Dr Cooks bitless bridles

[mintaka04]

Anyone on here use these?
I swapped over to one last August and initially my horse loved it, went really well and seemed very relaxed.
I've ridden several endurance rides in it a and control is not an issue.
However, I did a dressage test recently, for which I had to use my snaffle bridle.
The horse objected to the snaffle, avoiding being bridled, head up in the air etc, but worked ok in it once it was on.
Teeth are recently checked and ok.
Then, after a few months, I now find that she objects to the Dr cooks in a similar fashion, avoids the bridle, goes and hides at the back of the stable when she sees it coming, yet she accepts the snaffle without even moving from her haynet!

Have I just got a strange little horse, or does she really not like the Dr Cooks now?
TBH, when I got the Cooks at first I loved it so much I swore I'd never put a bit in her mouth again, but here I am...

Has anyone else had similar issues?
I like to think that I "listen" to my horse, but at the moment she's telling me she doesn't like the bitless.
Only other thing I could think of is that she associates it with a long ride and is work shy.
Several qualified horse peeps have told me that I should use the bit for schooling and bitless only for hacking and endurance.

Confused now.
Any ideas?

 

[scotsmare]

Listen to your horse - she may be finding the snaffle more comfortable than the bitless.

 

[hussar]

Mintaka - I believe you have more than one bitless type of bridle ... how is she with the others? Could it be that the bitless is putting pressure on some part of her head that you don't know is sore?

Or, as you say, it could simply be the association with some hard work that's putting her off the bitless.

Or she could just be looking for something to let you worry about ....

 

[dwi]

Daisy seems to go through phases where she prefers one and phases where she prefers the other. I do wonder whether she doesn't like the tight noseband on the bitless sometimes. On the whole I'm like you, I keep the bitless for hacking and will be using it when I start endurance soon, my snaffle is used for schooling and competing

 

[mintaka04]

I found the english hackamore fine in the school and hacking at home, but had a fairly disastrous time with it at an endurance ride earlier this season, so have not used it since.
Anyone want a pink hackamore?