Part 3: How the bitless bridle has changed how I help people with their horses.
Now that I had witnessed this new enlightenment with my own horses, I started to apply the knowledge to horses that I worked with as far as training and lessons. The horses all took to it quite well, but sometimes the owners didn’t. They were still stuck on the idea that a bit must be used to control a horse. Honestly, I don’t blame them for it, since it took me over a year and a bad experience to realize that horses don’t need bits.
However, I had two really wonderful changes in two horses that have convinced me that bitless can be a good alternative for many horses. First was a 12 year old TWH gelding named Jess. Jess had been ridden in a shanked bit most of his life. His owner had a lot of problems with him being reactive to the bit, not responsive. He is the mount of her husband when he wanted to ride, and since her husband is inexperienced, she needed Jess to be safe and calm. On top of that, Jess’s gait was failing him—he would go right into a trot.
After studying how Jess moved and after us trying several different types of bits, including a basic O-ring snaffle, I realized that Jess was actually avoiding the bit as best he could. He would not come up into the bridle and would hollow his back, stiffen his poll, and lock his jaw against the bit. This caused him to trot. So I said let’s take the bit out of his mouth; let’s give him a reason to relax. At first, Jess had no idea what to do. I rode him and his owner rode him, and it took time an patience for him to realize that just because you don’t have a bit in your mouth doesn’t mean you can fight your rider. He had no idea how to turn or how to stop in the bridle. He also had no idea that leg cues could work too, for most gaited horse riders don’t teach their horses leg aids. Patience and time in the arena got him to realize how the bridle and leg cues works. Now, because he is relaxed and has freedom of movement, we can actually get a true flat walk out of him. He’ll still fall back into his old habits of trotting, but instead of fighting the bridle, he responds to it and our leg cues when we ask for the gait. He even has a better canter—more fluid and a true rocking chair canter that the TWH was originally bred to do.
To test what we were doing after a couple of months in the bitless bridle, his owner put a bit back into his mouth and she had her husband videotape her riding him. She could not believe the difference. She could feel his anxiousness and feel him tense up when the bit was in his mouth, even if she was hardly touching the reins. As soon as that bitless bridle was on, he relaxed and was quiet, and his gait came with hardly any effort. Jess is a real-world example that the bitless can create relaxation and therefore create a better gait.
The second change I saw was in a 14 year old Paso Fino mare named Princess. Her owner is new to horses, but she’d been riding this mare for the past year and a half. Even though Princess was hot on the trail, hard to handle, and would sometimes bolt, this owner had a lot of faith in her. When she bought her she started working with her on the ground. Princess used to run away when you walked up to her with a halter—now she would stick her nose in the halter for this woman.
The previous owner had insisted that Princess needed a high port spade bit with 8-inch shanks, a bit that is specifically made for finished reining horses. In order to put the bridle on, he had to snub Princess to the post and twitch her ears while she fought him as he shoved the bit in her mouth and wrenched her ears to put the headstall on. The new owner was very worried about Princess and wanted her to be able to take the bridle, and so she came to me through a mutual friend. I went out to meet them with my bitless bridle. As soon as I saw the bit, I realized that this is the problem, not that she won’t take the bridle. She knows this bit hurts—that’s why she runs away when someone wanted to catch her, and why she fights to wear the bridle. Luckily the ground work was already started, and Princess was developing a new trust for humans. We took her in the arena, free from the constraints of being snubbed to a post. I spent some time with her developing her trust for me. After about 20 minutes of patient, consistent work, we had the bitless bridle on her with no fighting. I then had the owner work on exercises in the arena to teach Princess the one rein stop and how to teach her speed control with the bitless. A few weeks later, she took Princess on a four hour ride with the former owner and some friends. Princess was completely calm and easy to handle the whole time. Her friends were amazed—one of them said Princess is a completely different horse and the owner should be proud of herself. The former owner...well, we can leave that story behind since Princess is now on a path to a better life. Princess will now have her own bitless from Nurtural Horse, www.nurturalhorse.com.
I do want to tell anyone who wants to try the bitless to choose your bridle just as you should choose any other piece of tack. Find out what style/brand will work best for your horse, and be sure the bridle is properly fitted by carefully following the instructions. Take the time to work with your horse on the ground and in the saddle before going on any trail rides or doing a complex lesson in the arena. Be sure your horse knows the one rein stop, and be sure that he is calm and relaxed and has figured out how the bridle works before you ride. I can pretty much guarantee that you will find your horse will be easier to handle and safer in all situations. I think we can all try to stop focusing on controlling a horse through his mouth and start realizing there are better and more satisfying alternatives out there. After all, we all want a strong bond with our horses, and this can be a step in the right direction. http://silverphoenixranch.webs.com/
