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My latest assessment of bitless bridles.
Note: I do not officially endorse any brand or type of bridle. I do not currently own a bitless bridle, nor do I recommend the purchase of any equipment, bitless or otherwise. I was asked by the manufacturer of this type of bridle to do an assessment and these are the findings that I reported back to them. I do not include the brand on purpose as that would result in an endorsement which I am not doing. The bridles that I used were owned by Return to Freedom where the horses lived. I was not paid nor was I given any free products to try, or keep to affect my opinion.
Here is my assessment on the bitless bridles.
I have tried the bitless bridles on 6 horses of varying stages of training from green broke to more seasoned horses. The horses I have tried the bitless bridle are:
Ynez, Isadora, Autumn, Buenos Aires, Diamante and Spirit at the Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary.
I DID NOT try it on my own saddle horse on whom I usually use a pelham with a curb chain. This omission was not on purpose, I just did not have the bridle available at my own stable. I look forward to the day when I can try it on her. But for now, all I have is the comparison to horses on whom I would normally use a snaffle.
Here is my assessment so far.
Using the bitless on the green broke horse I have found very few differences in my expectations compared to the snaffle. As I would only use the snaffle (as opposed to a curb, spoon, or double bridle) on a horse at this level it is all I will compare it to at this point.
Basic controls left, right, stop: No difference between the snaffle and the bitless. Thus because the bitless is more expensive, the snaffle wins. Where money is no object, they are equal.
Acceptance of the mechanism. The horses are more accepting of the bitless. Less aversion, and less concern. Thus the bitless wins.
Sensitivity to contact. There is a difference in favor of the bitless. A snaffle will rest against the mandible of the horse. Therefore the horse can open his mouth when pressure is placed on the reins providing some give to the hand without actually flexing or giving through his body. This is an incorrect response and is discouraged in many bitted bridles by the inclusion of the flash nose band, which, (to me) is an irritating leather band wrapped around the nose in front of the bit to keep the horse’s mouth shut. In addition, many bitted bridles also have a nose band bound around the horse’s face behind the bit to assist in keeping his mouth shut. I say these added bands discourage the opening of the mouth but they by no means prevent it. All these devices have no relevance with the bitless bridle because the pressure is placed on the front and side of the horse’s face and any opening of the mouth does not assist in avoidance. Thus the bitless wins.
Lateral flexion: Tremendous difference in favor of the bitless. When asking for lateral flexion on a green horse, it is common that a horse will twist his head to give to the bit without lateral flexion of the neck. This is undesirable and care must be taken by the rider to ask for lateral flexion in smaller increments in order to avoid this annoying avoidance behavior. However, there are times when an unruly horse needs to be turned to avoid running the rider into an obstacle or for corrections. At this point the bitless bridle by far surpasses the snaffle as the mechanisms of the bitless encourage the correct lateral flexion of the head. In all 6 horses that I rode with this bridle I found NO case of incorrect twisting of the head to avoid lateral flexions of the neck. In this case the bitless bridle so overwhelmingly surpasses the snaffle that this alone would make me consider the greater expense of a bitless bridle. Bitless Wins big here.
Convenience: Slight difference in favor of the bitless. Depending on the bridle being used, the dressing of a bitted bridle on a horse can be an arduous process. The throat latches, nose bands, flashes, curbs and of course the insertion of the bit in the horse’s mouth is something that a lazy rider like myself would like to avoid. Admittedly, my snaffle is extremely simple. I have no nose band, I have no flash. All that I need to do is insert the snaffle, buckle the throat latch, and apply the curb. As bitted bridles go, it is extremely simple and fits over the rope halter so that I always have a rope halter on the horse when I trail ride. However, once the bitless bridle is properly fitted to the horse, it just slips on. There are no buckles to attach and no other straps. My only concern is that without a throat latch, the bridle can be removed by a severe tossing of the head, or a purposeful rubbing of the horse’s face against an object. My own horse will probably quickly recognize this flaw and remove her bridle at will. However, this is also a flaw in many bitted bridles. Especially bridles that are used in shows where it is placed over one ear. Originally, I thought that I would not be able to place the bittless bridle over a rope halter. But that is because I was first using lower quality halters. When I resumed using a thinner rope halter, the bitless bridle slipped on easily and it’s mechanism was in no way impeded by the presence of the rope halter. Bitless wins slightly here, and will win big if a throat latch were included. Furthermore, if the bitless bridle were made of nylon, and included a mechanism to secure the horse without using the rings for the reins, there may be no need at all for a halter and I can dispense with that altogether thus increasing the convenience of the bitless. But bitless wins slightly here.
Potential for abuse: Equal. At first glance, I thought the bitless would win big here. Since there is nothing in the horse’s mouth, I thought that there was no way that I could abuse the horse with the bitless. However, in one of the rides, I had the bitless bridle adjusted incorrectly, and the mare I was riding went from a docile advanced level one to an irritated unhappy beast. She tossed and resisted, and was generally difficult at all paces. So in the same way a poorly fitted snaffle would, the poorly fitted bitless will definitely cause pain and suffering. Thus, I consider them equal.
My final assessment of the bitless is that it is equal to the snaffle in some respects and in many, it is superior. I have found no aspect of the bitless to be inferior to the snaffle. Thus overall, the bitless wins.
There is a great deal of literature that suggests that the bit will interfere with the health of the horse. I am not a veterinarian and so cannot speak about that with authority. My background is in baroque equitation and so that is where I have tried to provide as much unbiased feedback as possible. Of course there is no such thing as an unbiased opinion, and as a classical dressage rider, I am obviously biased in favor of bitted bridles. I usually ride with a pelham (a snaffle with shanks) with double reins or a double bridle (two bits in the mouth, one snaffle, and one curb) with a curb chain. However, in spite of my bias, I have not been able to ignore the findings that I have discovered through the use of the bitless bridle.
Recommendation: Add a throat latch.
Note: I do not officially endorse any brand or type of bridle. I do not currently own a bitless bridle, nor do I recommend the purchase of any equipment, bitless or otherwise. I was asked by the manufacturer of this type of bridle to do an assessment and these are the findings that I reported back to them. I do not include the brand on purpose as that would result in an endorsement which I am not doing. The bridles that I used were owned by Return to Freedom where the horses lived. I was not paid nor was I given any free products to try, or keep to affect my opinion.
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