Bit vs. Bitless Experiment, 1st horse (bitless)

[pvkris]

That's the worst dressage I've ever seen.

[horsecrazy098]

There is nothing wrong with the majority of bits in the correct hands. Any bit is harsh in the wrong hands, and some bits are designed poorly. However, this horse had all the same problems with the bit as it did without, aside from the open mouth and exaggerated headset. This horse most likely needs its teeth checked as many teeth problems cause this. With its teeth done it will most likely do better. Other causes can be ulcers, abscesses or back pain.

[ArdeanPark]

Uhm ... What's with the 'square halts' and an 8 comments. Both times the horse leaves one hind leg way behind!

[iMazRocks13]

I ride bitless, and I truly love it, I'm sure the horses do as well. I'm not against bits but I love bitless :)

[squigsrule]

@MYRuffian1975 plus the commentator was quick to say what was wrong with the bitted horse but when bitless its all roses... but actually anyone who knows what their looking at will see that 1 the quality of riding was better with bitless although still shocking! 2 the horses ears dont change and its happy with both 3 u should not ride with u hands firm on the bit like this 'rider' is doing my horse will go perfectly up and down in a contact with no pressure at all - Thats real riding!

[FrostedFoxEquine]

I see your point but is asthough people are saying that we ride our horses in hackamores, gags and chifneys all the time! I ride both my horses in a snaffle for eventing and hunting! I think your also forgetting that the horses most sensitive part is his poll and that is how these bridles work..?

[ptronius]

@FrostedFoxEquine: Under normal riding conditions the communication with the Dr. Cook BitlessBridle is primarily under the chin, along the jowl and over the nose. Most riders find that a very light touch on the reins is all that is required to get the proper response from their horse, in which case the poll is not engaged. The Dr. Cook BitlessBridle only activates the poll when the rider puts moderate to heavy pressure on the reins, assuming the bridle is fitted correctly.

[MYRuffian1975]

i love how more responsive the horse is to the bitless bridle...and for the people who dont agree...that is fine you are entitled to your opinion, but just brush up a little on your history...Native Americans did not have bits and bridles, and they rode their horses just fine...maybe even better...the military put bits in their mouths...for control without training.

[hightaileventing]

@MYRuffian1975 Um... have you ever seen a war bridle? It was used my the native americans frequently and involves running a piece of rope through the horse's mouth. In fact several 'bridles' they used involve rope in the horse's mouth. The difference is they spent a lot of time building a relationship with their horses and learning how to ride correctly and efficiently for their animal. It has nothing to do with the equipment.

[SamCowgirl658]

I'd like to see some SHOW HORSES in these. I know most horses won't collect unless they are trained to respond to slight bit pressure. I don't really think a horse would do anywhere near as good in show with a "bitless bridle"

[ptronius]

@SamCowgirl658 - I'm not sure what you are looking for when you say "show horses" - that covers a lot of territory - but do a youtube search for "jennifer lawrence on pacemaker" and "dressage in dr cook's bitless bridle" to see a couple of dressage videos

[squigsrule]

The bit or noseband/ bitless is only as kind as the riders hands i have seen horses pulled just as much with bitless as a bit... the only difference is that the horse is having to have pressure on the nose and not the mouth. i think both are as good/bad as the rider. no one should be saying one is better than the other or telling people they are causing there horses pain. if you want natural - dont ride a horse its not natural.

[EveryonesQT]

too bad you can't show in these...and I don't know how you would use one for western riding since we can't have nosebands.

[ptronius]

Please do not put The Bitless Bridle in the same category as a hackamore. It would take serious effort to harm a horse with The Bitless Bridle as long as it is fitted correctly, whereas some hackamores can be extremely severe, utilizing bicycle chains and other forms of extreme pain-inflicting devices. This is not a forum to promote all forms of "bitless" bridles, these videos are here to show the results of switching from a bitted bridle to The Bitless Bridle, all other things being equal.

[ptronius]

Many of these comments are missing the point of this series of videos. Regardless of whether the judge was impartial or not, regardless of whether the rider knew what they were doing or not, what this experiment proved, and the videos are here to show you, is this: all four horses did significantly better with the Bitless Bridle than they did with a bit. That's it. Nothing here says that bits are bad. However, even the inexperienced riders saw immediate improvement with the Bitless Bridle.

[D0N0tJudgeMe]

@ptronius Actually, I would say you are missing the point. In any true experiment, the judge must be impartial for the experiment to be deemed a success. And I would argue that if a rider experienced with bits were to ride these horses, you would see even more improvement. This vid proved nothing. Because frankly, the horse didn't look much more comfortable to me in the bitless bridle than it did with a snaffle. And by the way, I ride both ways.With a bit or in a rope halter hackamore.

[horseygal7302]

but bitless bridles can be fine!

