Training with the Bitless Bridle and Other Training Thoughts

By Claudia Garner

Metal in the Mouth by Dr. Robert Cook was required reading material for the SHP class of 2004. After opening the book and working myself through the first few pages, I was reasonably horrified. Not only because this was a very demanding read – not all of us have an academic career behind us – but also because of the implications what the bit will do to the horse. In the good old practice I pushed this reading assignment on the shelf, way back. As the exam loomed closer and closer I eventually broke down and read the book. And in the process started much more to understand about the damage the bit does to the horse’s body and psyche.

At about the same time one of my long time students had ordered a Bitless bridle and called me in utter frustration. Her horse was curling up with it and wasn’t going forward and this was not her fault and not a good idea in the first place. What does a good riding instructor do? Pray. Pray you find out what the problem is. So we arranged a lesson and I watched what was going on. And that is when I observed something rather interesting: This Bitless bridle is a precision instrument in the right hands. Much more precise than a snaffle bit. When you aid with a snaffle bit, the same does slide through the mouth, even if it is only a little bit. There is no sliding on the Bitless bridle. The pressure you put on is the pressure the horse receives at the exact time you put it on, without a delay and without confusion on the horses’ side. Correctly fitted you can use it very subtly to get enormous results. That requires educated hands. Educated hands are as hard to come by as educated riding in general. It is a bit like good trimming. You have to practice a lot and practice a lot the right way. Of course, every time you think you got it, you have to practice some more. This brings me to the point where I like to share a few insights that I have developed in over 30 years of professional riding, more often than not, thinking outside the box.

I actually learned this one early on, but it took decades to understand how true it is: The horse is never wrong. The rider is always wrong. 

So why is this not exactly working for you? Because your horse is the exception to the rule. No, sorry that was the wrong answer; you will not get any points for this one.

There are a hundred scenarios that I can think of where at first sight it seems the horse is at fault. But when you examine the situation and collect all the pieces of the puzzle the answer reads: It is the riders fault. How come? A horse is a horse. He will not change. Take the rider of the horse and he is a mere human being, residing on the opposite side of the food chain.

Now horses are generous animals and capable of giving and forgiving. Humans on the other hand, maybe because of their position in the food chain are more of the taking kind, and taking and taking and taking. When a horse does not do what you want him to do there are a few different scenarios:

1. He is in pain
2. His natural instincts have taken over
3. He is preserving himself as a flight animal
4. The horse does not understand what is required, he is confused

To 1.): We all have seen this. The horse doesn’t go forward, doesn’t want to jump, or is extremely skittish. Or he runs away from the pain in the feet, in the mouth, in the back. He rears, rolls his eyes, bucks. Stalls, spins and sometimes even attacks. I am always marveling about the fact: In how much pain must a flight animal be that he attacks a predator? Whatever it is, find out. It is your job as the keeper of the horse to find out the source of the pain and eliminate it. Completely and beyond a shadow of a doubt. And no, you are not allowed to mask the pain (you will not get any points for that either).

To 2.): Sometimes you are as a rider required being one a heck of a leader. For example, when you want to ride this stallion by that cute little mare and she so happens to be in season.  Or you are leading him. And the same scenario happens. No, a chain over the nose doesn’t get you any points. Neither does the thought: But stallions are dangerous. They are only dangerous when they are in the hands of the wrong human. Another example is that of flight. Punishing your horse for taking good care of you while you were just sitting there daydreaming while he is getting the hell out of Dodge to save you both isn’t fair. Instead you have to pay attention and be the leader to your horse, so he never has to be afraid. That is a huge responsibility. Because we as humans instinctively close our legs on the horse when he spins and starts running. Only to prove to him that not only was a tiger in the bush, but there is now one on his back as well. And pulling on the rein does not improve your standings with the horse.

To 3.): I have seen a lot of horse “bullies” in my life. They walked all over me, tried to be here or there long before me, always ignoring the human presence. These horses are doing what you have failed to do: Taking care of themselves. They cannot trust you, they are in pain, and their only means of survival is to go where they think they may be safe. And that is usually far away from you, and you had better not be in the way.

To 4.): Confused horses are the bread and butter of the majority of riding instructors. The rider gives one aid and then contradicts it immediately with another, all in all a very common beginner’s mistake, especially in riding establishments where very little thought is given to the true education of the rider. One example: Rider gives a leg aid to signal to the horse to go forward, the horse responds and really goes forward and the rider instantly loses his balance, grips the reins and says with the same “no that is not what I meant”. Well, guess what? Horses are not mind readers. They only know what you do, not what you mean.

Or, yet another example, the horse is ridden towards a jump and actually jumps. On the apex of the jumping curve the riders falls backwards and pulls on the horses’ mouth. Next time the horse gets the message and stops in front of the jump. Now he gets beaten. The result is a confused horse. And this comes in much more subtle varieties. Think about it. Think about the fundamental instincts of the horse. Think outside the box. Think like a horse. But be careful not to draw the wrong conclusions. Humans are so very good at that.

Which brings us back to the Bitless bridle. Properly used it is a precision instrument. At the same time it is kind enough so that the beginner rider can learn to ride, make his mistakes without hurting the delicate mouth of the horse. You cannot stop a horse from running away with a Bitless bridle, but you also cannot stop a horse from running away with a bit. If you want to learn to ride, make sure you have eliminated points 1 through 3 above, and then work every day on point 4. A fleeting moment of perfect communication may be your reward. And you may actually finally score a point with your horse. May Pegasus be with you.

Copyright 2005 Claudia Garner