Will a hot thoroughbred stop in a bitless bridle?

[ungracefulJules]

I call Bull CRAP... She keeps stopping the horse in the SAME place... Obviously the horse now knows to stop there automatically. So this video is now completely bunk on whether or not the Nurtural Bitless Bridle ACTUALLY works. Sorry.. But try stopping in different places. Any experienced horse rider knows that horses are Habitual creatures.

[PeterpanandEmie]

I would like to promote Dr. Cook's bitless bridle too!! It's AMAZING <3

[ziegelbaum1]

I m turning racehorses thbreed,and Arabian, into riding horses all bitless , in the open and sometime the days after the race when they still full of chemicals steroids , complete junky poor thing.They act as if they've always been bitless !it's magic ! I have never had any one of them taking off ! ever. But many riders are just depending on hands and forget that sit,balance and most of all your heart are the main tools to connect and communicate any order to a horse .

[ziegelbaum1]

of course they does !! especialy hot horses !! great great !!

[saula111]

its true that your horse responeds better to the bitless bridlee but it dosen't mean bitless is better. by the way your horse is adorable!

[nameofthepen]

"Whoa" is an agreement - an agreed-upon "treaty" worked out between horse and rider, practiced until it becomes habit.

The terms of the "treaty" are simply, "I will stop, and in return, you will stop pulling on me."

When the rider's part of the "treaty" is violated by not easing the pull in return for the stop, you get the sort of irritation and fidgeting you see here. Eventually, all cooperation and trust is gone, and anger and war begins, leading to a series of bits of escalating severity.

[NurturalHorse]

@nameofthepen  Great comment! I like the treaty to woah!

[NurturalHorse]

There is a popular misconception that bitless bridles put too much pressure on the sensitive part of the nose and can themseleves, cause damage. In fact, the vast majority of horses react to far less pressure and stop more easily and smoothly than in a bit. The patented Circle-X on the Nurtural bitless stops the noseband from tightening.

[englishcowgirl98]

Bitless bridles put pressure on the senseitive part of the horses nose a horse may flip over on you , but this is just my opinion i couldent image my TB stopping with this,

[DeathKitty123456]

Oh and if that horse was taught better ground manners it would prob be better in the bit, he seems a bit pushy, i am not against bits or bitless just saying what i think :)

[DeathKitty123456]

I love how people assume stopping a tb acchieves something, they are a lot easier to stop than you think and much less hot than people say, most are laid back and quiet, the only time OTTB's get hard to stop is when going at a full blown gallop in an open space

[Juanucho13b]

@DeathKitty123456 as any other horse. Doesn't matter. it's all in the hands and the taming and teaching of the horse.

[Annandhorses]

I was actually looking into some natural horsemanship myself, for me and my QH gelding. When I studied into bitless bridles, I saw this; and found it quite funny that almost everyone who made a comment claims it as staged or fake. I wonder...

[gsurjan]

This is a totally untamed horse, with ot without bit - does not matter. This video is a parody of naturaly horsemanship. Only the essence of it is missing. I fully agree with xXGlamRiderXx 

[Sash0127]

Well she really needs to ride with er body instead of her hands.

She holds the horse in the briddle.

[ArablvrXoXo]

thoroughbreds are crazy

[showjumpinluv]

@ArablvrXoXo And Arabians are the calmest breed on the planet. Idiot.

[ArablvrXoXo]

@showjumpinluv I dont even like arabs, i made this account when i unfortunately had one. Theyre crazy too. i've seen plenty of thoroughbreds and 99 percent of them are not fun to be around and are always dancing in the cross ties. never calm and always wanting to go.

[showjumpinluv]

@ArablvrXoXo I don't know where you live, but I've retrainined dozens of thoroughbreds off the track and none have ever been like that. They're all very sweet and very calm and quiet, especially if they're trained right.

