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Horse Control And The Bit


HorsePoint - March 2008



A new scientific study into the use of the bit reveals the damage it can cause to a horse’s mouth.


On the first day of the Royal Melbourne Summer Horse Show a group of friends and I sat ringside watching some of the classes. Rider after rider, or handler after handler, yanked, jerked and wrenched at their horse’s mouths with the bit making us endlessly cringe.

All of us, in the previous week, had read an article that had forever changed our view of the bit and its use with horses.

One of us is an elite theatrical show horse trainer; another is a breeder, two more are pony club instructors, one is a saddlery store owner. All of us, at one time or another, have been converted to so called “natural” horsemanship. That is to say, we have sought a different way, a non-aggressive way, of achieving a well mannered and calm horse.

We are sitting in the shade, watching an in-hand class of supremely turned out hacks. Two handlers have curbs on their horses and they repeatedly yank on their charges’ mouths.

The stories flow thick and fast between us.

The theatrical show horse trainer recounts how her equine dentist discussed anatomy with her once, explaining that most people – because they want to do the right thing – will buy a thicker, plainer bit, thinking the thinner kind sharper and more cruel. And this is fine.

For some horses.

But you get other horses, horses with smaller mouths, less room between top and bottom jaw, for whom a thick bit like that can be incredibly uncomfortable. Because it just doesn’t fit, it’s too big. And then the horse resists and opens its mouth and fights the rider’s control.

“So we go and tie its mouth closed!” my friend exclaims.

The saddlery store owner talks about a Pony Club parent who came in seeking a twisted wire W bit because their pony, after years of good behaviour, suddenly refused to go left. Another PC parent advised them to try this bit, the magical answer to all control.

“Thankfully,” says the saddlery owner, “we didn’t have one.”

She goes on to say that in a round about way her husband, an equine vet, got to go out and see that pony later on the same day. It had a very severe abscess in its left near hoof.

Privately I have always thought if you have to add more and more equipment to your horse to make it do what you want then it’s time to give the game up.

FEI rules require submission to the rider and the bit. But which bit? Does it have to be a curb or double bridle? Top trainers, Monty Roberts, Andrew McLean, Janice Usherwood, Parelli, and others, all have said that the double and curb bridles made mandatory by FEI rules are instruments of torture that should, that must, be outlawed.

I am about to show you why.

Some of you may be familiar with the Nevzarov’s, a Russian couple who practice and teach Haute Ecole Dressage bitless and bridleless. Alexander Nevzarov created the both horrifying and ultimately beautiful and liberating film & book The Horse Crucified And Risen, a documentary about the horse’s long association with man.

The Nevzarov’s commissioned a scientific study with the Forensics & Medical Examination Office, St Petersburg, Russia, to document the effects of double and curb bits on the horse’s mouth. Taking part in the experiment were Forensic scientists, Vets and journalists (who recorded the experiment on video). The results were published in Horses For Life Magazine (US).

For the purpose of the experiments a model horse head was created that included a tongue made from Ballistin, a substance that closely fits the structure and density of living tissue (though not the flexibility). The Ballistin tongue was used to record the “hit”, or pressure, placed upon the mouth by the bit.

Billed: http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp163/3monkeymama/Scientific%20Proof/DisplayImage.jpg

While the experiment itself could not measure pain it was able to measure the amount of pressure placed on the tongue, jaw and other oral structures in the horse’s mouth.

To begin with it was discovered that an “ordinary rider” with “good” (light) hands exerts about 120-130kg of pressure per square centimetre. The pressure is felt directly by the Trigeminal Nerve, a branch of which (mandibular nerve) runs along the jawbone and – owing to the lack of muscle along the bar of the jaw – is reasonably unprotected and exposed. This means there is almost direct contact with this nerve by the bit.

An article by staff at the University Of Lincoln, UK, on headshaking reports that it is thought that the head shaking condition is thought to be caused by either pressure to this nerve or the nerve itself “misfiring”, causing spasms of pain. “There are many sources for potential nerve pain in the horse's head but the vets think that branches of the trigeminal nerve which conducts sensation from the muzzle and face to the brain may be the main source, particularly the Infraorbital nerve which is a branch of the maxillary. For some reason, parts of this nerve may be damaged and 'fire' inappropriately causing painful sensations in a particular area, i.e. the nerves are telling the horse that it is being hurt in this area when in reality it is not.”

Lidia Nevzarov writes that this particular nerve is super-sensitive. She says, “According to descriptive adjectives pain like that in the area of the nerve is called ‘especially acute, burning, paralysing’.”

