Study Paves Way For More Research Into Bitless Riding

A preliminary research experiment in the US has uncovered positive results for fans of bitless riding and will hopefully lead to more detailed research in the future.

The study involving four ridden horses of various backgrounds was devised to test the “null” theory that said a horse would show no improvement in behaviour by being ridden in a bitless bridle. Researchers, however, predicted that there would be a change and that a horse’s behaviour would improve when being ridden bitless. The study, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, was conducted by Dr Cook, who developed the cross-under bitless bridle widely used around the world today, and Dr. Mills. The research took place at a riding instructor’s conference, the Certified Horsemanship Association’s International Conference at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Kentucky, USA in October 2008. Other than introducing the experiment, Dr Cook took no part in the study. Dr Mills was not present. Every part of the study was videotaped and an independent judge’s comments were also recorded on audio. Four horses, none of which had ever been ridden in a cross-under bitless bridle, were ridden through two 4-minute exercise tests, first bitted, using a plain jointed snaffle, then bitless. An independent judge marked the 27 phases of each test on a 10-point scale and comments and scores were recorded on a video soundtrack. The results disproved the accepted “null” theory and supported the researcher’s predictions. All four horses accepted the cross-under bitless bridle without hesitation. {sidebar id=3}The mean average score of the horses performing the ridden test when bitted was 37%. This rose to 64% when they were ridden bitless and asked to perform the same movements. Videos of each part of the research can be viewed at Bitless Bridle. Read the full paper - Preliminary study of jointed snaffle vs. crossunder bitless bridles: Quantified comparison of behaviour in four horses (pdf) See also
Horse Control And The Bit