bitless sucess so far......

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perfectpolly

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i am soooooooooo happy that i had to let you al know!!!!!!
i've had a few stopping issues with my mare, and tried many different bits of varying degrees, schooling and all normal routes. discovered that the stronger the bit, the worse she got! and she will try all the tricks in the trade to avoid stopping--head in air, shaking, chin in and setting neck etc...anyway, decided a while back to look into bitless as i thought she had learnt to ignore/avoid the bit after years of pc sj.well, what can i say...great sucess so far..walk, trot and canter perfectly and i even have brakes...granted she still throws her head up, but was used to a martingale, so hoping this will eventually stop--only when excited.
anyway rode out today with youngster and did walk,trot and canter all perfect! we even trotted on common land where she would have lost it before and taken off.
i am soooo pleased that i feel like shouting it out.
good news all round.
 
oh...do tell more!!!!!!!
i do believe that bitless is creeping into some dressage arenas.obviously not the top notch, but definately starting to be recognised. i was really taken aback at how responsive my mare was to it--better than with a bit!
 
i am using a dr cooks bridle also, but the earlier one with the split headstall.( got it second hand to try)
i am at present riding with a bitted headpiece over the top ( in case of emergency) but have not had to touch it yet( 2 weeks)
really pleased with how she is going. thinking about trying a nurtural, as the dr cook split headpiece can become longer on one side!
( my birthday in november) but so far pleased with the dr cooks,although she does throw her head about a bit. hoping this will stop.

ellies mum...i think i pm'd you a while back when looking into it all and you were very reassuring. thanks.
 
Glad to have been of some help
grin.gif
 
Glad to hear that you are having success with your Dr Cooks!
I bought one last year and was so impresssed with it I thought that I would never go back to using a bit again!
I have done several endurance rides in my bitless and never had any issues with stopping or steering.
However, the dressage is a problem.
My mare was working quite happily in the bitless (see sig) but then I had to swap back to a bit for a dresage competition earlier this year.
I e-mailed BD and they told me that I couldn't use the bitless for comp.
Anyway, I now use my bit for schooling and bitless when I am out hacking or on endurance rides.
The only complaint I have about bitless is that the mare has a tendency to "get behind the bit" with it sometimes.
All in all, I would have to say that it's a useful addition to my toolbox!
 
Glad you're getting on well with bitless. I broke my mare in with a scawbrig, and only moved to a snaffle because she showed me that the brakes would only work when she felt like it! Not fun on the forest(or safe)!
 
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