For the bitless riders amonst us

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jaysh

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I want to back my youngsters this year with a bitless bridle, and carry on using a bitless with them, dont want to go down the bitted route especially as they have never had one in yet.

Having looked at a few, I am not sure whether to go for a cross over type or a sidepull, do you have any recomendations for either one and what would you use yourself?
 
i have a dr cooks and love it. haven't tried the other to be honest, but couldn't fault dr cooks. and my lad is a stroppy tb who usually has a problem with everything!
 
I much prefer side-pull types. I find them more logical and direct :)

My favourite is a muserola or riding cavesson though. A bit like sidepulls but I find them more clear in the communication. I prefer riding cavessons with a plain iron, not a chain, but that's just me. Definetly not a lunging cavesson, too clumsy and oftwn way too padded.

I use a hackamore when I want a curb effect without using a bit. (normally as a double bridle I have a spanish curb together with a muserola (not to be confused with the serreta that has sharp studs on the inside). Not using it very often though)

Solon with a snaffle and a riding cavesson:
1DSCN0018.jpg


Some of the bitless I have tried (apart from riding without anything, having a rope around his nose or any other idea I got)
crowsbitlessoptions.jpg


I havn't tried the cross over types since I just don't see the point in them. Perhaps they're good, I don't know :)

I've settled for a regular mullen mouth snaffle for most of my riding.
 
I use Dr Cooks on both of my mares (who started out in bits), no problems hacking, Le TREC, endurance, jumping (small ;);) . I find they give good control and steering. Can you try some different bb's to see how you get on? (Dr Cooks offer money back if not happy). Just make sure they are fitted correctly, and when riding try & forget there's no bit and just ride 'as normal'. Good luck:)
 
Dr Cooks for me. I managed to hold onto 16.1 of chunky excitement when her hacking partner bronced the rider off and belted off up the lane. I doubt I could have done that with a bit without a few rears and bucks, probably landing me in the mud too and having two horses careering off into the distance.
 
I've used crosspulls but found the horses tend to lean on them after a while, I mostly use hackamores now (english, S and LG with shanks) but I ride with a loose contact. I also use sidepulls on 2 of them.
 
I used a Dr Cooks on my 16.3 warmblood for the first 3 years I had her and it worked very well, except for 2 things: 1) I could not stop her putting her head down for a mouthful of grass every now and then. Totally mortifying - like turning into a riding school rider (!), but she is a total piglet and as soon as I stopped paying attention she would try to snatch a mouthful; and 2) I could not get her in an outline. The minute I put a bit in her mouth, instant shape, take it off, pokey nose.

I had to stop using the bitless when my mare went through a rearing stage and I put a running martingale on her, which would not work with a Dr Cooks. (I don't think she reared because of the Dr Cooks, just the terrible 7s!)

I still don't like putting a chunk of metal in my horse's mouth but then I don't like being smacked in my mouth by a rearing horse either :)

Good luck!
 
Petalpoos said:
2) I could not get her in an outline. The minute I put a bit in her mouth, instant shape, take it off, pokey nose.
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Yep, Ari does this - doesn't matter for what we do at the moment, but I do also school him in a rubber Pelham every now and again. FB used to do it, but he had years of bit wearing before so knows how to carry himself and now behaves exactly the same way in his Dr Cook as he would with a bit - he's much more leg and seat aid orientated anyway!

They seem to resist against the pressure on the nose band, so 'poking' their noses up. Riding with no contact, whenever possible seemed to help this.
 
They seem to resist against the pressure on the nose band, so 'poking' their noses up. Riding with no contact, whenever possible seemed to help this.[/QUOTE]

Yes, interesting point - she still hates having her noseband done up 2 years on, even though it is just a cavesson and loose, so I think the noseband did upset / hurt her. It seems you have a choice between hurting (to some degree) your horse's mouth or their nose.
 
I also think that doing the noseband up as tight as recommended can't be fun for them (even though I fully understand the reasoning). FB does not have his done up as tightly anymore and Ari never has. I don't think it is necessarily 'hurting' them - if it did they would tuck their noses in to avoid the pressure (as with the Spanish serrata) rather than push against them...I think it is more the same reaction you can get when pull gently on a lead rope and they pull back at you. FB certainly gets a very itchy nose where he sweats under the biothane and loves a good scratch when the bridle comes off!
 
Petalpoos said:
2) I could not get her in an outline. The minute I put a bit in her mouth, instant shape, take it off, pokey nose.

Good luck!
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Interesting :)
I often hear it's ''impossible'' to get the horse to yield/flex in a bitless (not that you said it was impossible) and yet Crow was started in one. Never had that problem..

It might depend on the type too, of course, I've never used the crossing type, as I mentioned. Have you tried a sidepull type and if so did you get the same result with that?
 
I use a Dr. Cooks for the most part on my boy and have done so for 3 years. I also have a hackamore. A bit isn't an option for him as he was abused badly by a past owner :(

I've never had a problem with control with either bridle, but then again he's such a good boy I could probably ride out in just a neckstrap and he'd be equally as good. When my daughters jump him or I go for a whizzy hack we tend to use the Dr. Cooks along with a running martingale (which, in his case, works just fine and I checked with the company that it was ok).
 
Both of mine are ridden in Dr Cooks, one's an ex-racer & the other an Anglo Arab madam! I wouldn't use any other bridle :)

Oh and I 'hate' nosebands at the best of times so have mine much higher than recommended and much looser so that there is no nose pressure at all.
 
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Hackamore for me :).

I looked at bitless bridles but can't really justify the cost when she goes well in a hackamore that I already had.
 
Hoof Hearted said:
Both of mine are ridden in Dr Cooks, one's an ex-racer & the other an Anglo Arab madam! I wouldn't use any other bridle :)

Oh and I 'hate' nosebands at the best of times so have mine much higher than recommended and much looser so that there is no nose pressure at all.
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Yes I agree with the noseband thing. I do mine up very loosely and don't need to have it as tight as they recommend. But like I said before, I have a saint of a horse and don't need the control!
 
Zabby said:
Interesting :)
I often hear it's ''impossible'' to get the horse to yield/flex in a bitless (not that you said it was impossible) and yet Crow was started in one. Never had that problem..

It might depend on the type too, of course, I've never used the crossing type, as I mentioned. Have you tried a sidepull type and if so did you get the same result with that?
Click to expand...

I use an English hackamore for training horses up to medium dressage. Of course they have to have a bit when competing which is annoying but they seem to take it in their stride. Going bitless is so useful for teaching dressage as you remove one of the complications for the horse and they can learn to go correctly without having to contend with a bit. By the time you use the bit everything else is well established and so nice light self carriage is a piece of cake.
 
Quite a few Dr Cook recommendations then. I do have one somewhere that I tried on my tb a couple of years ago, she wasnt keen on the tightness of it around her face and it didn't seem to release very easily. I have bought one of those halter sidepulls off eBay so I guesss it's a case if trying them both. As someone says, the sidepull is more direct though and I prefer the simpleness of it in theory.
 
My take on this issue is that the bit is the last thing that is used once the horse is trained to be ridden. Obviously many people purchase a horse already ridden in a bit, but, when starting a youngster I prefer to use a rope headcollar.

It is only when the horse is trained to be ridden safely and competently in the headcollar that a bit should be introduced.

I like horses to stop, for example, when asked through the seat rather than the bit, and wouldn't consider using 'stronger' bits to achieve this.
 
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