Dr. Cooks Bitless bridle

CheriFen

CheriFen

New Member
Aug 31, 2011
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Maine USA
Hi everyone. I'm wondering if many of you have use the cooks bridle and what your experience has been, especially the first use. I have a pony that hasn't been ridden in a while and I'm wondering how he will react to a bitless bridle. Before I owned him he was always in a loose ring snaffle. I bought the lunging add on for the cooks bridle, but it seems a little confusing how to set it up, and seems large and bulky near my pony's face, but maybe thats how its supposed to be. I am going to try to lunge him in the bitless first to see how he does before hopping on him.

Have any of you used the little scissor lunge attachment from Cooks?

thankee =)
 
I ride my Arab in a Dr Cooks. He doesn't like bits, or anything else fiddling with his mouth. His owner (I loan him) put him first in a hackamore, and then moved him to the Dr Cooks. He goes sweetly in it and always has.

I have never lunged him at all, so can't comment on the little lunging jobbie!
 
Swapping ex P2P'er Roo from a loose-ring french-link snaffle to a Dr Cook was an enlightening experience for me! Roo had always been fussy in his mouth, shook his head around, fighting to be allowed to run everywhere and in the Dr Cook I could ride him happily ambling along on the buckle. We even had brakes after a blast. I can't recommend them highly enough.....
 
ive recently started riding my freshly broken in youngster in one and he goes really well in it. not even heard of the lunge attachment thing though, sorry.
the first time i put it on, we literally just did a few movements from the ground - held the reins where my hands would be if i was onboard, asked for back-up, got him to turn his head both sides, that was fine so just got on and rode in it! virtually always use it now, i love it!

must say though - i have had one problem that makes me a bit nervous... thankfully i wasnt on at the time but just about to get on and the rein came off whatever its supposed to be buckled too... :( there doesnt seem anything wrong with it so did it back up and as we were away from home i had to just hope for the best. it hasnt done it since but i must admit its always in the back of my mind. it could potentially be disasterous if it were to happen out on the road or at speed.

anyone else experienced this happening?
 
How do your reins attatch?

I did have one instance where the hose band came undone - I have no idea how but we were in the middle iof a huge arguement about whether or not we were walking through a puddle so it wasnt great! I had NOTHING!!!! Guess I hadnt done it up right but its our only mishap in 100s of hours of riding in it.

I use a rope halter for riding mainly now but pop the Dr Cooks back on when I m on the road or in fast company and need a bit more woah
 
no first time bad experience?

so nobody had a bad first time experience? like your horse going wild? the cooks booklet that came with the halter warned of it, and since I'm kind of a wimp I was a little worried, though my guy seems pretty mellow. I like the idea of trying the reins from the ground so he gets the feel.

thanks =)
 
they just sort of buckle on like normal reins do from memory - go around the ring, and then a belt type buckle thing i think. i really had a good look at it at the time because i was afraid if it happening on my way home, but couldnt see why/how it's just undo itself. had only ridden in it once before that too so not like it'd been gradually coming undone over a period of time and i hadnt noticed. very odd. not happened again though so not too worried - it's just always in the back of my mind. the nose band comign undone is just as terrifying!

i've never heard of a horse going mad with it on - the only bad reaction i can think of is if they ignored the pressure and had no breaks. if the horse is used to pressure generally (as virtually all are...) then i dont think it would have no breaks.
 
I have one. I used it on my EX racer with good results till it started rubbing her a lot. My other horses have all learnt to lean on it quite early on in use (they are all in hackamores now).

My youngster hated it and tried to bite me every time the pressure tightened on her head, she's in a sidepull now.
 
I've been using one on my share horse for a few years, and she was fine in it from the word go. She was ridden in it in the field first, then I went out for a hack with her bitted bridle over the top (minus the noseband), with the reins knotted on her neck, just in case they were needed, but they weren't. This gave me a feeling of security, but the next time I rode her we went bitless and had no problems.
 
