Toying with the idea of bitless

[Brownmare]

As my horse has bad historic associations with the bit and tends to open his mouth against even mild rein aids plus I don't seem to be competing much these days I thought I would look into trying a bitless bridle.

The question is where do I start?! Alot of the options appear to be blunt instruments with no real ability to finesse or refine the aids and I will admit to having a preference for conventional looking tack so that rules out most of them.....

What type would be best for a sensitive WB with a tendency to throw his toys out of the pram if he feels under pressure but who also has a tendency to lean and occasionally stick his head down and buck if we go for a gallop 😆

 

[BBP]

Go for it! In terms of which to use it may be trial and error so I'm not sure I can tell you which to use as every horse is different. I ride in a rope sidepull with gel pad to soften the noseband. I like the look of traditional tack too but this is the one he goes best in (he does have a leather bridle which is just like a normal bridle with the bit removed and reins clipped to rings on the noseband. I personally believe my horse works beautifully bitless, every bit as well as bitted, but perhaps a classic dressage rider would disagree. He does all the basic lateral work and collection I need (we aren't exactly at Grand Prix) but I would say I ride him exactly as I would if he was bitted, possibly with a slightly lighter contact. I do dressage (schooling not competing), sj and XC schooling, hack, trec everything. He also works bridleless but the lateral work etc is a work in progress on that one!

In terms of where to start I used to mess around a lot bareback in a headcollar so it never occurred to me that it would be a big deal. I made sure he neckreined well as I use the outside rein and leg to turn rather than a directed pulling rein like some people use when bitless. Not sure about the head down and buck thing, my sisters horse is a bit prone to that but only when bitless and we haven't figured out one that suits him yet.

 

[Shay]

I don't think bitless is a blunt instrument - certainly not in soft hands. I would not want someone with heavy hands using one as they can be surprisingly harsh.

We ride bitless (and bareback) as often as we can. Have done since my daughter was 12 and in BS Juniors. It improves connection between the rider and horse massively. You have to be safe of course - especially when there is a child involved! - but it is so rewarding. I've not found one who did not respond to that closer connection given the chance to understand it.

Where you start depends on the level of trust you have now. Mostly we start with riding in a dually headcollar or possibly a rope headcollar depending on where the horse is in ground work. But you can try things like the myler combination bit. It was designed to transition a horse from bitless to bitted - but works just as well going the other way!

If you need more - we don't hack or do XC bitless - you could try something like a flower hackamore like this http://www.thehorsebitshop.co.uk/pr...c=29&jssCart=f40bfc4442893f087c7c1394c4531336 which gives loads of options for pressure and angles.

Edited to add - for the head down and buck thing .. you can try taking the pressure off all together and train an emergency brake. Halt from either a whistle or pressure on the neck strap. If they have nothing to fight with they tend not to hunch up and buck.

 

[Brownmare]

Katpt - your boy is gorgeous! That bridle looks pretty much like a headcollar though - not sure I am brave enough for that as I don't have a school and my hacking is either roads or big fields!! Could I add a bitless noseband to his normal bridle (kind of like a double bridle with 2 sets of reins) then only pick up the bit if I need extra brakes?

I do ride alot from the seat anyway and I'm hoping that once he doesn't have to worry about "defending himself" from the bit he will be much more relaxed. It's such a shame you can't do dressage bitless.....

Shay - I have considered using a neck strap but a combination bit never occurred to me but they do always look so severe!

I mentioned trying bitless to my lovely neighbour and she has offered to let me ride her beautiful tb who is trained bitless to get an idea of the feel and help me with my boy. It could be an interesting summer 😆

 

[Shay]

It is well worth exploring - but if you don't have access to an enclosed arena the clearly you need to stay safe! There was a trend a few years ago in some top show jumpers to have a hackamore nose band and a bit on double reins so it is certainly possible. I've never tried it. That Myler Combi looks horrible I know - but actually it is quite gentle in soft hands. You can hire it for 30 days from the bit bank - which is a must given the price! (And if you really want one I seem to have a 5" spare atm... mad moment and seem to have ended up with two!)

 

[Taliesan]

With bitless I find it is best to start off with a side cue of some sort to see how your horse responds to it. They are the mildest form and most horses will respond well. The easiest way to do this is to attach some reins to your horse's headcollar. if you are nervous you could have the headcollar on underneath the bridle and have one set of reins on the bit and the other attached to the side rings of the headcollar.

