The first time the word bitless was mentioned to me I must admit I laughed, I mean surely having no bit would mean no brakes, right? Wrong, this is a common misconception by most in relation to bitless. Before going further, this is not an I hate bits post but about how bitless can have its uses.
Now, what bitless won’t do though is replace bad training and in order to go bitless, the right amount of groundwork and training is still required. For me I tried it after a recommendation from my daughter who rides her 16.1hh mare in a bitless bridle and my then 3-year-old cob wasn’t going well in a bit but rode fine in a halter.
So I made the change and rode for about a year in an English hackamore, now I know you might be thinking that this is a