# Bitless on trails?



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I normally have a headstall set up for each horse. With a bit they like. But when camping, I often hobble the horses and just let them wander around grazing, When I got collect them, I take the hobbles off and often jump up on their back and use just the lead rope and halter to ride them back to camp.

I would never do that around home or on afternoon rides, But the horses seem to get so much more trusting when I spent several days camping with them. The extra time spent in the saddle seems to get all the fresh out of the horses and calm them down to work. You will need to evaluate your horse and decide if he can be trusted.


----------



## Jessskater (Mar 16, 2011)

I always ride my mare with a bitless bridle. Arena work and trails. I have just as much control over her in a bit so i don't have to worry about her taking off.


----------



## Tianimalz (Jan 6, 2009)

Indie was started in a halter before she got a bit  She knows her voice commands extremely well and like above posters said- I know she can be trusted. 
I had an incident last year, mid gallop my junk bridle snapped right at the latch!!! Her hackamore slid off and I had nothing but hair to grab onto (it was one of the few days I didn't ride out with a spare halter -facepalm-). But because she was trained to ride in little amount of pressure and voice commands, I sat deep in my saddle and gave her a low "Woa", good girl stopped beautifully. 

So in my oppinion, to ride bitless horses's should know some form of voice command, or at least be fluint in leg and seat cues. But body cues and trust is something every good trail horse should be familar with anyways


----------



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Bonnie is the first horse I've had on trails in just a bosal but she is very well trained and very seasoned - we have done some heavy trails that, besides the tough terrain, involved bikes, dogs, other horses, and snakes. I have no doubts about riding her in the bosal rather then a bit, but that is just her. If you have any doubts, think safety first.


----------



## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

I ride Dancer in a hackamore - haven't had any panic issues...yet. She's pretty laid back and just looks confused when the other horses shy and bolt. I don't have any trouble getting her to stop - it's her favorite thing to do! (I have more trouble getting her to move out than stop moving.)


----------



## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

You can try her and see what happens! You never know until you try.

My old gelding has several levels of bits. I gauge the situation and outfit him accordingly.


----------



## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

As long as you practice a "1 rein" stop and she responds you should be ok!
I ride both ways, but prefer my horses to ride with a hackamore. I know
with MY abilities I can stop ANY horse, safely, using my balance and knowing 
how to naturally alter their head and body. So when you get to that level
of confidence you will be able to ride without. If she rides better without, you
will probably have more success with her being more comfortable on the trail.
Never once have I encountered (yet) a situation that I couldn't control my horse
from spook. But we have yet to cross paths with one of the 200 local bears!


----------



## Fellpony (Sep 9, 2011)

I am currently training my mare to go bitless, I am interested in the replys to your thread as I eventually want to hack bitless ( trail ride).

But it will depend how she goes in bitless training.


----------



## Barefoot1 (Feb 19, 2010)

*What?*

What does a bit do? It only you gives you...an already insecure person security while riding. Why? Because somewhere along the way someone told you a horse must have a bit in its mouth for you to control it and it has been thus ever since. This is just one of the great wive tales that abounds in the horse owning world.
I often ride my horses with a halter, no bit, no headgear of any sort. I do however mostly ride with a halter and a mecate tied to it. I only use bits for AQHA competitions and western showmanship.....otherwise it is all bitless.
Yes, people think it is odd and I have heard it all......but when you see my horse on the trail doing his job like no other horse there.........then they want to come to me and ask me how???? It is just simple bonding and trust between each other.........in other words......training.............most horses are started off without a bit on a mecate anyways...so it is really going back to basics...........so many horses out there have been hurt by bits and unskilled hands controlling them.......it is disgusting.
A little d ring or o ring snaffle is all any horse would ever need.........but in my opinion no horse needs a bit in their mouth.......once they understand, they prefer it that way.


----------



## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

^^^ I AGREE ^^^
I didn't have a trainer, no riding experience, my parents bought me an 18 month
1/2 Arab/QH with "30" days on her. Needless to say I learned to ride bareback
with a halter and a lead rope and to this day I feel like it's the only way to ride!
That mare and I covered 1,000's of miles alone and we both saved each other's
lives in many different ways!

