I’ll start off by saying that I am a big fan of bitless bridles. Just to get the obvious bias out of the way right off the bat, I’m a bitless bridle user and I don’t see myself going back in the near future. That said, I’m no longer the close-minded teenager I once was, and am capable of seeing both sides of the bit vs. bitless argument. My intention is to provide each side as I personally understand them.
Moving past the hysterical “but bits are so meeeeeeen!” and the stogy “this is how we’ve done it for hundreds of years” arguments, each side has something to offer. Bitless bridles are by no means a new idea, they’ve been around for centuries as training tools. What is new about them is the fact that more and more people are using them as an alternative to a bit, and they are being used on mature, finished horses.
First I will present the case for bitless bridles. Many people have horses with bit issues, myself included. It seems that no amount of training or trying different bits improves the situation. All you’re left with for your efforts is a horse who is just as uncomfortable and unhappy as when you started. This manifests in head tossing, bit grabbing, leaning on the bit, head tilting, difficulties bridling, bracing against the bit and refusal to work on the bit.
Conventional wisdom tells us that the horse has a hole in his training and must be made to accept the bit. Alternative wisdom tells us that there’s another way. Maybe the solution to the problem is simply to remove the bit. Many riders have found this to be a highly effective answer. I have read reports of “miracles” where a rank head-tosser was transformed into a quiet mount simply by using a bitless bridle.
I experienced such a miracle myself. My own mare had resisted the bit for many years, and no amount of training was helping. Eventually I was able to coax a transitory, grudging acceptance of the bit, but never for very long. Down the long side of the arena, for instance, then it was back to bracing and head tossing. This being my first horse, I didn’t know what to think. Every other horse I rode had little issue with the bit and didn’t fuss when contact was taken up in the reins. Both my trainers and I were stumped.
When I moved away to college, I took my horse with me. I could no longer afford lessons, so I resigned myself to continuing to struggle with the bit. Then a friend introduced me to bitless bridles. I tried out her Dr. Cook’s bridle (a cross-under type bridle) on my mare. It was like riding a whole new horse. She was relaxed, kept her head down, didn’t pull on the reins and didn’t react with irritation to the slightest movement of my hands as she had in the past. Naturally I rushed right out and bought one of my own.
This was my first taste of the world of bitless bridles. I was 19 when I made my discovery, and immediately went overboard on my praise for them. I even went as far as claiming that bits were wrong and that all horses should be ridden bitless. Ah, the sweet smell of close-minded hysteria. I admit it, for a time I was one of the crazies.
Since then I’ve learned more about the realities of life in the equine industry. Many people scoff at bitless bridles and turn up their noses at horses ridden exclusively in them. This knowledge came to me gradually. It might have come faster if I’d had to sell my horse, then I’d have learned that riding bitless tends to turn off potential buyers.
Back to the pro-bitless argument. The reason my horse was so against a bit is the fact that her mouth is not designed to hold one. Where a normal horse’s palate is thin and concave, hers is thick and convex. There’s no room in there for a bit, and when one is used, it bangs against the roof of her mouth with the slightest twitch of the reins. No wonder she never accepted the bit, it was always causing her pain! Bitless bridles offer the perfect solution to those with “special mouthed” horses. Whether caused by a naturally occurring mouth conformation or prior injury, bitless bridles are a life saver for those horses not able to carry a bit.
Not all who chose bitless bridles do so to alleviate bitting problems. Some people participate in sports like endurance that require long hours in the saddle. These folk are constantly on the prowl for lightweight equipment that will enhance their horse’s comfort. Naturally bitless bridles appeal to these riders, as the horse’s mouth is spared and the bridle is lightened. If you go to the staging area of an endurance ride I guarantee you will find all breeds of bitless bridles from rope halters to complicated cross-unders. The nice thing about the endurance world is that it revolves around practicality and usefulness, not looks or tradition. They tend to be the first in pioneering new tack b/c they are not concerned with what others might think, only with what their horse thinks.
So now I’ve covered horses unable to carry a bit for various reasons and people interested in the highest comfort for their horses over miles and miles of trail. What are some other reasons people choose to go bitless?
Here’s where we get into some sketchy territory. This is where the Natural Horsemanship Clan resides. These are the people who want to be friends with their horses and are firmly convinced that bits are evil, painful and nobody should use them. These are the people who attend peace rallies and vote for gun control laws. These are the people who adoringly lap up touchie-feelie BS training methods that promise unparalleled communication and oneness with the Horse. This is a dangerous area to be in, for there is no
real argument here, just a series of passionate opinions, usually held by the ill-informed.