And that’s from a rider with good hands.

A sharp jerk, like those we witnessed at the Royal Show last week, can exert a pressure of 300kg per square centimetre.

Now you know why a horse’s first reaction is to throw his head up and back when being jerked in the mouth like that.

This jerking in the mouth syndrome is not uncommon. In fact I would say that most of us witness it regularly, even daily, at riding schools, Agistment parks, shows, pony clubs. But it is so common we don’t think about it.

The central lingual (lingualis) nerve of the tongue also feels this pressure – 100kg per square centimetre in ordinary (“not doing anything”) contact. A jerk increases pressure to this area to about 250-300kg per square centimetre. As with the Trigeminal Nerve this pressure causes intense discomfort and pain. In the experiment the Ballistin tongue was crushed by such pressure; a real tongue, comprised of living tissue, reshapes itself, though the pressure and pain is still felt and injury still occurs.

Lidia Nevzarov presents photos of two jawbones – one from a bitted horse and one from a horse that has never known a bit. The jaw of the unbitted horse is smooth and clean while the jaw of the bitted horse shows clear wear right on the bar where the bit rests; grooves and chips. So, our hands’ action on the horse’s mouth is strong enough to groove and chip bone.

Another branch of the Trigeminal Nerve (which runs along the jaw) exists in the groove under the chin – exactly where the curb chain rests. Again this area has no muscle to protect it, just skin, blood vessels and bone exist. Anatomically it is an ideal place to apply crippling pressure.

The researchers found that the curb chain applies an average of 300kg of pressure per square centimetre to this sensitive area. In fact, they found that exerting pressure on this area was able to break off the lower part of the model horse’s jaw.

A living horse’s jaw, of course, can withstand far greater pressure but we are not talking about breaking a horse’s jaw, but rather the amount of pain we subject horses to through the use of standard riding equipment.

Lidia Nevzarov goes on to say that the Hard Palate (palatum duram) also sustains damage and experiences two kinds of pressure – constant, caused by the bit resting in the mouth; and hits, caused by applied pressure to the reins in a jerking motion. The palate is composed of mucous membrane that varies in thickness between 2mm (the grooves of the palate) and 6mm (the ridges) and this mucous membrane is all that sits between the bit and the palate nerve, palatines major. Pressures of 180-200kg per square centimetre were recorded and Nevzarov talks about the hematomas (bruises) present under the mucous membrane of the hard palate (on a dissected horse used in the experiment) as being an indication of the force applied causing injury.

Dr Cook, FRCVS., PhD, who created the modern Bitless Bridle, points out that “A fundamental principle of correct saddle fit is that the saddle should never contact bone. This principle is forgotten when it comes to bits. A metal rod in the mouth makes direct contact with unprotected bone at the bars [and], not surprisingly, bits commonly cause painful bone spurs to develop on the bars.”

The Nevzarov study successfully proved the amount of pressure that is applied directly to the horse’s jaw and oral structures and the damage it can do.

As a “technology” - The practical application of science to commerce or industry – the bit was developed some 5000 years ago by bronze age horsemen. While the design has changed and evolved, the use of the bit has not.

As we continuously expand our knowledge and our ability for scientific research we perhaps also need to expand, or change, the way we think in line with the results we find and the knowledge we gather.

To say that we cannot ride without the bit, or control the horse without the bit, that the whole concept of dressage (for example) relies on the bit, is a belief firmly entrenched in mythology, “tradition” and a rigid unwillingness to explore new paths.

There are many examples of fine horsemanship – and horse men and women – who exhibit perfect control of their horses without the need for a bit. Stacey Westfall, rode a winning round in a high level reining competition, bareback and bridleless. Steve Jeffries, the Nevzarov’s, Cavalia, Zingaro Monty Roberts, Quantum Savvy – all perform without the use of bits and bridles, so we know it can be done.

In many ways I see it as a shame that riders and regulatory bodies seem incapable of exploring horse control and submission without the use of such aids.

What a contest it would be where riders competed at the highest level bridleless. This would test a rider’s control of their horse, and the horse’s willingness to submit, like no other method. Further, as horse riders and competitors I believe we should challenge the peak ruling bodies – FEI, EFA, AQHA and all others – to instigate non-point rounds of competition for riders to compete bitless and demonstrate that control of the horse, at the highest level, is achievable without the use of a piece of metal in their mouth.

Don’t tell me it can’t be done. The only thing stopping you is the way you think.

By Geraldine Chapman