Madeleine Calkoen was invited by the Driving Club to present a bitless driving clinic at Bob van Asselt's driving school on the evening of April 17th.  She kindly sent us a the following report: 

The driving club has 120 members.  Some use their own horse(s) and some hire a school horse.  I introduced the topic with a PowerPoint Presentation showing horses being driven bitless, some with the BitlessBridle and others with my bitless noseband [Madeleine's version of the BitlessBridle in which cross-under cords are used instead of straps, together with blinkers of her own design, see Madeleine's photos below].  There was a good audience of about 80.  Most of the audience's questions related to the kind of blinkers I use!    

I started by saying that every horse can be ridden or driven bitless but that bitless is not obligatory.  I explained, quoting from the article by Dr. Hilary Clayton about bitting and bits (2006/2005), "As long as a horse is able to relax his tongue, it can make room for a bit, by letting the bit into the tongue. But if a horse cannot relax, his tongue will be tense and stiff.  The bit will become a nuisance in the mouth, so the breast muscles will be tense too and - from this - tension develops in the neck and back muscles."  I asked the audience to observe whether the horse's that were to be demonstrating were tense or not, as I wanted people to pay special attention to the mouth.

The first horse was a Merens with a "cementoom" (a tumor in its mouth, due to a displaced tooth). The horse was 19 years old and until recently had been ridden in a side pull, as driving was out of the question.  Now the owner wanted to try the bitless noseband for driving. As I expected, the horse walked away with it as though he had been using it all his life! Everyone could see that the horse was happy and pain-free. The owner too was happy that he could finally drive his horse again, after more than half a year!

The second horse was a Tuigpaard (maybe you know this name, they are harnessed show horses. We have a competition with these Tuigpaarden pulling light show carriages). [A Tuigpaard is akin to an English Hackney]  Tuigpaarden (also known as Gelderlanders) are known for their high head carriage and high-stepping action.  This particular horse was 14 years old and, when bitted, very tense and restless with his mouth.  The muscles at the underside of his neck were bulging and his back was hollow.  His mouth was open most of the time and it was easy to see that he was retracting his tongue behind the bit.  So my quote from Hilary Clayton came true; a tensed tongue gives a tensed neck, tensed back, and tensed paces. We removed the bit and replaced it with the bitless noseband and the lady owner walked her horse first in long reins. Within 15 minutes the horse lowered his head, snorted, closed his mouth and started to relax his back. So we then put the horse to the carriage.  At first the tension returned but soon the horse began to relax. You saw him using the upper muscles of his neck, instead of the underside muscles and his paces became longer.  I had no need to point this out to the audience as the horse was telling the whole story!

The same situation was apparent with the third horse.  This was a pony, a crossbred Arab x New Forest, only 4 years old and still erupting permanent teeth.  Again, when bitted, a very 'busy' and restless pony with a short and choppy gait.  It had only recently been introduced to driving and was untrustful and unsteady.  Even when bitless it remained restless. I worked the pony on long lines for a while.  This worked out well, so we finally put him to the carriage and the owner, an, elderly man, drove.  He commented that the pony was still too 'busy' to relax properly but that he was going a lot smoother than with a bit.  It was obvious that the pony was still ill at ease and although I felt certain that he would not relax in one evening, he finally did relax!  He snorted, stretched his neck, and lengthened his stride.  He even stretched his back.

As several members of the audience wanted to feel what it was like to drive bitless, the owner let others drive his pony.  The owner of the Tuigpaard also let others drive her horse.

In the meantime the fourth horse entered the arena. It was a Frisian horse, one of Bob van Asselt's school horses. This horse was an excellent example of a horse with a relaxed tongue under the driving curb bit. His way of going was first class! Swinging in his back, strong backhand, his tail nicely swinging to the rhythm of his paces, nice neck, and a nice head just slightly in front of the vertical. The driver was the director of the Dutch Federation of riding schools, an experienced rider but not an experienced driver.  We replaced the bit with the bitless noseband and, without any preliminary long-lining, put the horse straight to the carriage. The horse started in a relaxed trot. The driver was astonished that he could not feel any difference in the way of driving.

After this practical part of the evening we gathered again inside for discussion and questions.  It was clear that the horses themselves told the story. I did not need to explain. It was crystal-clear that the bitless noseband gave the tensed pony and horse complete amelioration.  Everyone was convinced what a bitless bridle can do when a horse is not able to relax its tongue.  Now the group want to organize some workshops this summer, so that everyone will be able to bring their own horse or pony and try bitless driving.