Talk to me about bitless bridles!

mu0ljk

mu0ljk

Active Member
Nov 27, 2014
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Now that Dylan is pretty much retired from competitions I've been playing with tthe idea of having a go with a bitless bridle to see how he takes to it. I have on a few occasions ridden him in a headcollar with two leadropes and although the brakes may be a little dodgy we do have steering and enough control for a play in the field anyhow! ;)

I don't really know anything about them but I do recall reading that they can be quite harsh with the pressure they apply, although to my mind surely they can't be as harsh as a bit of metal in the mouth? Could someone enlighten me as to the different types and how they act and which people prefer?

Thank you in advance! :D
 
Ive only ever used a hackamore bit less bridle. What I will say is I had a 148cm who cat leapt if you touched her mouth with a bit , after been checked and no medical issue started using hackamore and she was at least 75% better, I jumped her under rules though and had to jump with a bit at comps, and like a flick of a switch the cat leaping returned. I felt a lot more in control in the hackamore although think it all depends on what suits your horse. If you horse goes well with his/her bit I'm not sure I'd try to change anything.x
 
Mattie my ex-racing Arab goes very sweetly and politely in a Dr Cook's bridle which is effectively a side pull. I struggled to put it on to start with, it's like a sweater you have to roll up to get on! But it's very gentle, the pressure applies along the horse's cheek and with Mattie you only ever need the lightest touch on the rein. He much prefers it even to a rubber snaffle.
 
I use a webbing scawbrig on Annie. It works by tightening around the nose and jaw when pressure is applied to the reins - it's basically like riding in a headcollar, except with a piece of webbing under the jaw that "closes" the noseband around the face when you pull on both reins at once. It's also known as a "natural hackamore" as it has the same action as a hackamore but is much milder due to the lack of shanks for leverage and also having a piece of padded material under the jaw as opposed to a curb chain. For steering it works like a sidepull (open out the left rein to go left, right rein to go right, the piece under the jaw slides from side to side). She is super in it, really relaxed and happy, it's clearly an action that suits her as she is very responsive to the pressure on the rare occasions I actually need to apply any!
 
Thank you! Dylan does always eventually go nicely in a snaffle but he always has to fight it to begin with and the things he does with his jaw, crossing it, sticking his tongue out etc, only the drop nose band stops this. Perhaps a scawbrig would be a good one to try as I guess it will be the same action as a head collar and two leadropes, albeit more refined?
 
Yes I'd say it's more or less the same, just with that little bit more control available when you need it, but still mild. Annie was backed and ridden away in a Dually so nose pressure was already familiar to her, but had then been put into a snaffle when she started taking people for hacks so when I got her I kept her in a bit because it's what I'm used to. But she's so responsive to seat / weight and voice aids that I found I needed such little contact with her mouth, I wondered why bother having one at all? - plus she never felt totally relaxed when being schooled bitted so thought I'd try her without one. I got the scawbrig as it's quite mild and a simple design and I wanted to get used to riding bitless without having her in anything too strong - but as she went so nicely in it I never bothered trying another kind. She wears it for everything now.
 
There are sidepulls, scawbrigs, 'Natural hackamores', crosspulls and hackamores. Personally after quite a few years of riding bitless, I use 'natural hackamores' (my rope halter with reins or a mecate), sidepulls and hackamores.

It's best to see what sort of pressure your horse prefers, mine girl hates anything squeezing her head. You can test out sidepull, scawbrig and crosspull with a headcollar and a pair of reins to get an idea of what they prefer.
 
I have an English hackamore that I was given years ago and never used. I have however got an orbitless bridle which is a bit like the flower bridle. It has varying severities, but puts pressure on nose/poll/jaw.
 
No_Angel said:
It's best to see what sort of pressure your horse prefers, mine girl hates anything squeezing her head. You can test out sidepull, scawbrig and crosspull with a headcollar and a pair of reins to get an idea of what they prefer.
Click to expand...

I took your advice and had a go at this with a couple of leather straps reins and his head collar. Safe to say he absolutely hated the crossunder action, was okay in the side pull but I wasn't convinced by brakes, but went absolutely beautifully in the scawbrig style. Was nice and relaxed and there was no crossing of the jaw, his bottom lip was hanging everywhere and he even went into a nice outline without arguing when I asked him, so thank you for your advice! It took a bit of figuring out how to imitate the actions but it was worth it! :)
 
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I use a plain and simple halter, reins underneath. Headcollar reins underneath. Mine doesn't compute any tightening or pulling, just keep it simple.
She was started in the halter so its not anything new for her.
 
Hi
I have the light rider reins, love them.
Would have more if spot any. :)

But the bridle is just an expensive way of buying a Scrawbrigg or sidepull. I bought one and sold it.
I might design my own bitless as I keep finding sidepull after sidepull after sidepull. I dont want one.
 
Light Rider Bridles puts pressure on the nose if you attach the reins to one set of rings, which work by tightening under the chin to a certain point, no more. That's how I use mine.

Or you can attach the reins to both the rings on either side to make it a side pull effect. You can also just buy the lower half of the bridle, noseband, and attach it to your normal bridle, western or English. Much cheaper! :)
 
I have a webbing scawbrig, it cost me £26 from Libbys and doubles as a headcollar, can go in the washing machine. Probably my best horsey buy to date!
 
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