I've been wanting to go bitless for ages so when NoBit Bridles sent me a bridle to try I seized thereins – so to speak – of opportunity with both hands.

Driving home from work, and very much looking forward to trying my new bridle, it occurred to me that half thereason people might not try going "bitless" is that we have a strong mental association of a bit equalling "stop".As if it is some guarantee.

In reality we use many aids to stop a horse – our voice, as in "whoa", our seat, our legs and our balance – so insome ways we need to let go of the bit as a security feature. And let's face it. We've all had horses that won'tstop in response to the bit.

As if in recognition of this psychological need that we have for the bit, NoBit Bridles also recommend either firsttrying your horse with the new bridle in a small area at home – like a paddock or round yard – and they even suggestthat you can use a regular bitted bridle over the top, letting the reins lie loose on the horses neck, so that theyare there "just in case" you feel you need to use the bitted bridle to stop your horse.

The mental association, the "security" we feel from using a bitted bridle, is quite a strong, overriding feeling andway of thinking. So, I highly recommend that when you try a NoBit Bridle that you put aside this notion of Bit =Absolute Safety and open yourself to the experience or riding bitless. (It goes without saying that safety comesfirst so DO follow NBB's advice and ride in a safe area and/or with a bitted bridle if you feel in any way lackingin confidence at your horse's ability to be controlled).

Mentally, it can be something of a leap. However, the rewards are worth it.

It seems that my horse, Cub, had also associated the bridle with the bit (as opposed to a halter) for he opened hismouth wide when I put the bridle on and I noticed a brief moment of "where is it?" in his movement and eyes. When itcame to taking the bridle off again he did the same thing, opening his mouth to drop the bit – even though we hadjust ridden for half an hour without a bit! So he had made that connection in his mind – that this thing on his headis something we use when riding and it is something from which he accepts direction … even while there are twodistinct differences between the NBB and his old bridle. Firstly the bit. Secondly the NBB has a noseband which myold bridle – a very simple snaffle – does not.

My first action before riding was to allow Cub to feel the pressure of the bridle when the reins are pulled. Notsharply. Just firm and steady. He reacted appropriately by moving his head this way or that as requested. Then itwas mount up and ride.

It was a bit like getting a car with power steering. Cub is not a heavy mouthed horse; he has a lovely soft mouthand the rein pressure has ever only need to be slight to get him to do something. Yet the difference I felt inchanging from bit to NoBit was marked. Hence the power steering analogy.

Despite Cub's light mouth he has always been in the habit of stretching and pulling into the bit and thus yankingthe reins through your hands. This was one of the major factors in my decision to try a bitless bridle, for Iperceived that this pulling behaviour was bit related.

Cub still pulled in the NBB but with noticeably less force; I think because each time he did he felt the pressureunder his jaw and thus began to figure out that he was actually working against himself. I expect this behaviourwill decrease and cease altogether as we progress.

I want to say that during our ride we had all manner of distractions – it was breezy, we had a loose horsegambolling around us, my colt and his companion were screaming up and down the fence line. Cub is a quiet horse,whom I trust, but he is goosey. I think he likes to give himself a fright now and then. Yet, with all this going onabout us I never felt unsafe or unable to control my horse. He would turn on a fifty cent piece. Stop when gentlyasked. Back up immediately when required to do so.

So how does the NBB work? In very simple terms the NBB is a pressure release system so that "when a horse resists orpulls away pressure is automatically applied over the horse's poll, nose and behind the horse's jaw where there is aganglion of nerves and any pressure causes a strong, ticklish feeling from which the horse immediately wants to gainrelease." (Kelly Marks, Monty Roberts UK)

The history of this type of system is one that goes back at least hundreds of years, if not far longer, as NorthAmerican Indians used a bitless bridle of similar design and "similar type of equipment is described in the book'The Classic Encyclopaedia of the Horse' by Dennis Magner (1887)."

A sibling of the NBB is the Be Nice Halter which is also available commercially across the world.

I've recently seen people competing in dressage, show jumping, eventing and even carriage driving using NBB's sothere's not much you can't do in this fabulous bridle. As for me, I‘ll happily venture out onto the road using myNBB on Cub.

NoBit Bridles come in two types – with full reins or semi-reins (which you can attach your own reins to) – and arange of colours. They are made from super tough Apollo material (copolymer coating bonded around a high strengthfibrous webbing). NBB's also come with a satisfaction guarantee. NoBit Bridles also make a beautiful leather versionof the bridle to individual specification.

I guess some people will ask Why use one? Some good reasons for riding bitless are provided in Horse Control And The Bit. Read thatand you will understand why my answer is resoundingly "Why not?"

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Kelly Marks discusses the advantages ofusing the type of pressure release systems found in Be Nice halters and NoBit Bridles.