[eventerjazz6]

@ArablvrXoXo what barns have you been hanging out at? Nearly every thoroughbred I've met and/or ridden, has been wonderful. My own TB was packing an 11 year old around the show ring when he was only 6, and this past year a 9 year old did very well showing with him. He is a perfect gentleman.

[aihds]

When i get my horse i am so doing bitless! Thank you for showing this to my <333

[crazyy96]

hahaha :D when a horse really doesn't want to stop, you won't be able to stop it anyways, with or without bit ...

[xoxSherwoodxox]

Ahaha ONE MORE comment :p

I'm sorry if this came off as bad mouthing this, it's not that I was trying to, it's just there is so many factors that make this video a little less of a perfect demonstration than it could be.

None the less, I felt like you claimed that a bitless was better for control than a bit, which in some cases, yes, in others no.

I respect what you do, but I have to admit, this horse wasn't treat right in a bit, that's why he went/goes so bad in it.

[NurturalHorse]

@xoxSherwoodxox

Thanks for your comments!

The thing about most horses and people is that they are not perfect. Horses are not as well trained as they should be. People are not well trained.

Our videos show reality, not perfection. Imperfect riders can do better with this bridle. It's a step in the right direction - not a magic panacea.

Each video shows different flaws and different responses. In our public demos, all horses did better in the Nurtural.

[fancigal]

In the beginning, she does stop, but he moves around so much, then he became annoyed and didnt; in the end, she does not give him any time to move around, she stops, then pushes him forward. I am not convinced he likes that bitless either. He is extremely irritated. My horse threw her head like that with a bitless, she does not like the confining feel of it. Tried many times in fact, and she never got used to it. Reschool that horse for sure.

[lollyluvr]

wel u cant blame him 4 being friskey......thers flags and tractors and strong winds

[havesaddlewilltravel]

Btw it's not my intent to criticize this young lady's riding or horsemanship. All I'm saying is that if it was your intent to show the horse make a change for the better in the 2nd bridle I didn't see it. If your intent is to show that the horse stops just as well with no bit, then I agree with you that he does.

[havesaddlewilltravel]

This horse is equally frustrated with his rider in both bridles. The bridle isn't the issue. A horse can be taught to stop with nothing at all on his head by a good rider and can run through any severity of bit under a poor one. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with a bitless bridle. I'm saying that focusing on the bridle itself distracts from the heart of the matter (the horsemanship).

[linaki01]

This horse is being misshandled. The people behave like predators, when the horse does somehing ok they hit him with the hand not rub. Hitting hurts. These people and horse desperately need Pat Parelli.

[pegasus1747]

I evented a horse prelim in a lindell, sidepull, bitless bridle to encourage her to use her neck, it worked!

[rockymntgirl215]

love it! he looks a lot my calm and happy after he gets used to it!

[fifthavenuegirl]

I have an 17.2 hand ex-racehorse thoroughbred, 18 hh percheron, 18.3 hh percheron and 15.2 morgan quarter horse and ALL OF THESE HORSES DO FINE IF NOT FANTASTIC WITH THE BITLESS BRIDLE. I would NEVER EVER use a bit AGAIN.

[luvrofponies15]

wow what a change! he looks so much happier and calmer in the bitless!

[seeMafufo]

Was I the only one who recognized that the horse always shook his head when you tapped him his neck as a reward? My riding instructor told me not to do that, because horses are very sensitive, but rather to laud the horses with nice words and a soft petting. Maybe he'd like that more? ;-)

(Excuse me if my english isn't perfect, its not my native language...)

[LOLROLFLLMAO]

@seeMafufo Exactly what I noticed as well! That horse is obviously a dominant character and pretty much does what IT wants for the entire performance - especially when they are fitting the bitless bridle. My goodness, this horse needs lots of calm, deliberate interaction so it learns that it doesn't have to 'be on the go' constantly (not the horses' fault - the rider has 'taught' it to behave like that by acting in a predatory manner ...)

[Saence]

Well maybe if she stopped yanking on him, he wouldnt be so pissed! You shouldnt stop a horse with the bit so hard! shesh.

