Bitless bridles?

[jill]

A friends horse is clearly not comfortable in its mouth - dental checks done, various types of bits tried, every time it is asked to take a contact it tosses its head.
So she is considering the bitless route - so here comes the question. I have heard of Dr Cooks, and sidepulls, as well as hackamores of course. I know the action of a hackamore, and that the horse needs to learn their effect and the cues they give, but what different types are there and how do they and their effects differ?
All contributions welcome so she can make an informed choice as to the best one to get for him.
Many thanks

[Deleted]

Dr Cooks and "cross under" bridles are basically the same with some minor differences in the manufacturing. When you pull on both reins they give a "whole head hug", i.e. spread the pressue under the chin, over the nose, up both cheeks (roughly imagine a throatlash on each side which crosses underneath to the opposite side of the noseband) and give a very slight poll pressure.

Apparently Dr Cook designed his so it worked on the least sensitive parts of the horse's face making it less able to do harm than other types of bridle. IME some horses just carry on as normal in these, they don't react any differently to a bit but some really dislike them. The official Dr Cooks website always did a 30 day money back guarantee and I know one person who sent it back and got her money back with no quibbles so if trying these I'd start there.

My limited experience of a sidepull is it's pretty much like riding in a halter, so if the horse goes ok in a halter/ cavesson then this might be a good place to start.

A Scrawbrigg is another type. Imagine a drop noseband with only the front part to the noseband, then you have a second loose strap under the chin (running through the noseband rings at each side) which your reins attach to, so if you pull on both reins the noseband tightens a little. You would fit it higher than a drop BTW.

In any bitless I'd long line and do some in hand work first to get the horse used to it then ride in an arena the first few times until you're sure the horse accepts and understands it

[specialized]

Sidepulls and hackamores give similar signals through the reins as conventional bits. There are many types of hackamore, but the one we have had most success with is the s-hackamore which is lightweight and not too bulky.
Dr Cooks are like marmite, some horses hate them due to the constriction around the nose and some do not release pressure quickly enough. Also the action from the reins comes differently as the rh rein is attached to the lh strap due to the crossover.

[andyt]

My 17.1 ISH hated bits in her mouth. I now ride her in a Dr Cooks and she really seems to like it. Before if I walked up to her with a bitted bridle she would try and hide inthe corner of the stable whereas now she pushes her head into the bitless of her own accord! The official Dr Cooks shop does many different material bridles at differing prices but still does the 30 day money back thing.

[jes]

I tried my mare in my friend's Dr Cook last summer when she was obviously unhappy in a bit. She went really well in it. I rode her round the yard for 5 minutes first then set off on a 2 hour hack!! Perhaps not the best thing to do, but she's not the type to get strong, shy, run off, etc., and I just told myself I'd get off and lead her back if it wasn't working.

Unfortunately I couldn't afford a Dr Cooks, but I did already have a sidepull bridle, which I'd got for my other horse just cause I liked it, so tried her in that and she loved it. It's basically no more than reins attached to a noseband, so the control is all nose pressure. I did find this a little worrying at first, but soon forgot about it and just ride her normally.

I did get a cheap Dr Cook copy from Ebay, but removed the cross straps, fitted a normal headpiece and just attached the reins to the rings on the noseband, so I now have a lovely black leather, English style sidepull as well. As I ride her in a black Vogue dressage saddle, it matches a bit better than the other sidepull, which has tassles and a plaited rope throatlash.

[lc]

Simba was never comfortable with a bit either, tried several and she would always throw her head about as soon as there was any contact or just stop, she would always back away from the bit when tacked up. She was good in a dually in the school so tried a cheap webbing side pull but out hacking I just felt I didn't have enough control. I borrowed a friends Dr Cook and tried her in that with a bit under neath first but never needed it, she loved the Dr Cooks, had quite a bit of control, ok she could go if startled but was easy to stop her, a neck strap was good for that too, but I had full control unless she was badly spooked, even when I went on a sponsored ride and they were all hyped up, my arms aches for a week but she never did anything I didn't ask her too. She also stopped pulling away from the bridle and would stick her nose in to the Dr Cooks quite happily.

[jen1]

have a look at the Rambo Micklem Multi bridle ,

[jill]

Thanks all, I have pointed out this info to her, so that she can decide for herself

[marvin]

mine has a bosal he did not like to dr cooks one little bit, or the englishhackamore

[jinglejoys]

Malaga was started in a rope hackamore so I just carry on with it

[jill]

Jan 13, 2012 14:28:13 GMT 1 jinglejoys said:

Malaga was started in a rope hackamore so I just carry on with it

Can't really see her show jumping in that though - although if it went well might make the SJ world sit up and take notice

[jinglejoys]

Don't see why not wasn't there someone who showjumped in a Headcollor? ;D

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5JLgcwdR5Q

[jill]

That's nice to see, thanks