bitless bridle

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

chelle sherman cms@fluent.com
Hi - I have a bitless bridle which I have been using on my 5 year old mare,
who is doing her first season of CTRs in preparation for endurance later in life.
I have been thrilled with it so far. I think I can answer some questions that have
recently come up. 1. the question about having to put the noseband too tight for the horse
to eat - yup, I've noticed this as well. I find that if I use the running martingale
set up that came with the bitless bridle, I get just that little bit of extra leverage
I need in "pack mentality" situations, and I can keep the noseband looser. I am not typically
a martingale user, but I feel much more comfortable with it in this situation, because the pressure
from the martingale is only on her poll, rather than her mouth - it seems much gentler. It works great
because it doesn't force her to put her head down, but rather just reinforces the aid that poll pressure
means that she should lower her head. I keep it quite loose.
If the martingale doesn't work for you, I'd try punching a custom hole, so you can get something in between
"too loose" and "too tight," and experiment with that. 
2. About the reins - no, you do not have to use their reins. You can use any reins you choose - you just attach
them to the rings that come out of the headstall - exactly as if those were bit rings instead of rein rings. You may
want to shorten the reins, though, because the rings that come out of the headstall have extensions on them that
effectively give you about 4 extra inches of rein when all is said and done.
As I mentioned, I use this bridle on a green 5 year old, 3/4 Arab mare. She is generally a quiet and compliant horse,though, so 
I'm not claiming that it would work on all other horses. I think it certainly would work on any horse that you are now riding with
a mild bit, because I haven't notice any difference in control between riding in this and in a snaffle. I take dressage lessons with this
horse in the bitless bridle, and I'm able to put her "on the bit(?)" with no difficulty, get plenty of bend, do lateral work, etc. The greatest
thing is that my mare seems so joyful and comfortable in it. It is not anything like a sidepull, bosal, or hackamore - the concept is completely
different. I'm very glad that I decided to try it - the only trouble now is, if my other horse (who is currently recovering from an injury) doesn't respond well
to it, I'm going to hate going back to the bit. 

Happy riding everybody - 

Chelle Sherman
Plainfield, NH