# "No Bit" Bridle experiences, please.



## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

I am not a big fail of a bit less bridle. They have their place on a very well trained horse who you might want to just go out and ride on trails or something like that. Or for someone how is heavy handed and just dose not seem to get it.

As for instant collection. Collection does not come from the bit or lack their of. It comes from the rear. So changing what you put on your horses head will not change that.


----------



## spookychick13 (Jan 1, 2011)

I thought her claim was a little 'meh'.
Thanks for the info!


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Depending on the design it might be OK. I normally ride my mare using a rope halter with rings in the lower side...kind of a sidepull halter. Works fine for putzing around, but it has nothing to do that I can tell with collecting a horse. My mare likes it, my gelding does not.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

What kind was it? Was it more similar to a rope halter like posted above or was it more like an "Indian Hackamore" that some people sell?









Or was it something like this









I believe that bitless has it's place. I ride bitless when I just want to piddle around and some horses, like Wallaby's Lacey, have mouth issues that make using a bit uncomfortable for them. She really likes her Indian Hackamore.

I agree with the others though, instant collection just from changing to a bitless is pretty far-fetched. Sounds more like an exaggerated sales pitch to me.


----------



## spookychick13 (Jan 1, 2011)

It was more like the 2nd one, they hand make them.
My friend bought one so I am going to borrow hers, I think, before I buy one.


----------



## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

I think they have their place for some horses.
I think you are doing the right thing by trying your friend's first. Make sure you ride in a safe place the first few times, though!
I knew someone who tried a leather bitless bridle on their horse for the first time on a trail ride, and it went very poorly. Horse didn't listen to a thing his rider wanted, was running off the trail, running into other horses. It was a mess!


----------



## spookychick13 (Jan 1, 2011)

Good call, thank you. We'll stay in a fenced in area.


----------



## Jessskater (Mar 16, 2011)

My experiences riding bitless have been awesome! My mare was trained in Dressage for 6 years and the rider had hard hands. So when a put a simple snaffle in her mouth she throws her head up and chews. I switched to just a simple nylon halter and lead rope a couple months ago and she is listening to my commands and stopping easier. I guess it just depends on the horse.


----------



## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

I like riding without a bridle quite often, but I've never actually used a bitless bridle. I prefer to just have a halter I my horses especially because it just drives me crazy to no end when people are tugging my my poor ponies' faces.

But as many others have said, they have their place. And nothing can instantly fix an animal without putting it in some sort of forced position. (This wouldn't be a "quick fix" nessisarily because it's not forcing the animal into collection.) So obviously that was a faulty claim. It's just good training that makes animals the way they are. (And I'm pretty much saying that nothing is "quick" or "instant" in training unless it is inhumane or forceful to the animal, in my view. A good trainer wouldn't need quick fixes.)

But I do like the idea of a bitless bridle, but sometimes it just takes the right horse. My (greenbroke) gelding does better with just a rope halter and reins than a bridle. (Especially since he likes to chew on the bit, the little ******. x3)


----------



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Like smrobs, I believe that bitless has it's place. I love bits on the majority of horses, I feel like there's a lightness (at least when you're working with contact to the bit, without contact, bitless and bitted are pretty similar, imo) that can be had there that you just can't get with a bitless setup.

However, some horses, like my mare (like smrobs said, I feel loved!  ), have medical issues that necessitate a bitless existence. 
I find that as a rider, having Lacey bitless has encouraged me to grow more in my riding abilities than I would have if I could still use a bit. I find I rely a lot less on my hands and a lot more on my legs/seat to communicate with her since I know that if she were to choose to ignore me, she totally could. And, I find myself taking good risks, like riding in a halter with the lead rope as a single rein, because I know that I do have control, bit or no bit. And, by taking those sorts of risks, I basically cement the bond of trust my horse and I have because she knows, in a her horsey way, that I'm trusting her to behave and since she does behave, I'm learning that I can trust her, really no matter what.

It was definitely scary the first few times I rode her bitless, just because of my own worries about controlling her, but now there's nothing I would hesitate to do bitless. I mean, I stopped her from running away with me using purely my voice once because as I found out, when the horse is resisting to a high degree, "Indian Bosal"s stop having a whole lot of control. Haha! We were on this big open plain and I asked her to canter but the lil Missy decided that it was time to be a pretty Ayrab and stick her head and tail WAY up in the air and book it. I realized pretty quickly that I had absolutely no control so as a last resort I yell-growled "LACEY! EASY!" at her and miraculously, she flicked an ear to me and started slowing down immediately. I thought for sure I was going to die that day but she taught me that I can and should trust her with my life, and that just wouldn't have happened if she had had a bit in her mouth.

And there's always the caveat that some horses just do not like the kind of pressure bitless options inflict, so you should watch out for that. But, in any case, have fun! 

Also, I'm with everyone else, instant collection is probably not going to happen. Perhaps her horse felt more relaxed with the bitless thingy and developed a prettier headset, but headset doesn't equal collection and since a lot of people don't realize that, it could have been an honest mistake. But yeah, instant collection is not likely.


----------



## Chele11 (Nov 29, 2010)

Wallaby: First of all, I love the saying in your siggie! Matches with my own.

With learning with Chili, I've tried a few different things and I would PREFER a bitless - and tested her out on her rope halter with reins. She did great the first time and not as much the 2nd time. She is very responsive to the slightest pressure on her nose and I think with the right placement or the right bitless bridle, she would do well.

Let us know how it goes with your friend's!


----------



## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Our little Lucy uses a bitless bridle. She has never had a bit used on her. When I did ground work with her, she became extremely soft with flexing, almost where I don't even need anything but the motion of my hand. When I "started" her, she's still work in progress, I just used a lead rope and halter and she did great. Really made it easy to go to a bitless bridle with her. Our other horses can't use it yet.


----------



## NevadaSilk (Mar 10, 2011)

I ride bitless. I use a leather nosed sidepull on my gelding. He does great in it. He was started, and ridden for about 10 years, in a full cheek snaffle. I just decided one day to go bitless as I only trail ride. He loves it.

My hubby uses a bitless bridle. His horse was badly trained in a tom thumb. He now hates bits. Plus, we don't show so have no need for a bit. He works wonderfully in the bitless.


----------



## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Abby is ridden bitless. I don't know if something happened to her during the first 3 years of her life, but she hates bits. She doesn't even like me trying to touch her mouth. 

Her previous owner used to use a rope halter, but I didn't like how it slid around, so I found an attachment online that is basically the noseband of a rope halter, but about and inch wide and flat, but with the same nose knots. It was made by a lady named Debbie on Crazy Ropes & Decals. I like it and so does she. it wasn't pricey either.


----------



## Livy (Mar 12, 2011)

I like using a bitless bridle on my horse when I'm not focused on training, but just foolin' around. It's nice for the horse to get a steel bit out of its mouth at times


----------

