A bitless bridle is a general term describing a wide range of headgear for

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s or other animals that controls the animal without using a

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...

. Direction control may also be via a noseband or cavesson, if one is used. The term

hackamore A hackamore (or ) is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other sty ...

is the most historically accurate word for most common forms of bitless headgear. However, some modern bitless designs of horse headgear lack the heavy noseband of a true hackamore and instead use straps that tighten around a horse's head to apply pressure in various ways. These are often specifically patented and marketed as "bitless bridles", usually referencing a particular type of headgear known as the cross-under, though other designs are sometimes also given similar names.

Origins

It is likely that the first domesticated horses were ridden with some type of noseband, made of various materials such as sinew, leather, or rope. Howling, Kelly. "Bitless Reveolution." ''Reprinted with permission of Equine Wellness Magazine,'' © 2007.
Web site accessed February 26, 2008 However, because the materials used to make gear other than metal bits disintegrates quickly, archaeological evidence of the earliest use of bitless designs has been difficult to find. The earliest artistic evidence of use of some form of bitless bridle was found in illustrations of Synian horsemen, dated approximately 1400 BC. However,

domestication of the horse It is not entirely clear how, when or where the domestication of the horse took place. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. The clearest evidence o ...

occurred between 4500 and 3500 BC,Bennett, p. 21 while earliest evidence of the use of bits, located in two sites of the

Botai culture The Botai culture is an archaeological culture (c. 3700–3100 BC) of prehistoric Central Asia, northern Central Asia. It was named after the settlement of Botai in today's northern Kazakhstan. The Botai culture has two other large s ...

, dates to about 3500–3000 BC. Thus there is a very high probability that some sort of headgear was used to control horses prior to the development of the bit. Ancient

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

n forms of bitless headgear were refined into the ''hakma,''Bennett, pages 54–55 a design featuring a heavy braided noseband which dates to the reign of Darius in

Ancient Persia The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...

, approximately 500 BC. It is the predecessor to the modern

bosal A bosal (, , or ) is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the ''vaquero'' tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide (textile), rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the ride ...

-style

as well as the French cavesson, particularly the modern longeing cavesson. Some modern styles of "bitless bridle" date to a "bitless safety bridle" patented in 1893, with refinements patented in 1912 and 1915.Wainwright, Wendy "The Bitless Horse Part 1: A History of the Bitless Bridle."
Web site accessed February 27, 2008

Use

Bitless bridles apply pressure to parts of the horse's face and head, such as the nose, jaw and

poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

, but not to the mouth. Uses of a bitless bridle vary, but may include the training green horses, use when a horse has a mouth injury or is otherwise unable or unwilling to carry a bitted bridle, and by personal preference of horse owners. Bitless designs are most often seen in

endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rar ...

,Edwards, Elwyn Hartley ''The Complete Book of Bits and Bitting'' Newton Abbot, Devonshire:David & Charles 2004 p. 101

trail riding Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and ...

, and some types of

natural horsemanship Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler ...

, they are sometimes seen in other disciplines.

Use in competition

While the bosal hackamore is allowed for "junior" horses (usually under 4–6 years old) in certain western-style events, bitless bridles and mechanical hackamores are not otherwise allowed in most types of competitions at

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

s other than some speed events. In English disciplines, hackamores and other bitless bridles are generally not allowed in

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

or English pleasure competition, are considered "unconventional tack" in hunter classes, but sometimes are legal and seen in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

and in

eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

during the stadium and cross country segments. They are allowed in

, competitive trail riding,

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

s, and

Gymkhana Gymkhana () (, , , , ) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held. "Gymkhana" is an Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the ...

or "O-Mok-See" events. While advocates of bitless bridles have petitioned the USEF and other governing bodies to allow bitless bridles in sanctioned competition for a number of years, these efforts have not resulted in rule changes.

Styles

There are many different styles of bitless headgear originating from bitted bridle and

halter A halter or headcollar is headgear placed on animals used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. ...

designs as well as from the ancient Persian ''hakma.''

Hackamore family

Bosal style hackamore

The

-type hackamore () is a type of bitless headgear with the most ancient roots.Bennett, p. 123 The hackamore and its modern variants use a noseband of a set diameter, using pressure and release to provide control. It is most closely affiliated with the

vaquero The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

tradition of horse training, most commonly seen today in

western riding Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the ...

for starting young horses. The hackamore is headgear that controls a horse without a bit, but to call it a "bitless bridle" is incorrect other than as a descriptive

simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...

, as the hackamore predates all other modern bitless designs by several hundred years. and the English language term "hackamore" itself dates back at least 150 years.

