My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Although I have nothing against bitless riding (I rode my last horse bitless), I rarely see good examples of it on YouTube. Here’s a video of Uta Gräf riding the Holsteiner stallion Le Noir bitless schooling some Grand Prix movements. Very nice riding, indeed! Of course it could be argued that she is an exceptional […]
Read MoreThis recent ad from Dover Saddlery belongs in the “what’s wrong with this picture?” game. Or maybe it’s a new kind of noseband — one that maintains the traditional hunter appearance but which shows that your horse needs no pressure from a noseband to behave. Think of it as the anti-crank noseband! Of course it’s […]
Read MoreI could have used this when I first bought mine! I got a bunch of pieces in a plastic bag with no instructions. Sure, I thought, how difficult can it be? I’ve put together any number of bridles in the past. Creating a side pull bridle was a piece of cake. Figuring out some of […]
Read MoreWhen I first bought this bridle it was to use on my Trakehner who preferred being ridden bitless. I never used it as a bitted bridle. Since he died, it sat in my tack trunk for about a year until the day I wanted to try a different bit on Freedom but didn’t want to […]
Read MoreBaling twine is right up there with duct tape as being one of those “can’t live without” items. The best part is that you always seem to have more of it than you can possibly imagine and it’s included in the price of your hay! I’m not sure I can come up with 101 uses, […]
Read MoreOf all the bitless solutions out there, this bridle is probably the best known. The Dr. Cook’s bridle is a cross under solutions: in addition to the normal cavesson, there are two straps that cross under the horse’s jaw and are then run through two rings on the noseband. The reins attach to these straps. […]
Read MoreThe Micklem Multibridle offers three bitless configurations that offer increasing levels of control. To accomplish this, the bridle uses different pressure points on the horse’s head, rather than simply increasing the pressure on a single area (for example, a hackamore is more or less harsh depending on the length of the shanks). As I wrote […]
Read MoreI’ve been looking at a lot of bit/noseband combinations lately, trying to find the right one for my OTTB. Out in the hunt field, I wanted to make sure that he couldn’t evade the bit by opening his mouth. Looking at tack store catalogs, photos from shows and horses of friends, I realized how much […]
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