If you've never ridden through the woods at night bareback, with nothing but you,
your horse, and some moonlight, you've never ridden!
And if you can't sit a horse without a saddle and control one without yanking on
it's mouth, you can't ride.
And certaintly shouldn't be trailriding.
What will happen if your bridle breaks? Girth strap snaps? Are you going to
be able and comfortable to get you and your horse home safely? 

My new horse Rick is at the trainers for a refresher course, been out to pasture
too long, and she just updated me that he's going well. !Using a fancy, 3 piece snaffle, canveson, and training forks! I told her bitless and hackamore/bosal/
halter was the way I wanted him. So I'm going to let her continue but we have
discussed that body pressure/cues/posture was to be reinforced and that when
he comes home that is all he will need!

Good luck girls/guys! Strip off the saddle, toss the bits, get on and RIDE!


----------



## manca (Feb 23, 2011)

She does better without the bit, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for bitless trails. We've been on few nearby roads and she's great as long as we are alone. But it wasn't that good when we were riding with my neighbour. Candy was hurrying and tried to be closer and closer to the gelding (she always goes in heat when she sees this horse) and I was slowing her down the whole ride. She doesn't hurry with a bit and I ride with loose reins, she acts different just knowing she has a bit.
I have a french link snaffle, btw.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Makoda (Jan 17, 2011)

I just went for a six hour ride this last weekend up in the mountains and rode my mare with nothing, no bridle, halter, etc. and she did great. Not trying to brag just making a point which someone else already stated, that horses don't know they are suppose to act better in bits or halters, nor feel like you have any more or less control. It's just a thing people have in their heads.

One of the biggest pros of bitless is the horse doesn't get scared or frustrated and then have the rider pull to hard out of fear on their mouth which adds fuel to the fire, making a horses reaction worse.

And one of the biggest cons is sometimes you have to pull harder on the reins to get the horse to respond which means if your horse has a fit (which doesn't sound like yours would) you might wish you had a bit for the ease of control.


----------



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

IMO, the difference between a bit and no bit is the rider. If the rider is not holding on to the horse's face for dear life, the bit is just there. A well trained horse can be guided by legs and weight alone - its just that the majority of riders aren't skilled enough to train or ride their horses that way. Too many rely of the bit and reins to guide their horse and, unfortunately, for balance. A good example of this is the bridleless ride of Stacy Westfall when she does the reining pattern totally bridleless and bareback.

All horses start off pretty much as blank slates and it's the training and the rider that makes them what they are. 

If you are unsure what to do, put your regular bridle on her and see how it goes without having to use it. It's there if you need it and it's out of the way if you don't.

No one will think less of you for using it if necessary but if you do, you know what you have to work on.


----------



## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Hi Manca,
I have the same problem with my mares, everytime they get around a new gelding
they come in. Can you get your neighbor to slow it down so you don't have to go
into a schooling session when you ride with them?
It is a problem. Silly mares, and they say stallions are difficult!


----------



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

You know I can drive a 200 mile trip to fredericksburg in my truck and not hit the breaks once, That doesnt mean I would leave the driveway without them. There is NOTHING bitless can do that a bit cant. There is a whole lot of Whoa, in a bit. There is absolutely no disadvantage to a bit. Be at one with nature blah blah blah all you want, and many times you will never need a bit, but the one time you do and its back at the house, you could be in deep kimche. 
Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I have seen more than one person HIHO silvering through the woods, on a socalled dead broke , I can ride with just a halter horse.


----------



## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

And, I've also seen people HIHO silvering through the woods, on a so called dead
broke, I need a bit horse. It's all relative, nothing will stop a horse unless you
have the ability to do a 1 rein stop and safely turn your horse's head.
Slamming down on a bit when a horse is out of control can and I've seen it, cause
the sucker to buck/rear and run into things. IMO


----------



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

The horse that will stop without a bit will stop with one, but the reverse is not true. 
There is nothing you can do bitless, that you cant do with a bit. I never let my horse eat when I am on him and when I get off I just take his headstall off and hang it on the saddle horn, Generally i have a rope halter underneath. A horse is also pretty capable of nibbling around a bit. I just dont see any advantage to not having one.


