The Nurtural Bitless Bridle

Before my first trip to India I never gave bits much thought, in my experience almost all horses had an eggbut snaffle from ponies to racehorses so I saw no need to question it. In late 2003 a man at the animal hospital I was volunteering in offered to let me ride his horse Rani. The first thing I noticed when he handed me her bridle was that the bit was made of brass and covered in blunt spikes for the entire length. Now I know that by Indian standards that bit bordered on mild. When I returned to India for a longer stay the following year the first thing I packed was a snaffle. Rani, like most Indian horses, has tough and calloused skin on her lips though so I had to teach her to respond to seat aids which was fine for me but it meant that if any one else got on her they complained about a lack of breaks before exclaiming “I hate this bit”. I was lucky enough to spend a year in Udaipur in 2005/2006 and stay on the farm of a friend who keeps horses for tourist rides. He offered to let me train some of his two year olds and I was delighted that he seemed open to my idea of starting them out with nice soft bits. Unfortunately one, Padmani (R.I.P.-due to a cobra bite in 2007), proved nearly impossible to ride, if she left the farm after about 200 metres she would without fail rear up and bolt with such a blind panic that she was certain to do herself harm. Gentle coaxing didn’t work, making her way difficult and my way easy didn’t work and when she almost fell over rearing one day I gave up on her. Then the local horse trainer came in, took out the snaffle and put her in his own invented training bit. It was a thin bar of scrap metal strung with small metal spurs that cut her tongue and lips, drawing blood. I wondered then if there was another way to ride without causing so much damage to the horse’s mouth and destroying their trust in humans. I asked a tack manufacturer about why he sold the barbed and cruel looking bits which would be illegal in the developed world and he told me he makes the soft western style ones but people don’t buy them.

I was lucky with Chandra (Rani’s nephew) last year though, his sweet friendly personality meant that he was eager to please. I could ride him bareback and turn him without my hands so I left India last year making sure that nothing but a simple snaffle was to be used with him. Chandra had a hard time in the between my leaving and my visit this summer, he had reoccurring bouts of severe gas colic that had us all convinced he was going to die on several occasions. Each time he got ill he had to be force-fed painkillers and medicines along with bitter herbs, which saved his life but try telling that to a horse! All he knew was hands near his mouth=bitter nasty taste and so he has become very head shy. When I went out in June I could see he was constantly wind sucking, hence the gas colic. Once I had a collar made for him he was fine and hasn’t had another bout since then. Putting a bridle on him has become a good ten to twenty-minute affair though. I decided then that as soon as I got back to England I’d look into the alternatives to riding with a bit.

Internet searches threw up a few designs so I looked through message boards and independent forums trying to find unbiased reviews. Some of the more popular makes were deemed to be good in the arena but useless in an emergency. I was disheartened as I have decided to do a ride of at least 400kms with Chandra next year and we can look forward to such challenges as bolting water buffalo (much scarier then it sounds as they weight about a tonne each and have almost no brains!) camels, elephants, cattle, fireworks and god knows what else awaiting us on the road. Then I saw a recommendation for the nurtural bridle and no matter how hard I searched all the reviews seemed to be positive. I had decided to raise money for an animal charity near Pushkar on my ride next year and the founder told me to approach people early and honestly and we’d get some help eventually. So I wrote to Zoë Brooks, that was my first letter to a strange company trying to pitch my unusual scenario and realizing how bizarre it must all sound. I was amazed the next day when Zoë wrote back full of encouragement. I take as a very good omen for my first attempted contact with equestrian companies. She has been very supportive and even offered me a complementary bridle to try out here in England before my big ride in India next month.

Until recently I rode a 29 year old ex-racehorse in England who has delusions of still being a four year old and she loves few things more then showing off how fast she can get from one side of the field to the other regardless of whether or not that’s what was asked of her! A 29 year old horse with a hard mouth and a history of bolting is a much bigger challenge for the nurtural bridle than a soft mouthed three year old who has spooked but never bolted! Mina was very curious about what I was doing taking her into the arena the first time with the bitless bridle, she kept fiddling with her lips as if in disbelief that we were all dressed up for a ride and there was nothing in her mouth. I have to admit that getting on and walking forward felt like the same leap of faith that’s made sitting on a youngster for its first time. I thought “What if Mina figures this out and starts running off with me?” but I was amazed when I asked for a halt and got it quicker then I would have done with a bit. The first few times Mina did keep reaching her head down to the floor confused as to why there was no bit for her to catch hold of and lean into. Within half an hour though we were going well and collected and the fine-tuning of my downward transitions was brilliant. The girl who has Mina on Sundays has also been converted and last week I was going bareback and bitless and Mina was really arching her neck and back, throwing her legs out and going beautifully! I think it’s the fact that she can’t lock her jaw and lean into the bridle that makes her pick herself up and pay attention.

The big test of going in the fields had my heart in my mouth though, the arena is one thing but how would we handle big open spaces? Well for the first half hour I have to say she went really well, I cantered her across a large field and managed to hold her back from breaking into a gallop and it didn’t set my arms on fire to do so as it the usual case! By the third canter though Mina was dancing on the spot and really enjoying herself and tore across a field and round a corner with me before almost crashing into a fence. In retrospect however I realise now that I had the noseband far too high on her so it wasn’t able to work. With a little adjustment she’s perfectly fine in the nurtural bridle and seems much more energetic while going in it.

I’m so relieved that this time I can go back to India and have a real solution for Chandra’s sore mouth. I am hoping that when the local horse men will see a young woman managing to ride a stallion without any whips or bits it will make them rethink their ways and look into ways to make their horse more comfortable. I realise that I can’t convert everyone but I have had a handful of converts to soft bits so if I can take them the extra step to bitless it will make a real and lasting difference to horses lives. I know now that shouting with tears in my eyes does little to help prevent a horses bloody mouth but perhaps quietly giving a good example will show people it’s not esoteric magic that gives a good relationship with a horse, just a little love and compassion.

I am fundraising now for the Tree of Life for Animals, which was set up two years ago by an English veterinary nurse. In the nearby city of Ajmer there is an annual Muslim festival and the local municipality responded to the city dog problem by leaving out poison for dogs (and other animals) to eat or rounding the dogs up and dumping them in the jungle. In September 2007, the Tree of Life for Animals signed agreement with the Ajmer municipality, allowing them to catch, sterilize, vaccinate and treat 20 stray dogs per day, in an effort to humanely reduce the population. Rabies is a very real issue in India, which has the highest human death rate from rabies of any country in the world.

The charity also treats large animals such as cows, donkeys, the occasional horse and even monkeys and peacocks! I’m hoping to raise enough money for them to hold more village education camps in the surrounding area, as a small wound quickly becomes a death sentence for farm animals. In the space of one day it is possible for a small wound to become infested with maggots that eat living and dead tissue. There is no access to medical supplies, which would be beyond the means of most poor farmers. Instead, petrol and break fluid are used as wound ointments, they keep the flies away and their carcinogenic inflammatory effects are not noticed. I will be taking a first aid kit and wormers with me on my ride so that I can teach farmers and horse men who I will be staying with how to dress wounds and worm their animals.