Something like the Orbitless may suit you. It has various settings which you can change from side cue to something more akin to a hackamore, so it does have a lot of versatility.

In terms of finesse and lightness I find the Transcend bitless bridle to be excellent. I had a tryout session with my horse where a lady came to let us have a go with several different types to see which we preferred. The Transcend won hands down. It is essentially a double bitless bridle with the main set of reins as a sue cue and the second set on a curb strap. So with my horse I ride mainly on the side cue reins but, if I want a bit more flexion, I can gently squeeze on the curb rein and that gets the results. I know people have also used the curb rein as a gentle reminder to slow down whilst out and about as well. (That said, the curb is designed so that it will only squeeze gently against the curb groove, it doesn't crank up the tightness like a scrawbrig style might.)

If you are worried about breaks then I would suggest a double rein set up for now. (One on the bitless, one on the bit.) If your horse responds well to seat and voice aids you may well find that what is on him makes little difference to the cues for "stop".

With my horse, when I am in open spaces, I have trained a "whoa" cue that means he comes to a slow and controlled stop. I've done this using positive reinforcement and treats so he is always more than happy to stop to get his pony nuts. It has saved me a good few times when he has spooked at things and gone to take off.

As a side note, I compete in dressage bitless but I have to do it online through one of the organisations that allows it. (I use the Mane Show.) Alternatively you could always go to a competition and ask to compete HC. Or, if your bitless bridle looks like a normal bridle you might be able to compete and not mention it.

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[Brownmare]

Shay that is really kind of you but my boy needs 5.5" bits

Taliesan I hadn't heard of the Transcend bridle, it looks like what I was picturing in my mind I wanted! Ouch at the prices though.... are they made from decent leather? I suppose at least you can just buy the noseband and don't have to shell out for a whole bridle!

 

[Taliesan]

Shay that is really kind of you but my boy needs 5.5" bits

Taliesan I hadn't heard of the Transcend bridle, it looks like what I was picturing in my mind I wanted! Ouch at the prices though.... are they made from decent leather? I suppose at least you can just buy the noseband and don't have to shell out for a whole bridle!

The leather is excellent quality, well padded and very soft - all of the bridles are handmade in the UK using English leather. The lady who makes the bridles offers a trial facility where you can rent a bridle and then return it if it isn't the right one for you and your horse, so that is always an avenue worth considering if you like the look of it.

 

[alibali]

12 years ago I had a 16.3hh tank who came to me at 20 years old with major bit issues who with his mouth wide open would easily pull my arms out all day long against the curb rein of a pretty severe Pelham. Rather than trying to either strap his mouth shut or retrain a long ingrained habit I popped an English hackamore on him.

I never took up a contact as such on it (I ride mainly seat & legs) so he never had a chance to fight it and consequently he never pulled and brakes and steering were fine from day one. Admittedly he was just enjoying his retirement hacking so I didn't really ever ask for much collection but he never opened his mouth again after that first ride and was so much more relaxed and controllable.

Nowadays there is so much more choice in bitless bridles I may have chosen a different type for him but back then your bitless choice was between English and German hackamores

 

[Cocorules]

Depending on your budget you could try a micklem as that comes with different bitless options and you could try each of them.

 

[Brownmare]

I think I would be wary of using anything with poll pressure as he had his head strapped down as a baby and would probably overreact to anyrhing similar

 

[Turitea]

I immediately thought of the Scawbrig bitless bridle (https://www.waldhausen.com/en/horses/snaffles-and-accessories/star-bitless-bridle.html) or the Meroth bitless bridle (in German; http://www.merothisch.com/gal.htm).
Found another side that shows the Scawbrig even better: http://www.bitlessandbarefoot.com/bitless-bridles.php

 

[Chinchilla]

I have a sidepull noseband you can have if you want. My mare hates it but she dislikes nose pressure of any kind whatsoever, but it would work totally fine for a normal horse(!) it's cob/full (supposed to be both)
Oh yeah and it's bright neon rainbow...(!).....(not sure what I was thinking when I bought it but oh well).

 

[_Annie_]

Get a Matrix bridle, they're ace, you won't regret it.

Both my boys are bitless, took to it beautifully.