Bitless Riding
The Bitless Bridle Mission Statement
To improve the welfare of the horse and the safety of riders and drivers by providing a painless and more effective rein-aid that prevents and cures many bit-induced diseases and risk-escalating behaviours.
To reduce equestrian expenses, accidents, tragedies and grief.
To enhance performance and add to the sum of horse and human happiness.
A quiet revolution is now taking place that transforms the art and science of horsemanship. The Bitless Bridle provides a humane alternative to the Bronze Age technology of the bit. Unlike the bit, no pain is inflicted. Your horse is free from fear, listens more attentively, breathes more freely, and moves more gracefully. With a calm, less spooky horse, communication is enhanced, trust established, performance improved, and harmony achieved. Riding and driving becomes simpler, safer and more satisfying. Both you and your horse can relax and enjoy yourselves.
Although The Bitless Bridle is indisputably a bitless bridle it bears no other resemblance to the pre-existing and traditional bitless bridles, i.e., the hackamores, bosals, and sidepulls. In common with all bitted bridles, the traditional bitless bridles are pain-based in their mechanism. The Bitless Bridle is the only bridle that ensures a pain-free rein aid. It works on an entirely new and different concept compared with all previous bridles. The Bitless Bridle provides, as it were, full service communication, whereas the traditional bitless bridles all have limitations in their ability to provide for rider/horse communication. The hackamores and bosals, for example, make some provision for stopping (though with similar inherent problems to the bit method) but are weak on steering, whereas the sidepulls provide for steering but are weak on stopping. Furthermore, whereas the Bitless Bridle is applicable to all disciplines, the traditional bitless bridles are not. For a more comprehensive differentiation of the Bitless Bridle from the traditional bitless bridles, click here.
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STEERING
Brief pressure on one rein (B, C, D) pushes painlessly but persuasively on the opposite half of the head. Horses respond better to being pushed painlessly (nudged) with the Bitless Bridle (over a large surface area) than being pulled painfully by a bit (with highly focused pressure on the sensitive tissues of the mouth). Where the head goes the horse follows. Unlike the effect of a bit, that tends to twist a horse's head, the head stays upright and the turn is more natural and physiologically correct. By comparison with either bits or other bitless bridles (hackamores, bosals and sidepulls), more effective steering is one of the first benefits that riders notice. The Bitless Bridle 'works' with both direct and neck reining. The illustration to the right is a view from below.
SLOWING AND STOPPING
Brief pressure on both reins or alternate pressure on each rein applies a gentle squeeze to the whole of the head and triggers a 'submit' response. Braking is probably attributable to a combination of the calming effect of a whole-head-hug; to initiation of a balancing reflex at the poll; to the stimulation of areas of special sensitivity behind the ears; and to painless pressure across the bridge of the nose. The "brakes" are more reliable than those provided by the bit. First, bit-induced pain causes many a horse to bolt rather than brake. Secondly, at no time can the horse deprive the rider of all means of communication by gripping the bit between its teeth or under its tongue. Unlike the mechanics of the bit, hackamore, bosal or sidepull, braking is not dependent on pain across the bridge of the nose, poll flexion and obstruction of the airway. The darker shading on the illustration to the left shows where the pressure is applied for braking.
The above advice on steering/stopping, using the nudge/hug approach of the Bitless Bridle should, ideally, be used simply as a back-up, if required, to the more important aids provided by body weight, balance and breathing.
A NECESSARY EXPLANATION
'Aversion to the bit' has been generally understood to be an occasional problem manifested by about half a dozen different signs. But in the last few years, Dr. Cook's research has shown that the bit is the cause of over a hundred behavioral problems. Each one of these problems has been repeatedly solved by removing the bit and using the Bitless Bridle. The bridle's very effectiveness, however, brings with it a dilemma when it comes to providing information about the bridle. Anyone who describes the many problems solved or the huge number of benefits gained from using the bridle runs the risk of sounding like a snake-oil salesman, as the list is so long and - to most horsemen - so surprising. Nevertheless, many users have volunteered comments such as "All the benefits you describe are present." So - confident that we are not guilty of false advertising, let us proceed.
