Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:56 pm Post subject: Bridles
Ok me again with stupid question of the week....
I was watching a lady ride a horse and 'walk' her dog simultaneously down our road this afternoon (which is a busy road and not near any fields so doubly stupid) and it made me wonder why horses have bridles with a bit and dogs don't. Clearly horses can also have headcollars which don't have the bit and dogs can have dogmatics and things like that but why don't they have the in-mouth part? I only wonder this because dogs love carrying things in their mouth and seem to like picking up all and sundry when they're walking so if they had something in their mouth they couldn't but wouldn't need muzzles. I'm assuming there is a very good reason why this would be a stupid idea it's just me being odd today.
Bitted bridles have been around for a long time, but so have bitless bridles. There are an increasing number of people who are moving away from bitted bridles and consider them to be archaic and cruel and cause a number of problems, physical and behavioural, and considering the bridle is only really there to steer the horse (if your leg pressure and seat position are not very effective) a bit isn't absolutely necessary.
My answer - the dog's dentition is very different from the horse's dentition - a bit in a dog's mouth would cause damage to the teeth because unlike the horse's mouth, there is no natural gap in the line of a dog's teeth for a bit to sit without causing damage.
A rider is above the horse so has an even contact. You lead a dog from the side, so it would cause head turning and confusion.
A horse is taught to accept the bit and respond to aids. All of this is done above the horse when ridden and off the lunge when in training. When on the lunge you do not directly use the mouth. You use the mouth when in long reins and then when being ridden.
You would have to walk a dog like a husky to have the same AIDS.
An average horse weighs over half a ton so a head collar, if the horse wanted to go, would have no control whatsoever. In fact, a bit, if the horse bolts, has no control either. You have to have harmony between you and the horse otherwise, the horse wins every time..
there is no natural gap in the line of a dog's teeth for a bit to sit without causing damage.
Unless you have a dog like my Mojo who has her Pre-Molars missing .
I think the biggest difference is, you have one hell of a lot more chance of stopping a dog on just a collar or head collar...but if you are sitting on half a ton of muscle which decides to take off and it Ain't Stopping.....Well I'm sure you can use your imagination
Both Bitless bridles and Bitted can do harm in the wrong or inexperienced hands, just like choke chains, slip leads and head collars.... but you have the option of letting go of the lead if the dog is about to drag you under the wheels of a bus, you can't really "bail out" when on top of a horse .
I was trying to think of a way to answer this but couldn't think of the words to put it into but agree with Frilly and Jules
frilly wrote:
In fact, a bit, if the horse bolts, has no control either. You have to have harmony between you and the horse otherwise, the horse wins every time..
tell me about it - still have the bruises from my disagreement with a friend's thoroughbred last week that decided mid canter she was going home at her fastest gallop cue 90 degree turn at speed and me on the floor
I was trying to think of a way to answer this but couldn't think of the words to put it into but agree with Frilly and Jules
frilly wrote:
In fact, a bit, if the horse bolts, has no control either. You have to have harmony between you and the horse otherwise, the horse wins every time..
tell me about it - still have the bruises from my disagreement with a friend's thoroughbred last week that decided mid canter she was going home at her fastest gallop cue 90 degree turn at speed and me on the floor
I've been there many a time and I have been riding for over forty years..
A horse is a very noble and honest friend.. Treat them kindly and they will give you there heart, treat them meanly and you will find out their strength.
To me. a horse is the best judge of character. My beloved Goya had a fear of men as the farm we we were at held a lot of shoots. She hated all men. Especially in green wax jackets. She followed me everywhere and was my horse of a lifetime.
For some reason, and only a reason known to her...she loved my husband. He wasn't horsey or anything but she allowed him in her stable and more importantly, gave her front leg to him for a polo... A total honour of friendship..
you can't really "bail out" when on top of a horse .
I bailed out once - it was either that or risk trying to stop a majorly spooked, out-of-control horse as it headed towards a stone wall that was way too high for it to jump. Broke my nose and got concussion and spent two days in hospital, but I dread to think how much worse it could have been - given the choice between the wall and the ground, I chanced the ground as my better option (it was still pretty hard though )
I was never brave enough to Bail Out Lizi. It wasn't that the ground was so hard but it was the good hiding I knew I'd get if I didn't at least try to stay on .
Became accidentally parted from my mount a fair few times though and on the whole, I'd really rather not hit the deck again, because I don't bounce like I used to .
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