The cross-under bitless bridle was developed by Dr Robert Cook FRVCS PhD, Professor of Surgery Emeritus at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, approximately 20 years ago. Dr Cook conducted yearst of research and wrote many scientific papers regarding the use of bits in horses. He inspected the skulls of deceased horses and found that approximately 75% had bone spurs on the mandible from bit damage.

 

When bone is traumatized it's response is to re-model, often overgrowing and producing bone spurs. When a bit is then placed in the mouth the pain is increased. The thickness of the gum over the bone of the mandible is around 2mm with a sensitive and wet mucous membrane over that. It’s no wonder that the bit damages this bone so easily. In a survey of 440 horses (switched from bits to bitless overnight) he found the bit to be responsible for at least 50 problems in horses. 58% of horses had negative behavioural responses, 26% interference with locomotion and 16% interference with respiration. The four most frequently cited effects of the bit are to instill fear, make the horse fight back, trigger a flight response and cause facial neuralgia (head shaking).

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The cross-under bitless bridle works via pressure/release. When pressure is placed on 1 rein the horse feels pressure on the opposite side of the head, the nose and the poll, giving it the name ‘head-hug’. This is pain free and impossible for the horse to ignore as it involves the whole head, unlike the bit where all the pressure is applied in the oral cavity. With a bitted bridle the horse can clamp the bit with their teeth or raise/overbend the head (to try and escape the pain of the bit) resulting in a loss of control by the rider. This doesn't happen with the bitless bridle.

 

The same amount of pressure is applied to the reins but now it's distributed all around the head. The horse feels it all around the head, so that in each area the actual pressure is quite small. Some riders think they have less control with the bitless and use stronger than normal aids, which is unnecessary. As always aim to use the smallest possible aid to gain the largest possible response. As the bitless bridle works via pressure/release it’s important to release the aid once the horse has responded. ​When riding in a bitless bridle the rein aids are the same as with a bitted bridle. Once the horse is transitioned to the bitless, it’s a good idea to forget that you’re bitless and just ride normally. The pressure is being applied by a soft wide strap, not a piece of hard metal, which makes this the most humane bridle ever created. The cross-under bitless bridle gives excellent responses for both steering and braking. ​

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Perhaps one of the best things we find after using a bitless bridle for a while is a total lack of fear at bridling time. Many horses lift their heads, clamp the teeth, back away etc. when they see the bit, but once they realise there's no bit going in their mouths they are happy to be bridled and will often lower and turn their heads in towards us. Our relationship with our horse will slowly evolve into one of trust and respect as they come to realise there is no longer bit pain associated with riding. We then have happy horses.

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