THE FIVE F'S
A bit frightens a horse. It causes pain or the fear of pain. Fear is expressed by one or more of the five F's; fright, flight, fight, freeze or facial neuralgia (the headshaking syndrome). Each one of these main categories has its own list of symptoms (see below). Collectively, there are over a hundred symptoms and they interfere with just about every bodily system. Interference with those systems that are vital to athletic performance (the nervous, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems) means that the horse is not only in pain and feeling mentally distressed but is additionally handicapped as an athlete. For example, the presence of a bit in the mouth leads to obstruction of the airway in the throat. As striding is synchronized with breathing and as normal striding depends on normal breathing, anything that interferes with breathing also interferes with striding. A horse that is unable to breathe and stride properly cannot run and jump to its full potential. A horse that is in pain and mentally distressed cannot learn in the first instance and neither can it perform with confidence and safety.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT THE BITLESS BRIDLE HAS SOLVED or, to put it a different way, here are some of the distresses, discomforts, uneases and dis-eases that removal of the the bit has banished:
Fright: Difficult to catch in the paddock; unfriendly in the stable; resistant to being bridled and unbridled; difficult to mount. At exercise, anxious, unpredictable, "hot," nervous, or 'highly-strung'; fearful, shy, spooky, and inclined to panic; tense and stressed; sweats excessively; unfocussed on the job in hand; a restless eye or shows the white of its eye; slow to learn or complete lack of orogress with training
Flight: Difficult to slow or stop; running through the bit and bolting; puts the bit between its teeth and deprives the rider of control; jigging, prancing, rushing; fidgeting when at rest and when on the move; hair-trigger response to the hand aids; runs wild on the lunge rein
Fight: Bucking; rearing; spinning; aggressive, argumentative, confrontational, resistant, bossy, cranky, surly, resentful, adversarial, and angry; hard-mouthed heavy on the forehand and a 'puller'; difficult to steer in one or both directions; refusal to rein back; pig rooting, yawing, and crossing the jaws; reluctance to maintain canter; stiff-necked; refusal to lead on the correct leg
Freeze: These are responses to pain or fear that, for evolutionary reasons, are particularly likely to occur in donkeys and mules, but they also occur in horses. For example, refusal to leave the herd; refusal to go forward (napping); backing-up; lack of courage and confidence, including random, last-minute refusal at jumps; lack of hind-end impulsion; and a tendency to develop muscle cramps (tying-up, azoturia, exertional rhabdomyolysis)
Facial Neuralgia (the headshaking syndrome): At exercise an open mouth; head tossing or 'flipping the nose'; above the bit and 'star-gazing'; behind the bit and overbent; rubbing muzzle or face on foreleg; striking at muzzle with foreleg; rapid and sometimes noisy blinking; hypersensitive to bright light, wind or rain; sneezing and snorting; grazing on the fly; attempts to bite horses alongside, grabs the shank of the bit or the rider's boots; watery eyes and nasal discharge; grinds teeth; tilts head; twitching of the cheek muscles. At rest may exhibit a general head shyness or be difficult to handle specifically around the mouth or ears; difficult to clip or hose around the head; When being led in hand after exercise, rubs its head vigorously against the handler.
General unhappiness: Lack of finesse in control; lazy, dull, and subdued (i.e. phlegmatically resigned to chronic pain); "ring sour"; a slow walker; tires prematurely; ears pinned at exercise; heads for the stable at every opportunity; tail swishing
Breathing difficulties (asphyxia and suffocation): Excessive poll flexion; retracts its tongue behind the bit, 'swallows its tongue' (elevation and dorsal displacement of the soft palate); thick-winded or an obvious 'roarer'; gurgling or choking-up; tongue over the bit; epiglottal entrapment; collapse and deformity of the windpipe ('scabbard' trachea); asphyxia-induced pulmonary edema ("bleeding" or exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage); coughing at exercise; small airway disease (bronchitis, bronchiolitis, or recurrent airway disease)
Interference with stride, gait, and motion: Tense neck; stiff or choppy stride; short stride; incoordination (sometimes diagnose as equine protozoal myelitis or EPM); stumbling; heavy on the forehand; 'interfering' or 'forging' (striking foreleg with hind hoof); inverted frame (high head carriage, hollow back); toe scuffing; refusal to maintain canter; false collection; lack of self-carriage. Shortage of oxygen (asphyxia) initiates a cascade of events that are particularly likely to occur in racehorses but are by no means limited to this sport. One event leads to another. For example, premature fatigue leads to false steps; false steps lead to breakdowns; fatigue and loss of muscle tone leads to chip fractures, damaged joints and strained tendons; Fatigue also leads to falls, falls to major long bone fractures, and these to unavoidable euthanasia.