Here is my take on their side, and I’m attempting to leave out the hand wringing and “poor horsie” wails of the bleeding hearts. The thing is, I believe they are right, but not for the reasons they usually give.
I don’t think bits are evil, but I think bitless bridles are better. Just b/c we’ve been using bits for thousands of years doesn’t mean they’re the best thing to use. I believe that we should strive to better ourselves as horse people, and I think one step on that path is removing the metal from our horses’ mouths.
We’ve graduated from “sacking out” horses to starting them with gentleness and trust. One could argue that we’ve been sacking horses out for hundreds of years, therefore it’s perfectly acceptable. I would say that it is not, and we’ve moved on from that. Slavery was around for a long time and widely accepted, and we’ve moved on from that idea too. I see no reason why bits should be any different.
To sum up, the three basic reasons people choose bitless bridles are they have a horse with a mouth unable to carry a bit, they want to spare the horse’s mouth and make him as comfortable as possible, and they believe bitless bridles are a better option than bits.
Now I will present the case for using a bit. It has long been standard in the equine world that a horse should work in a bit. Nearly all of our training techniques are geared towards acceptance of the bit and working off the bit. Horses can be trained to very high levels of performance by gradually incorporating different bits into the training program. As of now, there are very few examples of horses reaching high levels of training without a bit. Those that do perform bitless were likely trained with a bit.
There’s also the show argument. Many people show their horses, and when showing you have to abide by the show rules. Nearly all shows (outside of small schooling shows) require the horse to be bitted. They are very specific about what types of bits are allowed, and in general bitless bridles are NOT. Therefore, to have a successful show career, the horse must go in a bit.
Someone wishing to sell a horse as a show prospect must train the horse to accept a bit. Western horses over age 5 show in a curb bit, while in the English world a snaffle or Pelham is the accepted standard. Depending on the horse’s intended purpose, he is trained to accept a certain type of bit. A horse without such training will be passed over by those wishing to purchase a potential show horse.
Acceptance of the bit is considered a very basic skill for a horse to possess. If he does not, there is likely something wrong with him or with his training. Most people who are in the market for a broke horse will not give a second glance to a horse lacking bit training.
This makes going in a bit very important for the horse’s future. A horse that rides well in a snaffle has far more potential homes than a horse who only rides bitless. The market for a completely bitless horse is very small, and with the current economy and sales prices, a bitless horse is at an extreme disadvantage. He is much more likely to be auctioned off than his snaffle bit peer, meaning he is far more likely to end up in the kill pen. Not a happy ending, especially for a horse that was likely ridden bitless out of the notion that it is kinder to do so.
For the horse’s basic safety and future, he needs to ride in a bit. In educated hands, even a severe bit is not cruel. One of the merits of a good rider is quiet hands. If you’re using a bitless bridle to make up for lack of finesse in the hands, then it is
you who require more training.
Riding with a bit has been around for thousands of years, horses are trained to very high levels using them, and they are not any more cruel than a halter would be in the wrong hands. Except for horses whose mouth does not allow the use of a bit, every horse should be ridden in one. Not only does this indicate complete training, it allows the horse to be used in competition, something that dramatically increases the value of the horse.
What Do I Think?In this matter, I agree with both sides. I think that going in a bit is necessary for every horse to do, if only to ensure him a good home should he need to be sold. I also think that bits are not the be all end all of horse training and equipment. A horse’s face is highly sensitive, so I see little reason he could not be trained to high levels of performance without a bit. It would just take slightly different methods.
People are scared to make changes, therefore they hide behind tradition and scoff at anything that falls outside of the accepted norm. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been laughed at for riding my horse without a bit and even claiming that “she doesn’t like it”. It’s true, she doesn’t, and neither would you if you were in her position. Therefore I don’t use one. I’m happy, the horse is happy, why does anything else matter? Resale value isn’t a problem, she’ll be with me until she dies. Some people have said that I just haven’t found the right bit yet, but she goes so well bitless, and the fact that she’s 19 years old means I’m not going to mess with it anymore. I’m done experimenting with something I’m 99% sure won’t work. It ain’t broke so I ain’t fixing it.
