Hole in the wall

Q I want to try bitless riding Q but can’t imagine it going any other way than a horse and rider-shaped hole in the arena wall! How likely am I to not be able to stop? Faye Kent, Teesside

Jenni says... This is a completely normal rider fear. Riding without a bit can at first seem like removing the brakes on your car and driving off anyway, so it’s a good idea to run through a checklist (see panel, right). If the answer to these three questions is ‘yes’, then transitioning to bitless is likely to go smoothly.

How about no?

However, if the answer to any of them (especially the first) is ‘no’, then you have some work to do and, in some cases, safe bitless riding may not be achievable. Increased stress on a horse causes more fear, frustration or even excitement, depending on what is creating the stress response. So when the adrenaline rises, horses are more liable to fail to respond to their rider. If your horse isn’t very responsive to begin with, he’s going to be worse under challenging conditions and, bitted or bitless, you could be in trouble.

Put in the hard work

The key is to retrain your horse’s responses to the bridle in progressively more challenging environments, so that he learns to listen to you even when the heat is on. If you’re trying to go bitless, I recommend you fit a bitless bridle and try the rein aids for downwards transitions and turns from the ground first. Ensure your horse responds promptly to a light aid by slowing down, stopping or backing up. If he doesn’t, increase the tension so that it’s steady, but not like a tug of war. When he does respond, release the tension and reward him. Repeat until he responds to the light aid. Do the same for turning by lifting the rein up slightly and out to the side you wish him to go. The reason for lifting the rein is to prompt a small amount of head raising to help him decelerate. Perform the same moves on the ground, then under saddle, being sure to use your seat aids for slowing and turning before you apply the rein.