What is it about human nature that makes us want to either be whole heartedly for something or whole heartedly against it?  There’s nothing wrong with being passionate, don’t get me wrong.  However, reading through information on bitless bridle designs online I found many sources from people who weren’t even selling a product.  Yet they were making blanket statements such as “every horse” loves to wear a bitless bridle and saying that “all horses” go well in them.

I often enjoy riding in a bitless bridle.  However, having had a lot of experience with multiple types of bitless headgear on various types of horses, I can offer some insight into when and why different types of bitless bridles may or may not be appropriate to use.

Horses cannot be introduced to any new form of communication without at least some training.  It is often extremely easy to introduce a horse to wearing a sidepull type of bitless bridle, or to being ridden in a halter.  Most likely, the horse has already been taught what a pull to one side or the other means, and understands that nose pressure means to slow down or stop.

There are many forms of bitless bridles that use alternate forms of communication some horses have never been exposed to.  In these cases, horses must be taught what these new types of pressure mean and how to respond to them before being taken out on a ride and expected to respond in the way a rider might wish.

For instance, some bitless bridles use two pieces that cross under the horse’s jaw.  When a rider pulls on the reins, these tighten and apply pressure to either nose, poll, jaw or all three.  Some have a small stopper which help distribute the pressure to more areas more evenly.  You can throw one of these on a horse, and if the horse is a) not claustrophobic about his head and b) has some vague idea of neck reining and/or cues mostly off the rider’s seat, you might be able to take him right out for a ride.  But applied to a horse that only knows direct reining or is claustrophobic, that squeezing action on the head can make him very anxious or even cause him to come unglued.  At that point you will discover that the ring sliders may not release the pressure quick enough for your taste.

I have found this bitless works very well for horses ridden in a loose rein or “Western” reining style, for those that neck rein well, ride well off the seat, and for those that do not mind the squeezing action.  If the horse loses his head and bolts while wearing this, it may feel like you are trying to stop him with a pair of rubber yo-yos.

The bosal is a classic piece of Western headgear, excellent for starting horses.  Horses that are halter trained quickly understand how this works, and I feel they often respond to it as if you put a “strong” halter on.  However, due to the reins being attached underneath the horse’s chin, the pressure is slightly different than that applied by a halter when you pull on only one rein.  Occasionally you will run across a horse that is overly sensitive and this will confuse him a bit.  Sometimes I think these extra sensitive types are perceived as more stupid, but perhaps they are actually smarter, trying to dissect each new piece of information down into smaller parts.  “Did you mean to push on me here, or there?”

If you use a bosal properly, you can actually teach a horse very well and if you wish, you can just keep riding in the bosal forever.  But it is designed to be used with pressure and release, and there are riders that try to use the bosal with a constant pressure on the reins.  This feels delightful at first, and the horse will balance wonderfully for you.  Long term, all the horses I’ve seen this technique used on were soon no longer a pleasure to ride in a bosal.  With the thick, round nosepiece, there does not seem to be a lot of difference between lighter pressure and a hard pull.  The rider that thought she was balancing her horse now finds the horse pushing his nose through the bosal and running on at any speed he prefers on a given time or day.

So to summarize, bosals are wonderful when used properly, and nightmarish when used improperly.

Next, there are mechanical hackamores.  These vary greatly in design, from small “S-hacks” to ones with long-shanked cheekpieces and lots of leverage.  I personally am extremely cautious about riding in a long-shanked mechanical hackamore because I have seen a horse with a fractured nose from one being used improperly.  Even on a well-trained horse that neck reins beautifully, if the rider comes off the horse somehow there is a very real risk of damage from the reins getting stepped on or caught on something while the horse is running, especially if the reins are made of tough rope rather than brittle leather.

Short and long shanked mechanical hackamores

Many endurance riders love the short-shanked “S-hack” design.  A real positive is that a horse can easily stop to graze or eat while being ridden (a necessary part of endurance riding).

“S” Hackamore

Horses that have no concept of neck reining need to be introduced to neck reining before being ridden in a mechanical hackamore.  This type of bridle has little to no direct reining capability (the S hack has more direct rein pressure than the others).  A pull on one rein sends extremely confusing signals to the horse, and when utilized it must be done with an immediate release when the horse responds by turning in the direction of the pull.    So it is possible to teach a horse from the beginning in a mechanical hackamore, but I do not recommend it and feel it is unsafe.  In my opinion, mechanical hackamores are for horses that have already learned to neck rein, slow and stop with very little rein pressure, and follow cues from the seat and legs.