[horseygal7302]

some people dont agree with this, but no matter how harsh the bit is, if u have light hands, its fine! same with if u had the gentlest bit, and had rough hands it can hurt them! bitless birdle CAN do harm, look at hackmores. There is no bit, but if u pull sharply, and hard enough, you can break cartalige! Some horses cant be controlled with them, i have a OTTb who has bad halter manners, and i cant control him with just a halter.

[S0XF0X]

@fancigal Maybe you should look into veterinary autopsies of horses that have had bits used on them for a long time. Bits are painful, even if used with a "gentle" hand. The pressure from the metal bit sitting over the membrane-like tissue over the jaw bone begins to cause pain and even bruising of the area. A horse has to move it's mouth around to try and get the bit off that area of the mouth, but it doesn't work, since any pressure puts the bit back down on the bone, causing pain again.

[fancigal]

@S0XF0X If there is bruising, wouldnt it be caused by a heavy bit? Just curious. I have tried the bitless bridle on my horse, she tossed her head everywhere whenever I took hold of the reins. I can ride with just a halter on her, so I think its the feeling of claustrophobia... all that pressure around her face, dont think she really liked it all that much, tried many different times and kept getting the same reaction. Really sucked, wasted all that money, had to resell it.

[S0XF0X]

@fancigal Or just from constantly moving the bit. Keep in mind, the mouth is one of the most sensitive places on a horses' body, and that area of exposed gum/tissue is very, VERY sensitive. If you ride a horse for more than a half an hour with a bit, any bit, the horse will start chewing and mouthing to try and get the bit off that sensitive tissue. As far as your horse tossing her head because of the bridle, I couldn't tell you why, as it could have been caused from a couple different things.

[fancigal]

@S0XF0X I dont mean to be rude, but I wasnt looking for reasons as to why she didnt like it, she just didnt. Its possible that a horse could like a simple bit more. Curious, but where did you get this information?

[SamCowgirl658]

@S0XF0X

I've ridden my horses for hours and they didn't start messing with the bit to try and move it from areas of their mouth. My one horse chews it when he gets super excited. Now, if he chews it when he's hiper, I highly doubt it causes him any pain.

[zavakuria]

I agree with most of the posters. While I am certainly not against bitless, I think it's wonderful... I ride in a bit with extremely light hands. My body does most of the steering and controling, not my hands. Take a look a the rider of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna! They ride with almost NO contact!! The horses accept the bit and look happily concentrated even with a double bridle and bit. :)

[ilovehorses659]

if the bit is causing piain in the horses mouth then its the wrong bit or un steady hands. if the horses head is shaking side to side thats normally the rider,with open hands

[Horselover3994]

I just ordered one of the bridles for my 9 year old OTTB. I can't wait to see how he does in it!

[NaturalJumper1032]

My horse opens his mouth for the bit. Prolly wouldn't do that if it hurt him. Not saying that bits can't cause problems, but if they do, it's usually because the bit is wrong or the riders hands are to heavy. Just my opinion...

[SarabiHawke]

@ptronius If the bit is painful then it isnt the right one for the horse, that simple.

Or the rider is to heavy on the horses mouth. Translation: they don't know what they are doing.

This doesn't mean I'm against bitless, it just means that the bit isn't as cruel as you paint it.

[S0XF0X]

For those who've said that bits have been used for a long time, therefore they must be a good method (never a very good argument), many native american tribes that had horses to help them in hunting buffalo would steer the horses with their feet and not by using a rein system at all. When a horse isn't in pain, it is more able to pay attention, and if you can't teach your horse to pay attention to you, then you need to learn proper horsemen ship before riding your horse.

[sorcha24]

@S0XF0X so right, as hemphling says if your not in calm control on the ground you shouldnt be on them...it all begings with that first stage leading that is hugely done wrong by the majority!!

[MattysLilMello]

my coach started riding her big 17.1hh Rio Grand grandson in a bitless bridle this past summer and the difference is ASTOUNDING! He used to toss his head side to side at trot and up and down in the canter whenever he was asked to frame, even if the reins were slack, the DAY they put the bitless on him he stopped... it did take some getting used to for both, but they are just as good with the bitless now as they were before with collection, and there is very very minimal head shake now...

[parellichick]

Been riding my OTTB bitless for 2 years. Never going bitted again.

[MsBenzadrine]

@MrChrisBates

your arguement is quite valid

but just because it works does not mean it is the best thing...

[THORNPIXIE]

I can vouch for bitless bridles having much more control - one of my horses bolted with a bit - NO STOPPING him - but much more control in a bitless x Its all to do with the rider also - If you dont have the correct position and balance and pressure of hands then of course you need to work on your ride or dont care

[sk3lt0n]

good video, question - when riding in a bitless bridle how does the horse give u a contact?? always wondered this