A:   No, not really.  The Bitless Bridle has been on the market since 1999.  We were granted a US patent on the crossunder principle in 2002.  The Nurtural Bridle is a copy of our bridle and was first marketed in Canada in 2006.  If the Nurtural company export to the USA they infringe our patent.

The fundamental principle of both bridles is the same.  But whereas our bridle is painless, the Nurtural bridle is not.  The Nurtural company has made a few changes in an attempt to differentiate their bridle from ours but this is simply a marketing ploy.  None of the changes can be recommended as none improve the function of the bridle and all are impediments.

The crossunder straps of the Nurtural bridle are tied together with a widget.  This prevents their independent movement and they can no longer fall in the natural alignment most comfortable for the horse.  The widget does not prevent the reins from twisting; this is the responsibility of the rider.

We deplore the stiffened noseband of the Nurtural bridle and the addition of rubber studding.  The noseband does not need to be any stiffer.  Rubber grips the skin, causes pain and pulls out hair.  Some movement of the noseband is to be preferred.

The crown piece of our leather bridles has been undivided since they were first marketed in 1999.  The synthetic bridles had a split crownpiece for a while but, as the benefits of this were marginal, these too have an undivided crownpiece.

The keepers on the Nurtural bridle are plastic and have sharp edges.  We prefer the softer material of our keepers.

The Nurtural company claims that their bridle offers more adjustment than ours.  Our adjustment has been field tested for seven years and needs no change.

The Nurtural company claim that their bridle works better than ours.  Such a comparison lacks any foundation and is simply another instance of negative advertising.  If you want to read a thousand or more testimonials from users of The BitlessBridle, click here.

More information about The BitlessBridle is available in our Frequently Asked Questions, while the scientific validation of our bridle is explained at length in our large collection of Articles.  Our warranty means that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

So, go ahead, go bitless, go painless and, as the old jingle used to advise, "beware of imitations."