----------



## Barefoot1 (Feb 19, 2010)

*I just don't*



Joe4d said:


> The horse that will stop without a bit will stop with one, but the reverse is not true.
> There is nothing you can do bitless, that you cant do with a bit. I never let my horse eat when I am on him and when I get off I just take his headstall off and hang it on the saddle horn, Generally i have a rope halter underneath. A horse is also pretty capable of nibbling around a bit. I just dont see any advantage to not having one.



I just do not see the advantage of having one. A bit that is. My horse does not even stop with the reins or bit but a mere shift in the seat position.
I compete AQHA around here and use the curb bit but in essence I hold the reins and still guide the horse through the seat as that is how we ride......I ride miles of fences and weed whack and cut with a chain saw. I can saw limbs while standing on his back as long as I do not let it hit him he will stand there fairly still.........all 7 of my horses are like this in various stages. My QH is 15 and has been with me the longest since he was 6-7yrs old and I castrated him when I got him as no one had before. The others are BLM Mustangs and I got them as 3 yr olds in different years so they range from 10 right on down to my new guy who is 3.

I just do not understand the hang up with a bit and having a necessity for it to control a horse. 
I have always started all horses in a hack or bosal and or halter and then progressed to a snaffle, tom, then full curb but I always just ride them in a halter or under pull I have. Dead full gallop he/they will skid to a stop like a reining pattern with no bit and no applied rein use what so ever so I guess if I do not use the reins much then the bit is even less useless.
I open a lot of gates, move a lot of cows and clean a lot of trail debris. I need both hands for most everything. I do not have a hand to hold the reins mostly so we communicate another way.
MUCH MUCH Easier this way.........ha ha Good Luck


----------



## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

It depends on the horse, its training, what it responds best in, etc. There is no one answer for all. 

I can ride my haflinger bitless around home and I even have control completely bridleless as well in a controlled environment. However, he can be headstrong out on the trail and for safety purposes I ride him with a bit. I can ride loose rein and ride through my seat and neck reining 98% of the time, but that other 2% I'm thankful I have the bit. Its just enough extra control that I need with this specific horse during these times.

On the other hand we never even had Apache in a bit and he has always been bitless. Responds perfectly fine and its not an issue, but he is also not such a head-strong horse.

Bits are not evil. They are forms of communication and sometimes they speak more clearly than bitless in chaotic situations and some horses need the little more clear signal during those times. Other horses do not. Figure out what your horse needs and go with it.


----------



## Makoda (Jan 17, 2011)

Hey Joe i bet stacy westfall could do more with her horse bitless than you could with yours bitted. I'm sorry to pick on you but everything your saying has holes in it. Sounds to me like your just jealous you can't ride a horse without a bit in its mouth. haha Don't worry if you try real hard and listen to some of the nice people giving you advice you might figure it out one day,........maybe. (Take it lightly I'm just messing with you)

I think manca answered her own question. She just doesn't feel safe without the bit and that is the number one most important thing when riding. Not bit or bitless, but confidence in you being able to control your horse.


----------



## manca (Feb 23, 2011)

I wish I could ride like Stacy Westfall... 

I think Candy and I will work without the bit at home and on near trails, but I feel safer with bit when I'm far away. I'm thinking about riding with rope halter on and using it and having bit in just for emergency. I'm always scared I'll meet some other horses on trails (please God, don't ever send a stallion on my way!) and Candy will say no to me. She is a big hussy. It happened before that she tried to buck me off when we were going beside neighbours pastures with stallion in. She just didn't want to go forward.

Thanks for help everyone.


----------



## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

*Bitless on trails*

I think the choice between a hackamore or bit depends on which one the horse is trained to respond to. Some horse may get nervous in a bit and relax in a hackamore or vice versa.

Some horses may have a hard mouth and a hackamore is great way to retrain them. I do not like using bits in the winter - too hard to get them warm enough to put on the horse. I trail ride in a mild hackamore and my horse does well in it. 

I would never go on the trail in a rope halter!

ANY horse can spook, that is why they call 'horse accidents' accidents 

If a car backfires, a drunk teenager on a 4 wheeler comes flying up out of nowhere, a coyote runs up to your horse by the roadside and a car is coming fast.... I will take the bridle my horse has the highest chance of getting us both home safely in.

