Thought I would send you some pictures of Joe (NineteenNinetyNine) an 10 year old ex-race horse who is sired by Warning a famous Miler.  I have been riding him since December last year (2006).  He was almost uncontrollable over jumps, jumping fast and flat (National Hunt style).  The bit in his mouth did not help as he used to pull or lean on it, as he had been trained to in his racing career.

In June this year, we decided to have ago with a bitless bridle, just the plain black leather Dr.Cooks.  This seemed to improve things massively.  We carried on the jump training and got him popping over the jumps nicely, no rushing or pulling.  In July we did a few show jumping competitions (90cm), where we got placed.

The fun really started in August, when we did our first British Eventing Intro competition.  I used the bitless for both the Show Jumping and the Cross Country.  We got round steady and clear.  Since then we have done three more BE Intro competitions, where we came 7th, 3rd and 5th.  We have also done well in two hunter trials (XC only), where we have come 4th and 1st.  We can't wait till next season, where the fun can start again in march.

If it wasn't for the help of the bitless then I really believe we could not have achieved any of this.  I have two new bitless bridles now one black and one brown (both the padded variety).  Looking to try them on my other horses also.