Mouth and dental problems: Fractured jaws (from falls or other bit-induced accidents accidents); star fractures of the bars of the mouth leading to the shedding of dead bone (rare); bone spur formation on the bars of the mouth (common); severe erosion of the first cheek tooth in the lower jaw (common) as the result pf a horse defending itself by gripping the bit between its teeth (common); erosion of the second and third cheek teeth from the same cause (slightly less common); premature loss of the foregoing cheek teeth from the same cause; sore mouth; cut lips; lacerated or amputated tongue; lip sarcoids; sharp enamel edges on cheek teeth in the upper jaw, leading to cheek ulcers; the same on the lower jaw leading to laceration of the side of the tongue; loss of appetite; reluctance to drink on trail rides, leading to dehydration; tongue lolling at exercise.
Effect on the rider:
Use of a bit or bits makes riding unnecessarily difficult, disappointing and dangerous. Because riders are often unaware of the cause of these problems and, therefore, do not know how to treat them, they become discouraged in a number of different ways. They may, for example:
Become convinced that they simply do not have the skills to become good riders. Instead of blaming their tools (the bits), which they should, they develop:
A sense of frustration with their apparent inability to master the art of equitation, or
A burgeoning annoyance bordering on anger with the horse, or
An increasing reluctance to exercise the horse on a regular basis and the generation of displacement activities (excuses), or
They despair of ever achieving that harmony between horse and rider that is the pinnacle of equitation, or
They cease to get pleasure from riding, or
They lose confidence, become afraid of riding, and consider giving it up altogether, or
They decide to sell a horse that appears to have incurable problems and buy another, or
They experience economic embarrassment from doomed attempts to overcome problems by means other than removal of the cause (the only logical approach to treatment), or
They suffer personal injury (anything from a fractured collar bone to sudden death)
SO MUCH FOR THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE BIT. Let's now consider the ...
POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE BITLESS BRIDLE. This new approach to equitation enables you to avoid the above and permits you to be kinder to your horse; improve your horse's welfare and its mental and physical balance; avoid confusing your horse by expecting it to eat and exercise simultaneously (the effect of using a bit); have better "brakes" (bits induce bolting); enjoy smoother transitions; lengthen your horse's stride and, therefore, increase its speed; have less fidgeting; a much calmer, more relaxed horse and one that listens better to the aids; reduce the stress of exercise for you and your horse; dispense with tongue-ties and dropped nosebands; enables your horse to get more oxygen and generate more spirit, vigor and stamina; make faster progress with training; obtain better performance; improve your own safety and that of your horse; communicate more effectively and in a manner more acceptable to your horse; avoid so much lathering-up, foaming at the mouth and slobbering; allow your horse to develop a more graceful action, with a more rounded outline and better engagement; reduce the likelihood of lameness and breakdowns (from lack of oxygen, fatigue and heaviness on the forehand); reduce the likelihood of bleeding from the lungs and sudden death at exercise (caused by upper airway obstruction; put a novice on a fully-trained horse without fearing that its mouth may be damaged, and so enable a trained horse to teach an untrained rider; establish a better partnership; obtain more cooperation and have a happier horse.
These claims are not excessive, and are supported by the evidence provided in publications written by Dr. Cook and others,click here to view the online articles.
To see the wealth of feedback evidence (over 400 pages in all) provided by over a thousand users of the bridle in all disciplines, visit our Users' Comments pages.
NATURAL HORSE Magazine - VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1
www.naturalhorse.comLulu is a young Standardbred mare rescued from the track. This is one of her first rides with a rider, and a Relationship Riding bitless bridle and a Sensation Ride treeless saddle (Jump model).
an English bridle without a bit. One problem with these bridles is the headband, which puts continuous pressure on a sensitive area of the horse’s poll, right behind the ears, and restricts the move- ment of the horse’s ears.
Ideally, bitless bridles should offer the same leadership when riding as on the ground, without using any pain, fear or discomfort. The bitless bridle should not force the horse to do what we want but instead suggest the direction we want to go. This is not done by using rein pressure, but rather by using the rider’s body, including his hands. The good use of a bitless bridle depends a lot on how well the rider communicates to his horse and on how good a leader he is, as his horse sees him. A horse will always follow the direction offered by his leader because he knows he will be safe with him. True equine leadership is all about safety.
