THE BIT DEBATE

IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE "FACTUAL" CLAIMS IN THE COMMENTS, YOU BETTER SOURCE THEM OR YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED, UNLESS YOU'RE PRESENTING THEM AS A PERSONAL OPINION. For those who this is not clear enough to, don't present information as being a fact unless you have the means to back your claim, otherwise it's an opinion and those shouldn't be presented in a manner that suggests that they are fact. I may not be an internationally renowned equine expert, but I do know from my university studies that you cannot present something as fact unless there's significant research to prove it. Which with the bitted vs bitless debate, there is not. So do what is best for your horse and their individual needs. Listen to what their behaviour tells you. Learn the telltale signs of discomfort. If your horse gets sour, work to fix it instead of ignoring it. Above all, make sure your horse has all of their basic necessities like food, water, shelter, socialization with other horses and turnout. I promise you they'll care a lot more about these things than what people on the internet are choosing to shout about today. The only "study" I can find done on bitless bridles was performed by none other than Dr. Robert Cook, who is marketing bitless bridles. He is a biased source. The study was also only a few therapy horses so therefore cannot be viewed as conclusive. Wider studies need to be done using horses who are in and out of therapy and lesson programs (often times these horses will be easily soured) before ANYONE can make claims such as "ALL BITS ARE ABUSIVE" with an ounce of intelligence.

Things I read from:
https://www.usdf.org/EduDocs/General/...
http://cflag.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/2...
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/3686...
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/2897...
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestria...
https://dressagetoday.com/theory/bitl...
Conditioning Sporthorses (Book) by Hillary Clayton
My own knowledge via Equine Behaviour studies through Guelph University. Distressed horses won't relax and stretch into the bridle and generally have noticeable outward signs!

Milo's bit: http://hypostore.com/trust-inno-sense...
Archie's bit:


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