Bitless riding information

[Waikato Valuta]

Even since I brought my horse in September last year he has been ridden bitless. Recently I have started schooling him in the bitless. After a few circles and leg yields he works in a lovely round frame. I know I’m not pulling him into the frame as the bridle is to soft for that, and I don’t have much of a contact.

Anyway, I was wondering if there are any books or websites about bitless dressage? All the dressage books go on about feel through the horse’s mouth and the use of the bit. But what do you do if you don’t want to use a bit. I know at least the basics are possible, why not the more advanced movement?

I guess I just need to know how to turn the aids with the bit into aids without the bit. Or should I be thinking more along the lines of using my seat and no rein contact at all?

[Waikato Valuta]

I just wanted to add:

What do you think is a good bit to use when introducing it again after doing bitless. I want something as soft as possible, I would avoid it altogether but I want to do a few dressage comps and maybe PC, so I will need to use a bit sometimes.

[capalldubh]

No advice to offer because I have the same question - so just bumping up the post in the hope someone who knows might chip in with an answer :)

Edited to add: that's funny, same question and your horse is called Jackson too :-)

[cvb]

hi guys

my personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that dressage and schooling books don't specific what bit (or not) is used at all. They don't sit there and say "if it is a snaffle, do this, if it is this, do that"... they just talk about contact, communication, connection

So it is as important to understand how a particular bit is used, as it is to understand how the bitLESS bridle you have is used ;)

but other than that, should be no big deal... other than that I don't believe you can compete bitless ?

My own personal experience is based on either bridles where the reins are on the chin, or bridles where the reins are on the side.

You rarely get a bit that works off the back of the chin ... so that is a slightly different deal that needs some adaption.

I have found that there is more of a tendency for the horse to lean into the pressure, and then they can go on the forehand.

And that it is tempting, especially for a rider more used to bits, for the rider to hold the pressure all the time, rather than softening it (without necessarily letting it go - capalldubh saw me trying to show that with reins at the recent meet ;) ).

If you hold the pressure with a bitless bridle, the places where the bridle exerts pressure will, sooner or later, go numb - which is a slight problem for giving aids !

Or should I be thinking more along the lines of using my seat and no rein contact at all?

Only if that is what you want to achieve and how you would ride with a bit ?

If you are riding dressage, than you would not be using solely rein contact anyway. It still needs to be a blend of aids, not all hand, or zero hand.

When Fi has been sound, the last few times I was riding with a enduro bitless under her bridle, so I could swap between the two. I found that issues with straightness were showing up bitless, where - between her and me - we were "masking" them with the bit. So it helped me to work on the straightness without the bit. But she was happy for me to just pick up the other reins later on. (I should say, I have also done bits and pieces with a neck rein with her - so the lack of bit contact is not something that worries her).

I personally like a french like loose ring snaffle - but that is just what suits me and the horses I have tried in them. We have one pony where it really did not make much different when I tried the FL - so I kept him in his original bit. But when I tried again later (having made some changes to *my* riding), it then made a clear difference (for the better).

I suspect that you need a bit with quite a simple but "kind" action...

[halkynuk]

Riding dressage tests bitless - definately best to check the rules & regulations of the classes you want to enter.

I'm UK based & here, to the best of my knowledge, one cannot compete in a dressage class in a bitless bridle although, from what I understand, one can enter as none competitive.

Here's the link to a local riding club rules & regs - http://www.flintanddenbighrc.com/dressage.htm - definately no bitless!

Putting your horse into a bit ,,, have you thought of the Happy Mouth type bits, they are available in many types - http://www.saddler.co.uk/acatalog/Happy_Mouth_Bits.html

The reason I say this is because it turned out that my mare, who came to me in late March 2003 had terrible issues with her bit ,,, to the extent that she even went down with me on one occassion because she got in such a tizz & panicked.

When this happened, the only thing I could do was to talk her "down" till she stopped trembling, stood still & it was safe to get off - as Colonel Podjasky of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna would have said to her ,,, "poor little sausage".

I spent copious amounts of time wondering had I lost the soft hands I used to have - for quite a few years now, I've suffered with RSI - but through all my work with her from then on, I was confident that was not the problem.

After working very carefully with her but making little or no progress, in 2004, on impulse, I decided to ride her in her headcollar only ,,, what a difference!

As the owner of our yard said when she spotted us working in the paddock the first time we did this ,,, it's like you're riding a different horse ,,, she's so relaxed, enjoying herself & forward going.

It took a further year to move on from there to working her in a Happy Mouth type bit only, when she was so confident & enthusiatic about being ridden with no panic at all.

As one of the "golden oldies" around here, when I was growing up & learning my horsemanship skills, the ultimate was to be able to ride a horse so lightly that one should be able to put a piece of cotton in the rein & ride with such refinement & lightness that it didn't break!

Sadly, to me, that theory seems to have disappeared ,,, or is it that so many don't work well enough with their horses for it to be attainable?

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[Waikato Valuta]

Thanks for the replies guys. Basically I will just ride like normal.

I have a Dr Cook Imitation bridle when the reins go in one side and then swap around and over the opposite check. It applies poll pressure and sideways action.

Bitless dressage is not allowed here, you have to use a bit no matter who is running the competition. however they do allow bitless Showjumping and XC.

It's a pity, I always thought if they didn't like how your horse was working then they should score you badly and you wont go up the levels, rather than ban you from competing all together.

Jackson works in a "frame" and has flowing relaxed paces. So what’s the problem? Oh well, maybe in a few/50 years.