Bridle History

• Horse jaw bones and teeth damaged by bridles and bits were found at a 5,500-year-old Botai site in Kazakhstan in 2009. Since the Bronze Age, man has controlled horses with bridles to carry or pull loads, provide milk and go to war.
  Primitive bridles were braided rope wound around the horse's lower jaw to squeeze the mouth and turn the horse's head in the direction the rider wanted to go. Bones were used in the horse's mouth to increase control as early as the Bronze Age, then metal replaced bone.
  Bitless bridles are simpler and may predate bits. They are basically an oval nosepiece placed around a horse's muzzle, with a band going around the ears to hold it in place and reins attached to side rings. The styles vary slightly, but the basic principle is to apply pressure to the sensitive areas along the side of the nose and the sensitive poll area behind the ears to control the horse.
  
  

Bridle Evolution

• All bridles work by applying pressure or pain to sensitive areas such as the mouth or muzzle. The horse is trained to yield (turn, stop) to relieve the discomfort. The bitless hackamore is still used with working horses in California, Mexico and showriding. It has a large noseband fitted to each horse that exerts varying degrees of pressure on sensitive nerves, depending on its shape, size and the stiffness of its materials. A bridle with a smaller noseband is called a bosal (muzzle).
  California trainer, Benny Guitron, describes bitless bridles as a headstall with a noseband that should be adjusted to suit each horse. Also known as hackamores, bosals and sidepulls, the bridles allow the rider to use both hands, each controlling a single rein to apply pressure and guide the horse in the desired direction. Horses respond to leg and balance signals as well as those from a bridle. Bitless bridles require more leg control. They are used for young horses, those with teeth or mouth problems or who fight a metal bit.
  
  

Innovations

• A movement against bits has increased interest in bitless bridles. A new bridle, marketed by British veterinarian Robert Cook in 1999, was designed to increase the number of pressure points exerted on a horse's head. The Bitless Bridle spreads out the pressure instead of pinpointing the muzzle, thus minimizing pain.
  Dr. Cook published a study on the effectiveness of his cross-under bridle in 2008, comparing the performance of the same horses with bitted and his Bitless Bridle. The results favored the bitless bridle. Dr. Cook received a U.S. patent on his cross-under principle in 2002. Similar bitless bridles have reached the market, all claiming to lessen discomfort while maintaining control of the horse.