Few horses startled into prey/flight/adrenaline mode - especially if you happen to lose your balance for a sec - are going to be best off in a rope halter. Why take the chance? 

I do not ride with contact on the trails and I let my horse go relaxed and easy, however, should some clueless wonder fly by blaring a horn & tossing a firecracker, I am going to be able to ride it through successfully.


----------



## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Barefoot1 said:


> What does a bit do? It only you gives you...an already insecure person security while riding. Why? Because somewhere along the way someone told you a horse must have a bit in its mouth for you to control it and it has been thus ever since. This is just one of the great wive tales that abounds in the horse owning world.
> I often ride my horses with a halter, no bit, no headgear of any sort. I do however mostly ride with a halter and a mecate tied to it. I only use bits for AQHA competitions and western showmanship.....otherwise it is all bitless.
> Yes, people think it is odd and I have heard it all......but when you see my horse on the trail doing his job like no other horse there.........then they want to come to me and ask me how???? It is just simple bonding and trust between each other.........in other words......training.............most horses are started off without a bit on a mecate anyways...so it is really going back to basics...........so many horses out there have been hurt by bits and unskilled hands controlling them.......it is disgusting.
> A little d ring or o ring snaffle is all any horse would ever need.........but in my opinion no horse needs a bit in their mouth.......once they understand, they prefer it that way.



Not necessarily true. I used to agree. But me and my boy Sage (QH) started riding with a friend and her horse... I used to always use a hackamore. But when we're with one horse in particular, he's SO competitive that I have a hard time slowing him down, especially on the way home. I didn't even OWN a bit that would fit him... when I bought one and put in on him it was like a different horse. Total control. Some of my other horses I always put a bit on, because worry about the same thing... if something were to happen they'd make a bee line for home... and they don't stop at the road to look for cars. Otherwise I wouldn't care if they went straight home in the event of an emergency... I just worry about the road we have to cross to get to the trail. and yes, a bit does give you more control in some situations with some horses.

Bottom line is that you need to do whatever YOU are comfortable with. If you're not comfortable your horse will know, and thus also not be comfortable.


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I loved the video of Stacy Westfall! I did notice that when she took her horse out of the arena, she put a bridle with a bit on him. I guess she felt that even that perfect horse is better off with a bridle when he is out. He is too valuable to let him outside without some guidance. If he got frightened, she would have something to hold him with until she could calm him down. 

If you can ride your horse without a bit, you can ride him with a bit. I rode my daughter's old appaloosa last weekend. I don't think I ever touched the reins, but they were there in case I needed them. 

As for my horse............ 
Holy moly...........
I don't tug and pull on the reins, but I sure like to have them when I need them. 

I would worry about legal liability if I took a horse on a public ride without a proper bridle (hackamore or bit, whichever) and then she bolted forward and caused someone else to get hurt. To me, it is silly to condemn people for putting a bridle on a horse.


----------



## atomic (Aug 15, 2011)

My opinion is that your equipment is simply personal preference, between you and your horse. In the past I've always ridden my horses with bits, but they were already broke horses and I used what they were accustomed to and worked best in. I now have a 3 yo that while had a saddle on him a few times before I bought him was essentially unbroke and handled very little. I've found that he prefers his side pull over any bitted bridle and responds better. However since his teeth are going through stages right now, that could attest to his dislike of the bit... Not to mention the one time I saw him cowboyed on they used a thin double twisted wire snaffle that caused his mouth to bleed. At any rate I've ridden him plenty of times on the trails and I never feel like I am not in control. If anything, he gets more worked up with a bit (mine are simple snaffles) as he is rather sensitive and with him "less is more" so to speak. All of his (limited) trail experience has been through me and despite spooks-a-plenty I'm still here .
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Maybe if you actually read my posts, jnstead of trying to insult the abilities of someone you have never met or seen ride. 
I said there is nothing you can do bitless that you cant do with a bit.
I am sure stacy westall can do all kinds of wonderful things without a bit, and I am sure someone has trained their horse to respond to farts, but every last one of them could do the same thing with a bit.


----------



## Tianimalz (Jan 6, 2009)

Joe4d said:


> and I am sure someone has trained their horse to respond to farts, but every last one of them could do the same thing with a bit.


I'm really tempted to search youtube for a fart-trained horse.


----------

