A horse taught me years ago that he would do almost anything for me if I'd just take all the "stuff" off.

Draw reins, martingales, spurs, heavy saddles, long-shanked bits were all a part of my tack room in my early 20's.   I'd spent a year fresh out of high school starting young horses on a cutting horse ranch in Denton, Texas, and all these things and more were part of my everyday tool chest.  The fact that I didn't know much never fazed me, and I'm just glad to report that I didn't kill or maim any horses (or myself).  The fact that they were well-bred quarter horses and had lovely, forgiving temperaments made me believe I was a better horseman than I was.

Fast forward to marriage, life on a small acreage and the acquisition of a 4 year old rescued Arabian, also with a lovely forgiving temperament.   I brought him home, did ground work for 30 days, got on him in a friend's round-pen, and that was the extent of "training".  Picture a big, healthy, raw-boned chestnut Arabian with a novice on his back, being fed alfalfa, sweet feed, and being ridden maybe a mile or two a week.   YEEHAW!   Needless to say, I tried every gimmick in the tack catalogs to slow that big-moving athlete down, and to get his head out of the ozone layer.

My local vet (see, I told you I learned EVERYTHING from my vets) told me that the gelding was allergic to alfalfa, and so started the saga of feeding only grass forages.  This was easily one of the best things that ever happened to me and the horses in my care.

We move to Colorado not long after, and I give this horse to my husband, who (not knowing squat either) makes a Competitive Trail horse out of him.  I can't say enough about the sport, because it was exposure to that great group of people and horses that changed our relationship with our animals forever.   It's the first time I had ever had that moment of seeing a horse get to do what he was truly meant to do.  My husband pointed him down the trail, and from that time on, they were an unbeatable team.  Tai taught Kirk how to ride.  He taught him that if the crupper is too tight going down the hill, you'd better start looking for a place to land.  We took off the martingale and bit, put a hackamore on him and had a happy horse, which we kept shod nearly year around.  Yikes.

I didn't compete in those years, I had a new baby at home, so I would condition horses when I had a chance to get on one.  But all of our horses were ridden in hackamores, which were pretty much the only bitless option available once you'd moved your young horses out of bosals.

Almost 20 years later I look at the options that we have available to us, and I find it's interesting that the horses are still telling me the same thing.  If I'll take off the things that hinder their performance, our relationship on every level is as fulfilling as I can imagine.  I trust them, they trust me.  It doesn't mean that we've conquered every training issue, but it's nice to have gone from cleaning out the tack stores to having a handful of gear on hand that is used on every horse, every ride.

I recently started riding my gelding in the hackamore that I've used for a billion years on every other horse that I've owned.  He went beautifully in it, in fact, I never had to pick up on my reins.  I didn't like the long shank, and I wasn't crazy about the weight of the hack itself sitting on the nose, so I borrowed a Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle from one of my friends. He went as calmly in that as he had in the hackamore, and collected effortlessly when I asked him for it.

The ground is frozen, my horses are fresh, and I have absolutely no place at home to let them blow off steam during this deep-freeze of a winter, so I consider this a true test of whether or not this Bitless Bridle gives you the control you need. So to further the experiment, I took my young mare Lucy out in it for the first time last Sunday.  I hadn't planned on riding her in it at all - I've had some instances of her throwing her head and getting light on the front end when I've had to halt her at an obstacle to let other horses clear it, so I'd been riding her in a snaffle and a running martingale when out jumping logs with friends.  In one instance I had taken the reins out of the martingale so that she could jump, and she had thrown her head up, hit my helmet, broken the visor, and nearly my nose.  Then I thought, if the claims are true, and if I'm going to carry this bridle, I'd better do the litmus test.

I don't have any desire to get hurt, but the "less is more" theory of equipment on a horse has proven itself to me time and time again, so bitless bridle on the mare, and off we go around the neighborhood.  Cold turkey bitless.  It was a non-event. I did some flexing with her from the ground before I mounted to make sure she was listening to the bridle, and backed her a step or two.  She was pretty and soft.

Two jazzed Arabians, asphalt for footing, no warm-up, and the usual neighborhood distractions. Both horses worked beautifully in it. I found myself trying everything on that ride - every kind of flexion, extension and lateral move that I could think of.  It felt like they were more responsive to my aids.  I know that I was more aware of what I was doing.

What I like the most about riding bitless is that if something happens to my balance (or my attention span), my horse isn't getting gigged in the mouth with a bit.  I'm still not good enough over jumps - even the logs in the parks that we go jump - to always release my horse's head correctly or on time.  If I make a mistake with this bridle, the horse isn't punished by my hands.

When I ride significant distance, I allow my horse to eat whenever not moving forward to keep gut motility, having no bit in the mouth makes this more pleasurable for both me and my mount.

I love it when fellow horse owners try out everything from trucks to saddle pads and report on it, so I'm doing the same here.  I'm very happy with the product, and I'm going to carry them as an addition to my treeless saddle line.  I'll have them at Expo if you want to take a look at them first hand.  If you're curious about the story - Google The Bitless Bridle by Dr. Robert Cook, it's fascinating reading.  I also recently picked up an Indian hackamore, tried it and wasn't pleased with the results. I'll have that at Expo as well so that anyone interested can look at it - it's beautiful, and it's hanging on my wall instead of on my horse's head.

Every one of us gets to go through this journey with our horses, and determine between the horse's condition, mental attitude and our gut feelings, what is best for them and us.  I realize that barefoot, bitless and treeless isn't for everyone, I certainly don't have all the answers, but it's what works for my horses.

Thanks for letting me share some of my "whole horse" approach to wellness with you.

My website should be up any day now (thanks honey), but until it is, feel free to call me at (940) 435-3159 with any questions about anything I've mentioned.  Or you can e-mail me at EquineBodyShop@gmail.com.

Look forward to seeing you all at Expo March 13-15!  Thanks to the Nebraska Horse Council members who as usual, have put together an amazing venue for us at the Lancaster Event Center.

Vicki