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Question:
I have heard some discussion on riding without a bit or what I
have heard called “bitless riding.” What is bitless riding and what
are your thoughts on it?
Answer -
Part I: Any type of equipment that goes on a horse’s face but
does not go into the mouth is categorized as bitless. The side pull
is categorized as bitless. One fellow has come out with a piece of
equipment called a bitless bridle. It is designed to make contact
with the chin and poll and it works quite well. I designed what I
call the hack-a-pull, a combination of a hackamore and a side pull.
Riding a horse in a cowboy or web halter is riding bitless. I ride
many horses with hackamores. A hackamore is made up of a bosal that
goes around the nose where the reins are attached, and a leather
hanger that goes around the ears. When people ride with a cowboy or
web halter, the rope is tied similar to a hackamore.
For me, riding
bitless is neither right nor wrong. Depending on the horse and what
you are trying to accomplish, the use of this type of equipment may
be very appropriate. I think someone that is just learning to ride
should use some type of bitless apparatus. A new rider usually does
not have good hands and I would rather the outside of a horse’s face
be pulled on rather than the mouth. A horse has sensitive areas on
the edge of the jaw and the nose and even a string halter can
inflict pain. In untrained hands, a regular hackamore can be very
abrasive. I don’t recommend starting a horse in training with a
regular hackamore {usually 9/16 to 5/8 inch in diameter}. What most
horses are started with is a large diameter hackamore. As training
progresses, a smaller diameter or pencil hackamore is used and then
with a bridle.
All bitless
apparatus will have a tendency to rub under the horse’s chin.
Getting scuffed up is usual for a horse, in other words rubbed and
sore. With time, a horse will build up a callus and those areas
will be less sensitive but still feel. I have started colts in
cowboy and regular halters, snaffle bits and hackamores but if the
hands aren’t trained, starting it in a halter is better.
Each type of
equipment has definite advantages. The most important thing to
remember is that it is not what you put on the horse’s face, it is
what you do with that piece of equipment. It comes down to your
hands, seat and legs. We try to ride with an independent seat and
not balance ourselves with our reins. When we ask our horse to do
something, we don’t ask with the reins while hanging onto them to
remain balanced. All that pulling would confuse the horse and the
line of communication would be lost.
Some horses,
based on personality, can be pushy in the face. For that type of
horse, a piece of equipment, for instance a hackamore, with a little
more feel or weight to it is better. This will prevent the horse
from running through your hands. The skill of the rider and the
personality of the horse relate to the type of equipment that will
work best.
A few years ago
I knew a fellow who did a lot of Perelli work and he started his
horse in a string halter. He did bareback riding with a halter and
he did a very nice job with the horse. However, as the horse got
more broke and the requests needed to be more specific, the feel of
the halter was too general. I found that out for myself when I was
working with a dressage trainer, Major Miguel Trevera. I wanted to
see how much I could accomplish using a hackamore. He told me it
was not specific enough to all the movements required for finished
horsemanship.
A bit has more
communication value. Stacy Westfall is known for riding without a
bridle but when she schools her horse she uses a bridle. For some
time she rode the horse with just a rope around its neck. It takes
time to get a horse educated enough to understand that type of
communication. Also, her horse has a very docile personality. A
horse that is too smart or has a high flight instinct can be ridden
without a bridle. Nevertheless, the horse must be sufficiently
trained and predictable. A compliant horse may be ridden without a
bridle sooner than a wilful horse.
Depending on
your goal, if you want to expand your horsemanship, you will need to
put a bit in the horse’s mouth. A request with a bit is more
specific and not as limited. I’ll talk more next time on riding
with or without a bit.
Charles Wilhelm
It’s Never Ever the Horse’s Fault
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