Friday, January 16, 2009

Bitless Baby

Check this out:

That's me in 1981, already exploring bitless options on my first-ever ride. My dad emailed me the photo this morning with a note that it was taken in Diamond Lake, Oregon, and the horse was called Polka Dot. I don't remember ever seeing the photo before, and I certainly can't recall ol' Polka Dot...but he seems to have made a lasting impression on me.

Speaking of emailed photos of bitless horses, meet Fritha. This young, half-draft mare and her person, Kessira, are the lucky recipients of a Crazy Ropes Indian bosal/halter combo they won it in the Best of the Barb Wire Contest last November. I'm jealous of the fancy-stitching on the noseband... methinks I'll have to help Aaruba keep up with the Joneses!


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Why Ride Bitless?_________________________________________________________

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4 comments:

Kessira said...

EEEEE to both snapshots. I totally should have readjusted the bridle before taking pictures though. The Bosal had drooped down her nose after many adjustments/fiddling with it. I fixed it before crawling back up on her for another ride. The bridle works great so far. She was really responsive in it, and the fancy stitching matches her saddle pad perfectly!

allhorsestuff said...

I love my Biteless bridle...though she pulls hard to go sometimes and I fear it retareds her breathing!
I use a Mullen mouth when riding now..though it is thick and she has a large tongue.
I liked the "Why ride Bitless" too!
KK

Anonymous said...

i occasionally ride Gazi in an S-hackamore and also in the myler combo bit when we start the rides :)

either works well.. tho i find a little more lateral control with a bit ..
happy trails
gp in montana

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Great post.I bought my horse a year ago, I took lessons on her while she wore a hackamore. When I brought her home I put her in a Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle and that's all I've ridden her in.

My neighbor is not quite sure about it, though, and when she rides my horse, she puts her in a half breed-side pull with a simple jointed snaffle.

I love my Bitless Bridle, but sometimes we get into a small tug of war when she thinks it's time to go back to the barn and the nose strap becomes very tight, but doesn't seem to bother her or make her stop her tugging.

But mostly I'm happy with how it works and how responsive my horse is while using it.

I have tons of photos of my horse wearing her Bitless Bridle on trail rides in the mountains and around the arena.
If you want to see, you can visit my blog and find the 'Categories' on the side and click on 'Dakota's Baby Doll' or 'Trail Ride'.

Have a great day!
~Lisa
New Mexico