From: Terrye
I am a very inexperienced rider. I just bought my first horse and While I know nothing about her past training, she seems to be very gentle and well behaved. I would like to learn to ride her without using a bit. Is this possible? She is 15 - is she too old to learn a new way? Help.... Thanks - Terrye
Enlist the help of your instructor, so that you'll be certain that the tack you use fits your mare and is adjusted correctly. Perhaps you should talk to your instructor about trying this at the end of your next lesson -- take the last ten or fifteen minutes, change your mare's bridle, and your instructor can help you learn what to do and how to do it. Then you'll be able to practice on your own, between lessons.
There are several options for riders who want to ride without a bit. The least expensive method, but unfortunately the method that offers the least control, is simply to ride in a halter with two leadropes.
Starting a horse in a Western bosal is a traditional way of training, but a good bosal and mecate will cost quite a lot of money, and this system takes a fair amount of know-how, both in terms of correct adjustment and in terms of correct technique. And the technique is very different from the way you would use a conventional English bridle -- I would pass on this option!
There are any number of mechanical hackamores available for sale in Western catalogues. These are certainly effective, but they work off leverage, and can be extremely severe, even to the point of injuring the horse's jaw -- not something you want to do to your mare.
For gentle but effective control, clear signals, and a style of riding and rein-handling that will be compatible with your riding in a conventional bridle, I suggest that you invest in an English-style jumping hackamore. Many tack shops and catalogues offer two forms of this bridle. One is a complete headstall with built-in hackamore noseband, and the other (much less expensive!) is simply the hackamore noseband itself. You attach it to your own headstall and your own reins, and you're ready to ride. The noseband itself is basically a piece of rope covered with soft leather, attached to another piece of leather that serves as a chinstrap. The rope ends in rings for your reins, and the noseband itself fastens under the horse's jaw (with a simple chinstrap).
This kind of bridle is lovely out on the trail, if you like to let your horse graze occasionally, and it's also very convenient in winter, if you live in a cold climate and don't want to deal with an icy metal bit. A hackamore noseband like this is a good addition to anyone's tack box, even if it isn't in use ALL the time.
And that brings me to another point. Why is it, exactly, that you want to ride without a bit? If it's because your mare is quiet and calm and you just want to have days when you go out and trailride for fun, that makes sense. If you're learning to ride and you feel more secure using a bridle that won't let you pull on (and hurt!) your mare's mouth, that makes sense too. But if you're just learning to ride, you should also learn to ride WITH a bit as soon as you are secure enough in the saddle (or ask your instructor to tell you). You may have a chance to ride someone else's horse someday, and it will be good for you to know how to use a bridle WITH a bit. One of the dangers of learning to ride using a halter and lead ropes, or a jumping hackamore noseband, or anything similar, is that you may get into the habit of hanging onto the reins in a way that WOULD hurt the horse if it were wearing a bit. This isn't good for the horse, for your own balance, for your progress as a rider -- or for any horse that you eventually ride WITH a bit. So learn both ways!
Jessica
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