[horseygal7302]

that horse needs to chill its shit.

[chelackie]

p.s. horses put up with being slapped on the neck but they do not like it .Do you ?

[chelackie]

Surely if the horse is properly trained,he will stop with a slight shift of weight from the riders seat.It's not the hands that should be stopping a horse.

[greatbigbubby]

dear, don't pay attention to all the killjoys out there!! terrific work!!! lucky horseys!!!

[NurturalHorse]

@greatbigbubby

Thank you! I appreciate kind words and nurturing too.

(I think I am part horse at heart!)

Cheers! Zoe

[greatbigbubby]

it so happens the horse just switched to this will exhibit bit behaviors till he realizes there's no more pain!!!

[CharlotteHHCoyle]

Well I personally would not have been convinced by this presentation...

[xoxSherwoodxox]

I feel like this was almost staged. Like 21amizzle21 said, the horse stops at the same point each time. And is losing energy the longer he is ridden. The horse seems to toss his head just as much. I feel as if you don't take into account the many many people who don't believe in this. It's kinda obvious you're just trying to market a product.

[NurturalHorse]

@xoxSherwoodxox

Good grief! How could you stage that! It took place in 15 minutes before a live audience.

People want to know what this new product will do. Many people, anyway.

We put new horses in this bridfle and the audience always sees the horse change.

I do get frustrated at people accusing me of lying or staging. It has become a very cynical world we live in.

Try checking Nurtural Bitless on Facebook to see what people who use the bridle say.

[TorqueBrooklyn]

@xoxSherwoodxox If you know anything about thoroughbreds is that they don't calm down, especially in a 15min time period. If they are cranked up you aren't going to work it out of them in 15mins. I own a thoroughbred and I know exactly how it is when they get cranked up. This obviously isn't staged.

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@TorqueBrooklyn I guess it depends on what angle you view it from. And I never said that it was definitively staged. I simply said that it really does feel like it. Anyway, any horse can get very tense and "cranked up". But just the way this was put together leaves some questions to be answered. I would like to see this demonstration, but with more transitions in different places, and not just halt transitions. It just bothers me that the horse halts and the same point each and every time.

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@TorqueBrooklyn I guess it depends on what angle you view it from. But I never definitively said that this was staged. But any breed of horse can get tense and "cranked" up. It just bothers me that the horse halted at the same point each and every time. I would like to see another video of this, but where the horse is shown in a bit, then a bitless, and doing transitions to different gaits (not singly the halt) at different places. I feel like that would be a much better demonstration.

[TorqueBrooklyn]

@xoxSherwoodxox I understand where you are coming from and I agree. Thoroughbreds just get very hot very easily, as well as other breeds. Personally I believe if you teach the horse how to be light in the bridle you won't have a problem, but that's just me.

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@TorqueBrooklyn Thank you. I feel like a horse correctly trained in a bridle will perform just as well (and in my opinion, probably better) than a horse trained in a bitless. But once again, that is simply my opinion.

[imadielovinghorses]

@xoxSherwoodxox This is a HOT thoroughbred! It takes alot ALOT to get them to lose energy!

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@imadielovinghorses True, but you see the horse begin to slow down after each time it is halted. The first time he canters in the bit, he is fast. The second time, he is slower. The third time, he is noticeably slower.

[FencesorFlat]

@xoxSherwoodxox The horse stopped in the same place every time, because it was closest to the crowd and the camera. So they could see. Kind of obvious.

"we're just going to do a fun experiment here" that doesn't sound like "We're going to show you tha only the most purely wicked people use bits, and this is what a happy horse looks like."

And head tossing, they never claimed that this was a wonder machine to cure-all. Look at the users title, of course they are trying to market it.

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@FencesorFlat Doesn't dispute the fact that the horse learned that he was to stop in the same area each time. Thus becoming a habit, and he mentally prepared for it. It doesn't matter that it was for the crowd to see, the horse just became accustomed to it.