I am saying this as someone who has reluctantly ridden on someone else’s green horse that was actually (barely) started in a mechanical hackamore.  It was a level of temerity I rarely aspire to, hopping on a green horse and galloping away with no ability to turn and trusting that someone who wished to start a horse in a mechanical hackamore because it was “bitless” would also have the good sense to lead both of us wisely on the other, more seasoned horse.  There was a tense moment when a little spook wanted to become a bolt and the tenuous balance of “pull-release (quick before he panics!) pull-release again” worked momentarily until one release wasn’t quite fast enough and that dang leverage was too much for the greenie.  Then there was a spin, buck, are-we-going-sideways-down-this-hill moment, but then greenie paused too long looking at a tree branch and that was enough to relax him.  Whew.

I went back for another ride after that and it wasn’t too bad, but it was going to be a long, slow educational process for the horse and there are easier ways to get a horse going under saddle, believe you me.

On to one of my favorites: the sidepull.  As with nearly everything in the horse world, there are sidepulls and there are sidepulls.  They range from soft rope or leather to some that are made with a hard, abrasive noseband.  Some are even designed to abrade the horse’s nose, if you can imagine.  The first time I used a sidepull on my own horse, I learned a key lesson: the sidepull must fit properly.  If you pull on one rein and the other side goes up into your horse’s eye, it doesn’t fit.  If you pull back on both reins and the noseband covers your horse’s eyes like a blindfold, it doesn’t fit.  It is a nice piece of equipment, so if your horse sticks his nose in the air and runs straight through the sidepull as if the nose opening were a door to another universe, a) it doesn’t fit and b) you’re doing it wrong.

A sidepull with a solid noseband for more nose pressure – can be abrasive, especially if made of thin or double rope

I personally prefer sidepulls to other halter-like bitless bridles for several reasons.  For one, they ideally fit snugly around the horse’s nose and therefore give more clear signals than a slippy slidey rope halter.  Two, it is easy to attach reins to the rings on either side of the horse’s nose, making it an ideal bridle for those of us who like to use direct reining a lot of the time.  Three, whether the horse prefers lower hands or higher hands, the equipment still works well.

www.mossrockendurance.com

Even better, there are some hybrid bitless bridles.  I have not used one yet, but I really like the idea of this one below that uses chin pressure to enhance the nose commands, similar to a curb chain or strap, but can also be used as a simple sidepull.  There are others that can go back and forth from either a cross under type bitless to a regular sidepull, which is also nice.

www.lightriderbridle.com

Wheel hackamores are basically a sidepull with more options for where to place your reins based on your horse’s response.

www.nickerssaddlery.com

Finally, there is the ever popular rope halter bitless bridle.

People ride in these with a lead rope tied around the horse’s neck, one rein only, or attach actual reins to the sides of the noseband.  While I’ve hopped on and done a few rides in these, I would only recommend it with a reliable horse in a safe setting.  The cues you give a horse in this headstall are crude at best, and the halter slides around on the horse’s head.  If your horse is a star at neck reining and will stop on a dime from just your seat, you might enjoy riding in just a halter because it makes you look good.  You can also ride in just a regular nylon stock halter in much the same fashion.  I’ve known people who believed strongly that their horse could be trained to be ridden in only a rope halter when the horse wasn’t suitable, and head trauma, broken bones and damaged internal organs were the result.

Not every horse will love a bitless bridle, and not every horse will go well in one.  As you can see, there are various designs that will work better with different styles of riding, training and horse personalities.  Some horses severely dislike nose pressure, and some horses have nerve damage from facial bone fractures or other trauma and will prefer a bit for this reason.  Some horses will be too savvy by the time you begin training them and will never be safe to ride without a bit in their mouth.

I’ve ridden a few horses that do excellently in bitless headgear.  I’ve ridden some that did well in one type of bitless but did not do well in others.  Just as with bits, saddles, and everything horse related, each individual horse must be evaluated for what works in his particular case.