Why Bitless?

I get the question a lot, “Why bitless?” 

And I respond, “Why not bitless?” 

 

            With horse people, honesty doesn’t come as naturally as it should. And when it comes to training ethics, it’s surprising to see people doing things to their horses that would get them put in jail if it were done to a dog. However these are the same people who would not hesitate to tell you that they are a ‘natural horseman’. Some of them know the truth of what their training practices and contraptions do to the horse and they simply cover it with a lie.

“It’s pressure not pain.”

“It gets the horse under control.”

“The horse will get used to it.”

And my absolute favorite: “It’s the way it’s always been done.”

              So when we talk about bits, let us talk about what they really are. Bits are metal pain devices that go into the horse’s sensitive mouth to cause pain and make the horse preform a certain task. First, upon feeling the pain from the bit, the horse will open his mouth in attempt to relieve the pain. Often times the rider will strap the horse’s mouth shut around the bit with a caveson or flash nose band. The horse will soon give up and he will learn the basics of the pain device. Pain on one of the sides of his mouth means he must turn. And pain on both sides of his mouth means he must halt or lower his head.

            

            Different bits cause different types of pain in the horse’s mouth. For example a simple once broken snaffle bit, while being used will pinch the horse’s tongue and stab the roof of his mouth. 

 

     

A leverage bit (any bit with a shank), will double or triple the weight being pulled on the horse’s mouth. This means that the rider will only have to use a small amount of power or strength to inflict double the amount of pain on the horse.

     The Tom Thumb bit, also known as ‘the root of all evil’ is a bit that is broken in the middle AND it has leverage shanks. This is a very confusing bit to the horse and it is incredibly painful.

 

     If you absolutely have to use a bit, at the very least use a twice broken snaffle. The bit will lie even in the horse’s mouth and will not pinch his tongue and will not stab the roof of his mouth.

             It’s very sad that we even need to convince people that you do NOT need to inflict pain on your horse. The excuse, “But I have soft hands…” is hypocritical. If you have soft hands, why do you need a painful bit? Lying to yourself is only hurting your potential with your horse. Training does not have to be painful and frightening. The horse learns so much easier when he is not in pain.

 

            Transitioning to bitless can be difficult. Removing the bit will reveal a lot of holes in your training that were being covered up by that pain device. And remember, when we have problems in the saddle, we always have problems on the ground. Sometimes it’s best to go back and fix that foundation. And then we may realize we don’t really need that lousy bit anyway.