Nurtural Horse Bitless Bridles

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HOW OUR BITLESS BRIDLES WORK

A detailed explanation of the impact of this design:

Sept 20, 2006: We received a recent message asking:

I've been using one of "those other" bitless bridles and have had very good luck with it until I started riding in the hunt.

The problem is that after being out for 2 or 3 hours during which I had to keep quite a strong contact with the reins to keep her from racing out of control, my mare ended up with a "dent" in her nose.

It seemed to go away after a while, but I'm afraid with repeated use it could become a permanent deformation. I have seen a couple references to other users of this bridle placing fleece or some other "cushioning" around the noseband to help prevent this, but I'm not sure how effective that would be.

So, my question is, have you had any similar complaints/problems with your bridle?Is this something the differences in design with your bridle might prevent?

Or might you have an idea as to why I am having this problem? As I've said, I have used the bridle for quite some time, so I'm pretty confident I am fitting it correctly, and the problem only appeared when I started doing long rides during which I have to keep a firm hold on the horse. Since even the most seasoned hunters tend to get very excited in the huntfield I suspect I will continue to have to keep strong contact with her on hunts, so I need to find a way to alleviate this problem without having to stick metal in her mouth.

Zoe's Reply:

Thank you so much for your very interesting message. I am delighted to see your determination to keep that hunk of steel out of the horse's mouth!

I believe you will have better luck with our bridle. I assume the dent comes from the almost constant pressure on the horse's nose when you ask her to slow or stop – or hold from charging ahead.

I cannot guarantee it, but I believe that several of the design differences between our bridle and the most common “other bitless bridle” will make it easier to control your horse.

  1. The noseband of our bridle is lined with textured material similar to rubber-gripping. This stays in place better than a smooth noseband, and the texture noseband amplifies the pressure signal to the horse. The textured noseband is more annoying, so the horse should respond more sensitively to the pressure.

  2. Our Circle-X that connects and positions the reinstraps under the horse’s jaw changes the mechanics of how our bridle works. Two things will help you slow or control your horse:

    (1) the reinstraps will always be in the correct position on the side of the horse’s face, and

    (2) when you pull back on both reins, the Circle-X applies pressure under the jaw.

  3. The reinstraps of our bridle are designed so they can be shortened to let you attach your reins about 2-3 inches from the horse’s mouth. This mimics the action of a rein on the ring of a bit, for both you and the horse.  It gets your signal to the horse more quickly and makes it easier to pull the horse’s nose down.

I believe that the design of the No-Bit BRIDLE™will affect more and different pressure points.  It will send more messages to your horse, and those messages will be more consistent.

I would be absolutely delighted if you would try it out and send comments and photos for our web site. 

Best wishes,

Zoe Brooks
Designer of the Nurtural No-Bit Bridle

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Wow!  Your Nurtural bridle does not look that different from other bitless bridles, but my horse responds much better and I have great control.  What makes it work?"

"I don't understand the dang thing, but my horse just loves it.  Send me another one!"

Nurtural  No-Bit BRIDLE™

Cathy Inch of Foothills Farm schooling a 5 year old thoroughbred. Cathy says she sees no difference compared to a bit.

Cathy Inch of Foothills Farm schooling a 5 year old thoroughbred. Cathy says she sees no difference compared to a bit.

Leslie Smith-Dow of Horse Canada Magazine says she enjoys long gallops on Beamer, and can stop faster than with a bit.

Leslie Smith-Dow of Horse Canada Magazine says she enjoys long gallops on Beamer, and can now stop faster than with a bit.

Eric Guy (Zoe's son) rides Mina, a fiesty Canadian mare who was the first horse we trained completely in the Nurtural bridle. She has never seen a bit!

Eric Guy (Zoe's son) rides Mina, a feisty Canadian mare who was the first horse we trained completely in the No-Bit BRIDLE™. She has never seen a bit!

Dun-It-You-Won-It at the Royal Winter Fair 2005. Neither horse nor rider had tried the Nurtural bridle before this show.

Reining champion, Dun-It-You-Won-It at the Royal Winter Fair 2005. Neither horse nor rider had tried the No-Bit BRIDLE™ before this show.

Dun-It-You-Won-It at the Royal Winter Fair 2005. Like most horses, he responded fine in the Nurtural bridle!