Everything about Bitless bridle
Type of horse equipment
A bitless bridle is a general term describing a wide range of headgear for horses or other animals that directs the animal without using a bit. Direction control may also be via a noseband or cavesson, if one is used. The term hackamore 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. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Bitless bridleA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Comparison of nasal and occipital pressures for horses ridden in snaffle and bitless bridlesInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Listenology Guide to Bitless Bridles for Horses - How to Choose Your First Bitless Bridle for Your Horse or Pony Perfect for Western & English Horse TrainingThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Preliminary study of jointed snaffle vs. crossunder bitless bridles: Quantified comparison of behaviour in four horsesCited 23 times
- Go sideways: HackamoreA closely related topic
- Go sideways: BridleA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Preliminary study of jointed snaffle vs. crossunder bitless bridles: Quantified comparison of behaviour in four horses
Noseband and poll pressures underneath bitted and bitless bridles and the effects on equine locomotion
A study of the effect of bitted and bitless bridles on the therapeutic riding horse
A bitless bridle does not limit or prevent dynamic laryngeal collapse
Preliminary comparison of behaviors exhibited by horses ridden in bitted and bitless bridles
🆕 Influential since 2022
📚 Books worth reading
- 📕Listenology Guide to Bitless Bridles for Horses - How to Choose Your First Bitless Bridle for Your Horse or Pony Perfect for Western & English Horse TrainingElaine Heney · 2023
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Hackamore A hackamore (or jáquima) is a type of horse headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points…
- Bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. It includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins…
- Mechanical hackamore A mechanical hackamore is a piece of horse tack that is a type of bitless headgear for horses where the reins connect to shanks placed between a noseband…
- Noseband A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to…
- Horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such…
- Fiador (tack) A fiador (/ˈfiːədɔːr/) term of Spanish colonial origin referring to a hackamore component used principally in the Americas. In English-speaking North America…
- 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…
- Bit (horse) The bit is an item of a horse's tack. It usually refers to the assembly of components that contacts and controls the horse's mouth, and includes the cheekpieces…