Sidepull

A variant on the bosal design that is sometimes called a bitless bridle, but more often placed within the hackamore family, is called a sidepull.Price, Steven D. (ed.) ''The Whole Horse Catalog: Revised and Updated'' New York:Fireside 1998 p. 158-159 It has a noseband, usually of rope, rawhide or heavy leather, with reins that attach at the cheekpieces. It offers significant lateral control but limited stopping control.

Jumping cavesson

The jumping cavesson, or jumping hackamore, seen in

English riding English riding is a form of equestrianism, horse riding seen throughout the world. There are many variations, but all feature a flat English saddle without the deep seat, high cantle, or saddle horn found on a Western saddle, nor the knee pads see ...

, is a heavy noseband made of a cable covered with leather. It differs slightly from a sidepull in that the reins attach farther back, on either side of the jaw, rather than at the cheeks. It allows greater control of speed, but has less lateral control than a sidepull. A related piece of equipment, called the longeing cavesson or lungeing cavesson, is not used for riding, but rather for

longeing Longeing (US English, classical spelling) or lungeing (UK English, informal US) is a technique for training and exercising horses where the horse travels in a circle around the handler. It is also a critical component of the sport of equestria ...

(US) (lungeing (UK)), long-lining the horse from the ground, and vaulting. It consists of a heavy noseband with rings at the top and cheeks, held on by a sturdy headstall that will not slip when pressure from the line is applied. Both designs have antecedents in the classic ''cavesson'' utilized by European masters such as William Cavendish, and can be dated to the 17th century, and probably earlier.

Cross-under family

Evidence of the concept of creating leverage by crossing the reins under a horse's jaw dates back just over 100 years. A bitted bridle with a cross-under design was patented by an individual with the surname McCleod in 1894. The first record of a cross-under bitless design that utilized nose, jaw, cheek and poll pressure, dates to the 1950s, about the same time that patents for the mechanical hackamore began to proliferate.Ensminger, M.E. ''Horses and Horsemanship'', The Interstate Publishers, Inc., Fourth Ed., 1969 (First Ed., 1951) It was developed by an individual with the last name of Grimsley, allegedly designed for a group of

bulldoggers in New Jersey. In 1980, the crossunder principle was part of a design by an individual named Woodruff, who obtained a patent for a halter. The first cross-under bitless bridle that utilized jaw and poll pressure that was patented and filed with the U.S. Patent Office was a 1988 design credited to Edward Allan Buck. The "Dr. Cook bitless bridle" arises from the 1988 design, and the Cook design was patented in the United States in 2001. Another version of the cross-under jaw/poll pressure bitless bridle is called the Spirit Bridle. The disadvantages of these designs are the long way the rein has to travel to apply pressure and the slow release, as the reins are guided through rings on the side and go back from there to the rider's hand. Even if the rider lets go of the reins quickly, the reins slide back slowly. The pressure on the cheek can also cause the horse to tilt its head to escape it.

Designs applying poll pressure

In a cross-under bitless bridle, each rein connects to a strap that passes through a ring on the left side of the noseband and subsequently crosses under the horse's jaw and up the cheek on the opposite side, goes behind the ear and join the opposite rein at the poll. Thus, pressure is applied to the bridge of the nose as well as to the branches of the lower jaw, cheek and poll joint.

Designs lacking poll pressure

On the Scawbrig (United Kingdom) or Meroth (Germany) bitless bridles, the reins connect to a strap that passes through a ring on one side of a noseband, under the chin, and attaches to the opposite ring. Thus, pressure is applied only to the bridge of the nose and the chin but not to the branches of the lower jaw, cheek or poll.

Hybrid designs

In a mechanical hackamore, also known as a hackamore bit, brockamore, and English hackamore, the reins attach to shanks (like

bit shank The bit shank is the side piece or cheekpiece of a curb bit, part of the bridle, used when equestrianism, riding on horses. The bit shank allows leverage to be added to the pressure of the rider's riding aids, hands on the bit (horse), bit. Shank ...

s on a

curb bit A curb bit is a type of bit (horse), bit used for equestrianism, riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the double bridle, Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by western riding, Western ri ...