And I never said they were all against bits, but they implied it increased stopping power, which, it may seem as if it did, But if you notice, the horse also becomes a better stopper after working for a while in the bit.

[xoxSherwoodxox]

@FencesorFlat Also, as far as the head tossing go, it displays tense feeling. She also says in the comments that the horse becomes more relaxed, which from the head tossing displayed, disputes the claims.

I'm not an imbecile, I know that their trying to market an item. But all the implications give the vibe that a bitless bridle is better than a bit, when in certain cases, yes, in fact it is. But in others, no, it is not.

[eventerjazz6]

@xoxSherwoodxox Its a thoroughbred. They have a ridiculous amount of energy and stamina. I doubt very much that this horse (who appeared to be well-conditioned) was losing energy.

[21amizzle21]

He's probably just getting used to the fact that she is asking him to stop at exactly the same point every time. Either way the horse does not look happy or calm in either situation, maybe they should look at what they feed him and some training issues rather than their equipment.

[annabanana041876]

some day yall should see if yall can get a racehorse into one of these bridles. that would be really cool

[NurturalHorse]

The range of comments here is quite fascinating. Of course this horse and rider are not perfect. Truth is, most of us are not! I certainly do not calim to be.

But I see, as lots of others, that the horse is happier, less tense, and able to stop where she wants (in far less than 20 times).

The Nurtural helps horses and riders get BETTER - not perfect.

Getting Better is a gradual continuum.

It applies to commentators too!

Thanks to all your varied perspectives.

I do remove rude comments.

[greatbigbubby]

@NurturalHorse wonderful! horsepeople are climbing out of their stone age caves!!!woooo-hoooooo!!!!

[craisydazy18]

one more comment from me then i am done.....ask any horse to stop in the same place 20 times and he learns "they want me to stop here" this video proves only that this horse is intelligent enough to figure out that you want him to "pause here" before running another circle. and the excuses from the commentator after 2:50 is ridiculous. this video makes me angry. it proves nothing about your equipment. only your incompetency

[craisydazy18]

This horse has no respect for you on the ground, no wonder you have issues in the saddle. bit or no bit, stopping is about the seat. sit deep in the seat and a well trained horse will stop. this horse needs retraining from the ground up. beautiful horse, useless handlers.

[craisydazy18]

2:50 proves my point.

[FunnySunshineRider]

wow... stopping is NOT about pull in the horses mouth. so the rider should be able to stop even "hot" horses without a bit... tztz

[dare2horsecrazy]

Wow thats awesome!



[Lizzie21LuvsSOS21]

cool video! C: wat my horse can do is i can barely pull on her with a hackamore nd she will stop! jw, has this horse have a bad past? plz do not take this offensive!

[78missmia]

Yes a horse can

[StopHorseSlaughter1]

There isn't a difference. Horses ride with a bit. That's how it goes. If you don't want to do that have fun riding a horse without a bit because they don't like to stop. There are few acceptions like this one. Bottom line, you ride with a bit for safety measures.

[moviefem]

I have just been watching some Linda Parelli dvd´s, and this horse is so obviously NOT ready to be ridden!!! As she would say, don´t get on a horse when he´s in this state of mind! (or if you`re on already- GET OFF and do some groundwork first until he`s calmed down!!)

[BornToLead1000]

Im pretty sure stopping a horse three + times on a bit and then stopping without a bit will have a different effect?

Doesnt help your riding with a strong bit!.

The rider rides to strong

[xXGlamRiderXx]

This horse isn't going well in either- the difference is, with a bit, you can supple them (NOT to be confused with pulling or yanking on their mouth) to loosen their jaw. A loose jaw causes them to soften in their topline and use their body properly- this horse has a hard jaw in both bitless and regular because he's not relaxed. He has a VERY hollow back in the bitless bridle though, I dont think this horse is a great advocate for your product.