A horse will resist any kind of pulling action, especially when there is no bit or leverage to cause him pain as he resists. This is why True Equine Leadership is so important when riding bitless (see previous NHM articles), making sure personal boundaries are established and respected, for both horse and human. When riding a horse, we as the leader define our personal boundaries using our hands (and the reins as extensions of them) and legs. When we have contact with our horse’s head through the reins and we signal a boundary, using our hands and pelvis to stop the forward movement (no pulling!), our horse will respond to this if he respects our boundaries. This is similar to stopping a horse’s forward movement on the ground by putting up a “boundary” by gently touching the point of his shoulder or touching his front legs with ours. Word of caution: Horses respond well to these touch- es as long as there is already some respect established between horse and human. Do not attempt to establish your boundaries with a gentle touch on a horse who is extremely agitated and has no respect for, or awareness of, your whereabouts. When working with these horses, your boundaries should be much bigger, until it is safe to be closer. There is no use trying to ride bitless if you let your horse push you around. His behaviour will not change
because you decide to be nice to him and take the bit out of his mouth. But it will change when he realizes that you are a true lead- er and that, as such, you don’t cause him any pain for no apparent reason (which is what non-leaders do). If you think that you are a wonderful leader for your horse but you are using a bit, think again. True leaders, as seen through the eyes and mind of a horse, do not intentionally create pain, fear or discomfort. Leadership is needed, not bits, not pain.
We often hear trainers and riders say that they “need” to use a bit (or two!) or spurs in order to fine-tune their signals to the horse. Horses understand very well what we ask of them, as long as we are clear in our minds and our communication with them. Any- time we need to use a bit or spurs, no matter how gentle we are when we use them, we are still telling the horse that he better obey, or else. They know what a bit or spurs feel like when they don’t perform as requested. Keep in mind that horses have their own reasons for not performing and they are usually very good ones. We are only human and when push comes to shove, we get to have the last word if we are using “tools” that reinforce those last words. It is unfair to the horse and not necessary. Bits and spurs do not fine-tune anything. They only make our job as a rider a little easier when our horses are not performing to the level we want them to. Horses have their “off” days too and many horses that are forced to compete do not have the physical ability to do what we ask of them. I am aware that many competitors will disagree with me and say they only have so much time to train a horse. We need to ask ourselves why we ride horses in the first place. Going bitless,
Relationship Riding bitless bridle on a horse - see how it sits back on the poll and the reins are attached to the cheek strap rings.
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NATURAL HORSE Magazine - VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1 • 19
Radionics is a therapy designed to help identify and treat the energetic disturbances that may impinge upon health or performance.
Analysis and treatment is carried out from a distance using a sample of human hair, horse’s mane or in some cases a photograph.
Treatment of horse and rider together can be especially beneficial in building rapport, trust and confidence. Interference such as competition nerves, self doubt and anxiety create tensions which interfere with the horse’s natural way of going.
Radionic Analysis - £90 Treatment per month - £65 Special Offer Analysis plus 2 Months Treatment - £176 Free email follow up support Coaching Support - £65 per 45 min session
For information contact Susan King MRadA
Radionic Practitioner (Humans and Horses) Certified Coach (International Coaching Federation) admin@divining-for-health.com www.divining-for-health.com • www.ggiperformanceconsultant.co.uk
Also attended Introduction and Advanced Inner Game Coaching seminars with Tim Gallwey and Sir John Whitmore
establishing leadership, listening to our horses and respecting their abilities and willingness to be with us takes time, dedi- cation and patience. I believe this is why we call it the Art of Horsemanship.
I have yet to come across a horse who can- not be ridden in a bitless bridle and I have rehabilitated many horses over the years, including runaways and ‘unstoppable’ horses. Although they may challenge my leadership once I am in the saddle, which is normal behaviour, I have never used a bit on them. When my leadership is chal- lenged, I am offered an opportunity to show the horse just how good a leader I can be. I don’t get mad, lose my patience or start using force. I bypass my natural reflex of pulling on the reins (oppositional reflex), and I show them the direction that I want to go by staying very focused. By be- ing patient and allowing the horse to think for a moment, I am giving the horse a voice and building the trust between the two of us.
Make sure you have a very strong relation- ship with your horse and that he trusts you. It is better to work bitless in an arena first and gradually ride in new areas. Before long, you will be riding bitless out in the open field.
Feel free to contact me if you would like more information on riding bitless.
Enjoy your journey!
About the author: Barbra-Ann King is an internationally known horse behaviourist, founder of the Relationship Riding© method, and a published author living in Alberta, Canada. She travels year-round
sharing her passion with like-minded horse owners. She also offers video consultations for troubleshooting through her website, www.relationshipriding.com
20 • NATURAL HORSE Magazine - VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1
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