Nope, put it on my ex racer and off we went up the road.

I have to say in my limited experience with it, it never released as quickly as I would have liked it to, but obviously no-one else has had those problems with it.
 
Well I had problems !!!

I have been riding Sioned in a DUALLY and wanted a bitless, tbh I didn't really think about 'what bitless' and tried a friends Dr Cooks, she HATED it..........its such a different action to the DUALLY so think I have to be looking for a
Hackamore tbh.
 
Both my horses went into one without a pause, but there are horses that don't get on with them.
 
I think if they don't like poll pressure it is a no no. Spec that is why Fairlady's horse liked the dually and not the dr. cooks.

My now horse hates poll pressure, so he would definitely not like the dr.cooks. Tb hated bits but didn't mind poll pressure.
 
Arnie was fine with it to start with - he had been having problems with his mouth and I think he was just pleased to not have a bit. After a while though, he learned to lean on it and I seemed to have to have almost constant pressure or he just pulled the reins through my hands. I changed to a hackamore at that point and he was much happier.

He hated the action of a dually for riding but we have now gone back to a simple mullen mouth snaffle and he is very happy to be ridden in that on a loose rein with no problems.

I'm with SJP1 though, the Dr Cooks never seemed to release as quickly as I would have liked. I also had a Micklem Multibridle which has very similar action but Arnie hated it for some reason??
 
mullen vs. french link loose ring

my pony currently has a french link loose ring snaffle. would a mullen be more gentle? I'm really just wanting to be as easy on my guy as possible, and got the loose ring snaffle because that's what he was in when I bought him, but bought the Cooks because I started reading about natural horsemanship etc. I don't really know if he is super sensitive in the poll or not. I have tried the Cooks on him and he seemed good with it, but of course I didn't use it yet, just tried it on.

and does anyone know if the size of ring on a loose ring snaffle matters? The snaffle bit I bought has a much larger ring than the one he had before we bought him. I'm mostly worried about the bit pinching in the cheek, or the nutcracker effect happening.
 
Afaik, a mullen mouth is about as gentle as they come but its horses for courses. Tbh, if your boy is happy with his french link then I would leave him in it. I dont think the size of the loose ring matters - particularly with a french link as you dont get nutcracker effect with it.

I would give the Dr Cooks a go. If you want you can stick a spare sliphead underneath so that you can have your bit in as well with an extra set of reins if you are worried at all.
 
I have had the same Dr Cook for about 8 years and used it on 3 different horses. An ex racer who was well used to taking off over open spaces a young gelding I owned for a short time and my AQHA mare who was hot, scatty and unpredictable I wont be bitting my new boy either.

I never once felt I had no control as Im firmly of the belief that you can ask your horse nicely to slow or stop but if he/she doesnt want to there isnt a bit on the planet that will stop them.

Especially with the TB mare who was very conditioned to run, fast and on the grass completely changed her mindset, she associated taking up the contact with zooming away, our canters became asked for, collected and throughly enjoyable. she worked in an outline after a year or so re schooling.

Thoroughly recommended piece of equipment and worth every penny.

Wouldnt go back to bitting any of mine. I still smile when looking back at the times people have scoffed at it and realise I didnt die on a hack!
 
I love my Dr Cooks too...he goes well in a bit, but after experimenting in the arena one day in just a headcollar I realised he is absolutely fine without a bit, so I thought what's the point in putting one in when I don't need to?!

We had a couple of plays in the arena in the Dr Cook when I first got it, just for him to get used to the different action of it, and we have never looked back. He goes well in it and I trust him 100% in it.

Not all horses get on with it, but then not all horses get on with particular bits either! I have heard far more success stories than bad ones
 
I trialled one a while ago. One of my horses went beautifully in it. Another of them turned into a demon! I can ride said horse in a headcollar, or nothing at all....the Dr Cooks prompted a rear/spin/do everything to get me off him session. He absolutely HATED the feeling of it. He far prefers one of our own designs.
 
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