[NurturalHorse]

I've watched this video with hundreds of people at trade shows. They were all impressed with how much calmer & more relaxed this horse is in the Nurtural Bridle. His eyes are open & calm, with no white showing. His neck is no longer tense. His teeth are not showing. He stops where he is asked with no stress on the horse or rider. He stands still.

I am fascinated that a group of people can watch the same thing, and a few draw a totally opposite opinion to most.

Thanks for watching!.

[xXGlamRiderXx]

@NurturalHorse The rider was too heavy in her hands anyways in the bit, which would contribute to his unrest. However, he is not much better in the bitless. I am not saying bitless is a bad option at all times, because some horses work wonders in a bitless as opposed to a bit, but this horse is simply disobedient and nervous at all times.

[greatbigbubby]

@xXGlamRiderXx still stuck in the dark ages we see-aaaaahhhhhhahahahahahaha!!­! defend your torture devices to the end=hahhaaaahhhhhahhahahhahaah­ahhaha!!!

[xXGlamRiderXx]

@greatbigbubby Nope, just open minded to both methods. this horse isn't the right one to be advertising this with because he's performing below his potential in both bitless and bitted. i don't think that, if in the right hands, bits are abusive or "torture devices". If I was torturing my horse with his bit, I don't think he'd be taking the bit so willingly and happily!

[Sarma1188]

@xXGlamRiderXx An iron rod is excactly what you need to "soften the madible".

[psychojoker131]

If I ever get a horse, I would deff. Use a bitless bridle, I could only imagine how annoying a bit can be! I barely ride, use to when I was 6-7, only 2x last year since I had to stop. (13 now)But I rode a horse in my second lesson, he seemed to be annoyed with the bit alot. If I ride again, I'll buy one and ask if I can use it :) looks great

[NurturalHorse]

Hi Jorey. We do offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee at our nurturalhorse site and are there to offer help in fitting and first use hints. Please stay in touch!

[Jorey1Talent]

I was searching and talking to many people about bitless bridles because i wanted to train my 2yr old in a bitless rather then have to put a bit in her mouth. But now as i watch all these videos and seeing this hot TB handle the bitless wonderfully. I might even try to switch my hot headed, stubborn of a mule Arab cross into this bridle. She's never been good with bits shes soo strong loves to grab the bit and run if she can. So maybe, just maybe she'll take to this better. Who knows.

[NurturalHorse]

Hi PonyPerson62,

Maybe you can get your parents to watch more of the videos on the FAQ page at the nurturalhorse web site. The proof is in the pictures! But I understand how parents do worry. Although they should admit that this bridle will surely give you more control than a halter.... and then see how well your horse responds.

Good luck!

[PonyPerson62]

@NurturalHorse thank you! :D

[PonyPerson62]

Hey I would like to try a bitless bridle, however, my parents are not convinced they are safe! they say I will have no control, no stopping power, my horse is too strong, etc. I have an arab (he isn't crazy or especially hot), and we do jumpers/eventing. I ride him in his halter and such all the time and find him more relaxed without a bit...

[BornToLead1000]

@PonyPerson62 your reins arent your brakes and if you think they are you and your horse need reschooling

[PonyPerson62]

@BornToLead1000 Sorry, but I didnt ask you, I asked the people who put up this video for feedback! YAY! :D I never said I thought reins were stopping power (because if stopped correctly, a horse must use his hind end!), it was my parents who think bitless is not safe. So be sure to read comments completely before stating your opinion!! YAY! :D :D

[BornToLead1000]

@PonyPerson62 Oh YAY :D and YAY :D Youtube YAY :D I'll comment where I want thanks. And as in instructor funny enough, I do know how a horse stops itself.

YAY

[PonyPerson62]

@BornToLead1000 good, Im glad! ahaha i was wotrried there for a second! :) byebye now

[BornToLead1000]

@PonyPerson62 idiot

[PonyPerson62]

@BornToLead1000 lol wut?

[melissalisa123]

I wish competions would allow but less bridles

[NurturalHorse]

It's true. These challenges take place in frony of an audience.

