dr cooks bitless vs cheaper ebay version??

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perfectpolly

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trying to get peoples opinions and experiences of bitless bridles?
does anyone use one, which "make"?
how do you find stoppability??
would you splash out on a dr cooks at over £100 or get a cheaper version off ebay--which may not be such good quality, but don't even know if it will work.
i have met with alot of negativity at my yard ( syaing i won't be able to stop her etc) and horsey friends, but still want to have a go--just need to hear some positive feedback first!!! my girl schools and roadwork 100% in a bit, but canter and off road--trouble stopping and taking off with me due to over excitement. thought she might listen to a different type of "please stop" aid.
replies good and bad most welcome. thanks in advance.
 
dr cooks are doing a 30-day trial money back guarantee at the moment. i got one last week to try on my mare, they didn't have her size in padded leather so i settled for a beta (synthetic, stronger than leather) one.
have hacked out in it and had a trot and canter, perfectly stoppable.
however... my dressage trainer had a look at it and is dead against things that press on the jawbone (as this does) so i am thinking of sending it back. didn't get a chance to jump the horse in it unfortunately.
i've used English and German hackamores, some horses really like them, main problem is that there is no direct steering.
the dr cook's feels like riding in a snaffle, to me. got to be worth a try... or otherwise, try a very different bit on your mare for hacking out and cantering, to give you some more control.
hope that helps a bit.
 
I got a synthetic one for £30 off ebay and it was hopeless, it just slipped around the head all the time, no matter how much I adjusted it. I went for a quick ride to try it and I had as much control as riding with a headcollar.
 
the cheap ones arent very good at all. I am not a big fan for similar reasons to those Kerilli mentioned. also have known a number of horses that start off well only to become really on their forehand after a while. that probably just means that they need some reschooling though.
 
I tried a cheap rip off one and it was rubbish, buy cheap, buy twice
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I have a Nurtural no-bit bridle (basically Dr Cook with a few alterations) which I LOVE! It has slightly better brakes than the Dr Cook that I tried and is absolutely fab. Just like having my horse in a snaffle really. I have the beta one of those.
 
I have a dr cook type bridle made by my local saddler and it cost me just £35. I have had absolutely no problems with it at all.
 
the dr cook's is very simple, it's a low cavesson noseband with loops on the sides, and the throatlash is split into two, crosses over under the jaw, and threads through the loops back to the rein attachments. makes perfect sense, very good design.
 
In horse and hound a while ago was a team chaser who was nearly got rid of because she had become so strong she was just plain dangerous, switched to a Dr Cook and they won some championship. Show's it can and does work. That was the posh leather one.
 
I borrowed a cheap version to try just to see how my youngster would go in a bitless - it was a webbing one and within half an hour had rubbed bald patches where it crossed under his jaw. They are quite harsh on sensitive-skinned horses.
 
Webbing ones can be evil, tend to rub far too easily. Boithane or leather seem to have this problem far far less.
 
Bronya, sorry to hijack the thread but can you tell me more about the Nurtural bridle ? I love mr Dr Cooks and so does my horse, he's is SO much happier without a bit and yes he works in a beautiful outline, is well balanced and is not on the forehand at all but I keep hearing that the Nurtural is slightly more refined, better brakes etc
 
Ellie is in a Dr cooks and we have much better brakes now than we ever did before changing. When she had a bitted bridle she would cross her jaw ( and show me she had done it
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) and set her neck.
Now she is so much more responsive to a squeeze on the reins and to seat aids too
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She is still ridden in a bitted bridle when the competition rules require it
 
thanks guys--will be going for the more expensive--like the idea of the 30 day money back guarantee,gives you a bit of security....
now just need to decide on dr cooks or nurtural......
 
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