About Bitless Horse Bridles

A bit is a metal, wooden or plastic bar that is held in the horse's mouth by a bridle. It works by pressing down hard on the very sensitive area behind the horse's molars. But not all bridles have bits. These are known by various names, including hackamores. They work similar to a dog leash, only the leash is around the horse's nose instead of in the mouth.

  1. Misconceptions

    • Hackamores and other bitless bridles are not necessarily any more humane to a horse than a bridle with a bit. Horses can be hurt by bitless bridles just as much as bridles with bits. It all depends on how kind the rider is and that the rider uses other aids like body positioning, voice and leg pressure instead of just tugging on the horse's mouth.

    Types

    • There are many types of bitless bridles. The most common is the bosal hackamore, used mainly in Western riding and made mostly of rope. A big central nose loop is the main source of control. Another kind is called the sidepull, which is a hackamore made of leather and metal instead of rope or rawhide. They are also called jumping cavessons, or "Skrawbrigs." The third most common is the mechanical hackamore, which squeezes metal against the sides of the nose.

    History

    • It's thought that bitless bridles preceded bridles with bits. Ancient Persians around 500 BC used them and sometimes the Greek cavalry. Eventually, the influence went to Spain and then over to Spain's colonies in the New World. "Hackamore" is derived from the Spanish "jaquima" (which means bridle, whether bit-less or with a bit). Spanish vaqueros influenced the horse tack of the American cowboys. More recently, show jumping horses have been using hackamores if they refuse to accept a bit into their mouths, including champion Samsung Woodstock.

    Benefits

    • For some horses or ponies, a bitless bridle may be the only kind of bridle they will accept. These include horses that have a mouth injury, have a mouth deformity, have been abused by bad riders yanking on the bit, or for a horse's first bridle. Many horses destined for Western-style riding often begin in a bitless bridle before moving up to a bridle with a bit.

    Considerations

    • Some show events, such as hunter or saddle seat equitation, do not allow horses to use bitless bridles. There also aren't as many bitless bridles for harness horses as there are for riding horses. If the horse is destined to go into an event that requires a bit, then the horse needs to either be trained in a light snaffle bit or compete in a different event.