This is pretty much the entire video in 8 minutes - no cuts. She did not practice at all beforehand and neiter she or the horse had ever thried any bitless bridle before. Here's a link to our FAQ wgere you can see several other horses stopping for the first time.

YouTube won't let me pst a link. Go to the Nurtural Horse web site and choose FAQs.  The top question and video is "Will my horse stop?"

[MrsJlawdog]

I feel like she basically stopping him in the the same spot everytime...just think it would of been a better experiment if she had galloped and stopped him at a different spot each time. He may have already been anticipating a stop the way she did it in this video. And yeah he is hot but how do we know how many time she practiced this with him before video was shot. Not knocking the bridle or bitless cuz I'm definitely looking into going bitless but I dont feel like this video sold me anything

[katphoti]

I own Nurtural bitless bridles for all my horse and I will never use a bit again. I have better control, better flexion, better everything because my horse is not feeling pressure or pain in his mouth. It was proven to me on two separate rides with my husband's giant 17 hand TWH. One day I had a runaway horse with the bit & I could only hang on; a week later in the Nurtural I had a runaway horse & he actually stopped. The story is longer than that, but it proved to me that I don't need bits.

[katphoti]

I own Nurtural bitless bridles for all my horse and I will never use a bit again.  I have better control, better flexion, better everything because my horse is not feeling pressure or pain in his mouth. It was proven to me on two separate rides with my husband's giant 17 hand TWH that didn't a proper start on his training. One day I had a runaway horse with the bit, a week later in the Nurtural I had a runaway horse & he actually stopped. It's a long story, but it proved to me

[KiwiGal77]

Does he stop in the bitless? Yes. Is he happier in the bitless? No. Is he happy in a bit? No

This horse desperately needs quiet re-schooling to teach him to relax in his work, bit or no bit.

I have a very hot headed TB Show Jumper who has become afraid of his mouth due to his past rider being too strong, so he now runs through the bridle between fences. We went right back to his dressage schooling and ground work to gain control, respect, and teach him to relax.

[KiwiGal77]

I will try a bitless with him if we decide he isn't settling in a bit, but personally I would much prefer he learns that there is no need to be afraid of his mouth or the bit. I use much more body language/aids than rein aids to stop my horse, so bitless or bitted - I never want to have to pull.

But knowing my horse, any design that closes around the head will cause him to panic and react, so this design would not be suitable for a horse like mine.

[frejaogdixiestyre]

Hey People! My little pony and i ride bitless. And she much easyer without the bit. I think it's a very good idea, and everyone should try? Will you not even do it for your horse? And if it's harder to ride bitless, then train to it, because, it's a bad thing just to take the easy way!

[horseluvor4]

i agree this bridle is great for trail horses or people who just ride around but for people who compete and train properly with a frame and bending this just would not work. i tried a friends of mines bitless bridle on my hot headed thoroughbred mare and i couldnt get her to stop calmly or anything, the pressure on her lower jaw made her rear and i couldnt get her head lowered or barely steer her for that matter. i think its more for trail horses

[SORRALHORSE]

so now that the horse has been conditioned to stop in that place he will do it regardless of the bit or not, just an observation. i want to see a high level dressage rider use this!

[murfy6661]

have you ever tested it on a hot headed arab?

[NurturalHorse]

Actually Arab owners were the first people to pick up on the advantages of the Nurtural Bitless. Many found it worked amazingly well for their hot-blooded Arabs.

We are sponsoring Canada's Endurance Team and Ruth Surley is using this bridle on Super Sport. He's about as hot as they come!

It would be fun to see the exact same experiment with an Arab!

Zoe

[murfy6661]

@NurturalHorse i think i might need to save some money then haha

[TheHelene91]

@murfy6661

Arabs are the most thankful horses to ride bitless.

Their mouth is more sensitive than most horses.

Now I ride my arab bitless and it is much better than with a bit.