Should FEI change their rules to allow tackless?

AShetlandBitMeOnce

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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I am sure that this has been sensationalised for the sake of Facebook, but it did make me stop scrolling and have a look.. The horse on the left is an absolute mess, whoever is riding in that should get off the horse and walk away from the sport IMO. I understand that 'the bit is only as harsh as the hands on the end of the reins' but I think that is taking it too far...

But should the FEI go as far as to allow tackless?

5 points to anyone who can even identify what the grey is actually wearing!

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Well I will say it has been sensationalised, I wouldn't choose to use tack like the grey is wearing but I would say it looks like some form of drop/flash with a hackamore and an untidy curb strap together with a bit. essentially i think it looks worse than it is.
It's a mess and it doesn't look comfortable but for me but i would also remember the latest thread about Dani Goldstein where 2 photos of the same horse looked like a completely different bridle fit when the horse wasn't opening its mouth against the noseband.

So photos can be used selectively... the issue in the pic should not be impossible to address through the rules around correct use of tack.
Some rules are already being put in place, I can only speak for dressage as that's the sport that affects me, my spurs, noseband tightness and bits are all checked at every champ show.

allowing tackless won't stop people from piling the whole tackshop on their horses head anyway.
I think you'd have to assess whether that was viable on an individual discipline level. It wouldn't work for dressage for instance, you'd need different rules.
Some people already ride with very minimal stuff. who was the SJ rider who had one of those bits that is basically just a strap around the horse's bottom jaw, without the rest of the bridle?
 
flying_high said:
I'd not want to share a busy warm up with a bridleless horse, not be on a horse walkway at a big competition with one. No objections to being bridleless in a controlled situation, or when you are the only person / horse in the area.
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It's a tricky one as regardless of what tack is on a horseshoe are plenty of riders out there who I would not want to share a warm up arena with.
I used to hack my mare out all over the place in a halter when she was not long backed and honestly if she ever had chosen to bugger of sheep could have gone regardless of what tack was on her.
I did not pursue the bitless but the bit is only as harsh as the hands holding the reins.
 
From a safety perspective, I think some sort of bridle is needed in the warm up arena, what if their rider falls off for example? How are you supposed to catch a horse without any tack - a neck rope is not going to stop a scared horse. Obviously any horse can run through a bit or bridle if it wants to but it’s certainly easier to without them. When they’re doing their sj round/dressage test etc, provided there sent lots of other horses around, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed to compete tackless. Especially if it’s what they’re used to, the horse will feel more comfortable and will perform better.
 
Re: control- how would insurance work if you caused some kind of accident without 'proper' tack? It's not responsible towards the safety of others in my opinion.
 
Dear Lord no. I've seen enough deluded souls trying to loose school horses in maneges and bring them in from the field without a headcollar because they've watched a Parrelli video and think they are 'at one' with their bemused (or frightened) horse.
Riders who are competent to compete in a stressful environment without tack are nearly as rare as hens teeth. Let's not encourage those who are a danger to themselves and everyone else.
 
Showjumping is handy for horses that don't get on with bits as it's the only one of the 3 main disciplines where you don't have to use one. The eventing rules changed this year to ban hackamores on xc. I don't know why that was.

One thing I don't get is why you have to have a noseband in dressage. It doesn't do all that much if you have it at the recommended tightness. Afaik you are still allowed to do xc without one.
 
I do think its a shame that those of us who chose to ride without bits or bridles are excluded from competition purely for that reason, and yet you can put a ton of hardware on the horse or an overtight noseband on the horse, and that be perfectly acceptable. If you think that dressage essentially means training (i think that's right), they fail to acknowledge the level of training it would take to produce a horse up through the levels bridleless, which I think is sad. If you think my horse isn't working correctly over its back because you see no contact with a bit, then mark me down accordingly, but why exclude me? I agree that their should be a safety rein on the horse at competitions in case their is a failure in communication, but I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to compete at dressage, show jumping or XC in my rope bridle if I chose to do so.
 
BBP said:
I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to compete at dressage, show jumping or XC in my rope bridle if I chose to do so.
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The thing for me is that some bitless options such as German Hackamores are quite severe so if dressage were to include bitless options, I would want to see classification in the same way that certain bits are allowed for different levels. For other disciplines I'd be happy for people to use any variant but I might draw the line at a neck strap.
 
BBP said:
I do think its a shame that those of us who chose to ride without bits or bridles are excluded from competition purely for that reason, and yet you can put a ton of hardware on the horse or an overtight noseband on the horse, and that be perfectly acceptable. If you think that dressage essentially means training (i think that's right), they fail to acknowledge the level of training it would take to produce a horse up through the levels bridleless, which I think is sad. If you think my horse isn't working correctly over its back because you see no contact with a bit, then mark me down accordingly, but why exclude me? I agree that their should be a safety rein on the horse at competitions in case their is a failure in communication, but I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to compete at dressage, show jumping or XC in my rope bridle if I chose to do so.
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Is there bitless dressage competitions?
 
I remember reading an article about the safety implications of very severe bits on xc. I think it was because horses that have become unresponsive to all but very strong deceleration signals via the bit are at risk of becoming out of control. Even though pressure from severe bit/ noseband combinations are painful for the animal, the horse runs through the bit or tries to flee from it rather than slows in response to it. Riding a horse that's close to being out of control in to solid fences is obviously a disaster waiting to happen?
 
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Cortez said:
I think that if there is a demand there should be a bitless section in dressage, or any other section, like judged against like. The reason there are rules re tack in dressage is to ensure a level playing field.
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The judging like against like makes sense. I'd say there would be enough demand for an online version of bitless dressage. It could be done like the mainstream online dressage tests.
 
If we are talking about level playing fields then not just competition needs to be fair and standardised - training needs regulation also.
 
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