to each side of your horse's headcollar and see how that goes. That will work in pretty much the same way as a sidepull / sidecue. (Although not quite as nicely as headcollars are generally a much looser fit than bridles.)

Here's a photo of one of my horses in his Transcend to give you an idea about what it looks like. I've got the double version but you can get them as sidecues without the curb bit underneath.

View attachment 100224

thankyou for the info, i will try riding on my headcollar this week and see how she goes. I had a neue schule fitted by a bitting consultant and my horse was good for a month or so now starting to evade. Wondering if bitless is the answer

 

[Barton Bounty]

My horse was a stressy tb who was a successful racer and used to having his mouth yanked on. After about a year of having him , the stress with a bit didnt stop he would constantly chew on it , make faces and yank on it even if i didnt have a contact. So I bit the bullet so to speak, and rode in a headcollar, since then we have not looked back. Hes relaxed and literally will do anything you ask

 

[Zoeypxo]

My horse was a stressy tb who was a successful racer and used to having his mouth yanked on. After about a year of having him , the stress with a bit didnt stop he would constantly chew on it , make faces and yank on it even if i didnt have a contact. So I bit the bullet so to speak, and rode in a headcollar, since then we have not looked back. Hes relaxed and literally will do anything you ask

interesting! I will try Saturday morning
Thankyou

 

[Barton Bounty]

interesting! I will try Saturday morning
Thankyou

You will love it ?

 

[Zoeypxo]

You will love it ?

We will see about that