) that are attached between a noseband and a curb chain. As in a curb bit, the shanks apply pressure with

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam (structure), beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or '':wikt:fulcrum, fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, l ...

age to the nose, jaw, and poll joint. This is not a true hackamore, nor a modern bitless bridle, but rather is a hybrid between a cavesson and a bitted bridle. A European design, known as a "Gluecksrad" or "LG bridle", uses metal loops from the headstall to the reins to add leverage, though with less force than the shanks of a mechanical hackamore. It uses a metal wheel with six spokes, on which the headstall, noseband and chin strap are attached. The wheel turns slightly when the reins are drawn and creates some leverage, which makes it work like a mild mechanical hackamore. There are different ways to create different levels of leverage. With a chin leather strap it has a mild effect, with double chain a stronger effect. It has a quick release that is thought to make this design less claustrophobic to the horse than a cross-under.

Simple rope bridles

A simple hackamore or bridle can be made of a thin rope in several styles. Used more in the past than today, these are sometimes described as emergency bridles. Some styles use nose pressure, but others run the rope through the horse's mouth; it is debated whether a rope design running through the mouth is classified as a bitted or bitless design. Any of these designs were at times called "war bridles", in part due to their close historic association with Native American cultures, but the term is used differently in modern times. (see war bridle below.) A ghost cord, Cherokee bridle is a rope passed through the mouth and tied in a

slip knot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slippe ...

half hitch The half hitch is a simple List of hitch knots, hitch knot, where the Knot#Working end, working end of a line is brought over and under the Knot#Standing part, standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of u ...

under the chin groove. The ends of the rope serve as one or sometimes two reins. One authority describes this bridle as "in competent hands, an instrument of either mental diversion or extreme cruelty,"Rollins (1922), page 152 historical illustrations and early photographs show it in wide use among

Native Americans in the United States Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the Contiguous United States, lower 48 states and A ...

. Another style uses a single piece of rope that goes over the poll and is placed around the nose with a slipknot attachment, in some cases tightening when a rein is pulled. A third style has the rope run over the poll and through the mouth, tying with a square knot to serve as a type of bit, and leaving the ends as reins.

Riding in halters

Some rope

s, usually made of yacht rope, are designed to be used for riding horses by the addition of various design elements, such as knots on the top of the nose, rings for reins so that it acts like a sidepull, or a heavy bottom knot akin to that of a

. Control is achieved by direct pressure on the nose. There is minimal, if any leverage, nor does a halter utilize any type of clamping action. Some people also ride horses with an ordinary halter, though this is generally viewed as unsafe due to the lack of control inherent in the design. Specialized training is required in order for the horse to remain controllable by the rider in a riding halter. They are also not allowed in recognized competitions, save for competitive trail riding and

War bridle

A modern war bridle is a thin cord run over the poll and then either through the mouth or under the upper lip, against the gumline of the upper incisors. In some cases, the lower loop goes around the horse's muzzle rather than under the lip. A loop is used so that it tightens on the horse's head when the end of the line is pulled. Sometimes a pulley is used to provide

mechanical advantage Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. The device trades off input forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force. The model for ...

. All designs tightens on both the poll and the lip or jaw. The war bridle is not intended for riding; it is used on the ground for management of an animal. The use of a war bridle is considered by some to be a last resort for handling an uncontrollable animal, but others claim its use constitutes

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

Controversies

The advantages of bitless over bitted headgear is hotly disputed. Hackamores and other bitless headgear are commonly used to start young horses, particularly if the horse is started at a time when a young horse's permanent teeth are emerging and the animal may therefore have issues with a bit in its mouth. Most traditional schools of horse training transition a young horse into a bit after a year or so. However, some promoters of bitless bridles encourage their use for the life of the horse, and a few go so far as to suggest that a bit may cause physical as well as mental problems in the horse.''Metal in the Mouth. The Abusive Effects of Bitted Bridles'', W. Robert Cook & Hiltrud Strasser, 2002 However, advocates of traditional bridles note that like any piece of horse headgear, a bitless bridle in the wrong hands can also inflict pain.Edwards, Elwyn Hartley ''The Complete Book of Bits and Bitting'' Newton Abbot, Devonshire:David & Charles 2004 p. 103-104 Another significant problem with a bitless bridle is that collection and being "on the bit", such as is required in

, is more difficult, if not impossible. Another problem is that any movement of the horse's head laterally has to be requested by the rider through unsophisticated "plow reining", or large hand or arm movements.

References

*Bennett, Deb (1998) ''Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship.'' Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition. *Miller, Robert M. and Rick Lamb. (2005) ''Revolution in Horsemanship'' Lyons Press *Miller, Robert W. (1974) ''Horse Behavior and Training.'' Big Sky Books, Montana State University. *Rollins, Philip A. (1922) The Cowboy: His Character, Equipment and His Part in the Development of the West, C. Scribner's sons. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitless Bridle Headgear (horse)