Table of Contents

What is this new Bitless Bridle?   [2001] By Jessica Jahiel, PhD.  “The Bitless Bridle has an interesting design. More subtle than a halter, sidepull, or jumping hackamore, and infinitely less forceful than a mechanical hackamore, it works by placing pressure on the side of the horse’s jaw and on the horse’s nose” …Read on (Published online at www.horsecity.com).

Alternative Drooling Research  [2001] “Through the courtesy of your columns, may I provide an alternative answer to your reader’s question on the significance of drooling in a bitted horse at exercise (Dressage Today, August 2001)?” (Published in Dressage Today)

A Theory to Chew On [2001] “Through the courtesy of your columns, may I provide an alternative answer to your reader’s question on the significance of drooling in a bitted horse at exercise (Dressage Today, August 2001)?” (Published in Dressage Today)

Removal of the Bit May Improve the Horse’s Welfare and Performance, and the Rider’s Safety and Pleasure  [2001] By Kathleen Hentcy.  (Published online at www.equineresearch.com)

Who Needs Bits?  [2001] By Randi Peters.  In today’s horse world, we have a delightful trend toward keeping it natural while at the same time ‘unnaturally’ riding these powerful animals that once roamed free. Their natural instincts remain, but their amiable natures allow us to harness their power and enjoy the pleasure of their company…. Riding or driving these magnificent creatures involves the risk of causing them harm by using, for example, ill-fitting saddles and harness. The knowledge we have gained from research, however, has enabled us to choose our equipment more wisely, with the horse’s best interests in mind. Another area of equipment that has been researched is the bridle, or more particularly, the bit. The snaffle bit has come to be accepted as kind, with shank and port bits being regarded as unkind. But do we need a bit at all? When we have the likes of Pat Parelli and Robin Brueckmann achieving Olympic level riding without even a bridle, who needs bits? Furthermore, do bits actually cause harm? (Published in Natural Horse)

On Talking-Horses: Barefoot and Bit-Free  [2001] Dr. Cook finds some lessons for today in Dean Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels.” (Published in Natural Horse)

Educated Owners and Barefoot Horses: An Open Letter to Veterinarians [2001] An attempt to alert equine veterinarians to the need for them to study Dr.Strasser’s pioneering research on hoof care. This was urged for the benefit of the horse but also in order that the veterinary profession should become as aware of the value of this work as many educated horse owners already are. (Published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science)

Bitless Bridle; Eine alternative fur gebiss-sauere Pferd?   [2001] By Uta von Over.  (Published in German in Pferde Heute)

A Note on the Head Bob in the Galloping Horse at Liberty and the Harmful Effect of the Bit on the Head Bob [2000]  The natural swing of the head and neck pendulum in a galloping horse at liberty is known as the head bob. The article explains why this pendulum movement conserves energy and assists both locomotion and respiration. The pendulum movement is restricted in the ridden horse by the weight of the rider but also by bitting and girthing.

A Solution to Respiratory and Other Problems Caused by the Bit  [2000] A physiological critique of the bit method of control led to the conclusion that it was contraindicated, counterproductive, and cruel. The evidence indicated that the bit constituted a welfare problem, a hazard to the health of horse and rider, and a handicap to performance. It has long been known that the bit has many pernicious effects on the horse’s mouth but its wide-ranging and baleful influence on the respiratory, musculo-skeletal and nervous system has been overlooked. All the traditional bitless methods of control have limitations and disadvantages but a new method of bitless control was found to provide a physiologically acceptable and preferable alternative to the bit. (Published in Pferdeheilkunde in English)

Asphyxia as the Cause of Bleeding and the Bit as the Cause of Soft Palate Displacement [1999]An article written for horsemen to explain the six or more reasons why every racehorse is partially asphyxiated during a race, i.e., its airway is obstructed. Diagrams explain the cause of bleeding from the lungs and why it is so common. Diagrams also explain why the bit is partly to blame for the bleeding and totally to blame for soft palate problems. (Published as a Guest Commentary in the Thoroughbred Times)

On the Penalties of Bits and the Benefits of Bitlessness  [1999]  Published in Horse America

Pathophysiology of Bit Control in the Horse [1999] The anatomical, physiological and pathological reasons why the bit method of control is not compatible with the basic needs of the exercising horse. (Published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science)

An Explanation for Headshaking    [1999] A letter to the editor. (Published in the Thoroughbred Times)

The Breathing Bridle  [1999] A  draft for a book chapter (Unpublished)

The Ear, The Nose & The Lie in the Throat [1999] A light-hearted autobiography, written as a contribution to the British Equine Veterinary Association’s millennium celebration book (Published in Guardians of the Horse: Past, Present and Future)

Why Do Horses’ Lungs Bleed?  [1999]  The reason why ‘bleeding’ in the racehorse is caused by any obstruction of the airway is explained with the help of diagrams and language that can be understood by a non-veterinarian. Competing explanations are described and evidence provided to indicate why, in Dr. Cook’s opinion, these are incorrect. (4,700 words, unpublished)

Death in the Afternoon: Breakdowns, Bleeding and Bits   [1998]  A letter to the editor about the deaths in action of horses at Del Mar racetrack during the summer of 1998 and providing explanations and preventive solutions (Published in the Thoroughbred Times)

The Bit, Headshaking, and Other Problems [1998]  A letter to the editor, suggesting that the cure for headshaking in the horse was removal of the bit, rather than the stern disciplinary training that had been recommended in a previous article. (Published in the Thoroughbred Times).

Use of the Bit In Horses  [1998] This series of four letters to the editor, marked the first time that the attention of veterinarians was drawn to an improved bitless method for communicating with the head of the horse. By removing the bit, the problem of headshaking was reported as having been alleviated in three horses. (Published in the Veterinary Record, the official publication of the British Veterinary Association).

EIPH or A.I.P.E? [1997]  A short article proposing that asphyxia-induced pulmonary edema (AIPE) was a more appropriate name for ‘bleeding’ than exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). (Published in The Equine Athlete) Click here to read in PDF Format