Where to start bitless, I have a Dr Cook

[L&B]

I've just won a Dr Cook bridle on eBay for a v good price and fancied having a go bitless... For no other reason than: when my horse wants to ignore the bit if he has it on him, he does, so what's the point? It's a comfort thing for me, not for him.
Basically, I fancied giving it a go!

So where to start? any hints/tips?:

My lad generally speaking has good ground manners when doing in hand. He will turn to/turn away, move hind, back up, shoulder in, stop to my voice etc etc...
I say generally as he does have his days where he thinks eff-off, today is do what I please day

Should I just get onboard & give the Dr Cook a bash?
Is there anything wrong with alternating between Dr Cook & bitted until I get my confidence up outside of the school ie hacking?

Please no nasty pro/anti bit/bitless comments as they'll just be ignored. I want genuine help. Thankyou in advance!

 

[L&B]

I should add, he's in a basic happy mouth snafflr with a peanut currently.

 

[9tails]

Plonk it on, make sure the noseband is in the right place, ensure the cross unders aren't twisted then have a go in the school. Check your steering and brakes, do a few transitions, have a canter.

I hack out in a Dr Cooks and use a Myler comfort snaffle for schooling, probably 50/50.

 

[spinneybarns]

Morning -
I use a Dr Cook on my huge New Forest for endurance, more for the ease of him drinking and eating while being crewed as sometimes the brakes are somewhat vague! When I first put it on him he got very confused with the steering aspect as the pressure from your right rein goes to the left side of the head and vice versa so dont be alarmed if it takes a while for him to get the hang of it, I try to neck rein and use my legs more for steering anyway as I dont ride with much of a contact when on endurance rides. As long as you feel confident riding him in it then persevere as Henry goes wonderfully in it when away from home. I tend to use a bridle and bit riding from home as he is a bit spooky and prone to misbehave and I feel more confident as they are not for the faint hearted if you have a very strong horse!

 

[AmyMay]

My understanding of a Dr Cook bitless bridle is that they are quite harsh, so possibly not the best option for the first time out bitless.

 

[claribella]

I would start by looking a bitlessandbarefoot.com. They have a page which explains what each and every bitless does. That way you understand more about the bitless you hav and the less and more severe versions.

I will say hat I hink the way in which the dr cooks works can be quite harsh in the wrong hands (not saying u are the wrong hands) and a lot of horses don't particularly like it but don't be put off if your horse doesn't because there are less severe ones that you can try.

I use a page called fairhorsemanship.com. It explains very clearly how to rid bitless in a pyramid diagram. I found it really helpful. You have to change a lot of th ways in which you ride so reins loose no pulling but squeezing instead. Using your body, opening the reins to manoeuvre left and right etc. have a read it's very interesting and does work. I can no stop my horse in every gait just by resisting with my body instead of pulling on the reins as I was taught at riding schools.

Good luck with your journey and take it slowly.

 

[TeddylikeSecretariat]

I use a Dr Cooks and love it so much!! It can take a while for horses to get used to it - for example, took me a while to get my horses in an outline in it. I read a book about bitless/tackless riding and that really helped - it's called "Riding Free" by Andrea and Markus Eschbach... Having ridden in it Since February, I can safely say my horse enjoys it so much more over a bit!!
Another thing is he seems so much calmer in it... I'm able to gallop him through a massive field in perfect control, when before I couldn't stop haha! Highly recommend it, and Dr Cooks is such nice quality! I really love mine a lot! Ignore all the people who say it's harsh because it definitely is not!