Freedom models the Dr. Cook's Bitless bridle.
Of all the bitless solutions out there, this bridle is probably the best known.
The Dr. Cook’s bridle is a cross under solution: in addition to the normal cavesson, there are two straps that cross under the horse’s jaw and are then run through two rings on the noseband. The reins attach to these straps. Other bridles that use this configuration are the Nurtural bridle and the Micklem Multibridle.
The Dr. Cook’s bridle controls the horse primarily through poll pressure. When you put pressure on one – or both – reins, there is also a squeeze (or hug, as they define it) to the entire head, but the most pressure is applied to the poll. When the pressure on the reins is lessoned, the pressure on the horse’s head is reduced/released.
The Dr. Cook's bridle features a cross under design which "hugs" the head and applies pressure to the poll.
Herein lies the rub: if your horse does not respond to poll pressure, this is not the bridle for you. Lots of horses don’t seem to be bothered by the pressure. I’ve met many people who love this bridle and whose horses worked well in it from day one. The two horses I’ve tried this on did not like poll pressure one bit. With my Trakehner, his reaction to the bridle was to get very light in front at the slightest pressure and to half-rear when any more pressure was applied. My TB, Freedom, was not as reactive but was still very fussy.
I did give this bridle a chance. I rode in it repeatedly and he was fine provided I never took any contact. I had bought a nylon version of the bridle to try and at first, I suspected that this might be the problem, that the nylon didn’t release quickly enough so that the pressure was prolonged beyond my initial contact. My Trakehner came to me with “issues” and did not like to feel trapped. However, I borrowed a leather version of the bridle and had the same response. I really like to ride my horse with contact – in my other bitless bridle I was able to get him to reach into the bridle, maintain a steady contact and swing through the back. It’s not that I don’t know how to ride him in this way, I simply could never get him to take contact in the Dr. Cook’s bridle.
Since trying the bridle, I’ve read about horses that are very sensitive to poll pressure and suspect I just have one of them. In fact, there are a growing number of bridle manufacturers that are selling “comfort” bridles with extra padding over the poll specifically marketed to horses like mine.
One thing I don’t necessarily buy into is all the hype that goes with this bridle. I have been riding bitless now for several years and it has been a much better solution for one of my horses. But I don’t necessarily think that putting a bit in your horse’s mouth is inherently wrong or that it’s necessarily harsh or inhumane.
Some horses just prefer a bitted bridle. I’ve tried several different bitless solutions, as well as a hackamore on my TB. He goes much, much better in a simple loose ring snaffle. He’s happier, he’s more relaxed and he’s easily controlled. In the end, it is the hands of the rider that makes the solution soft or harsh, not necessarily the bit.
The Truth About Dr. W. Robert Cook’s “Bitless Bridle”
Edward Allan Buck
Inventor of bitless bridle in 1988
The history of Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle is as follows:
In 1988 Edward Allan Buck invented the cross under the jaw rein technology bitless bridle, now named the Spirit Bridle, and applied for a patent, to which the U. S. Patent Office issued an application number. Submitted were photographs and drawings detailing the same rein connector technology as seen in the Cook Bitless Bridle.
The birth of Spirit Bridle originated with several meetings held with Mr. Don Woodruff, the inventor of the Be Nice Halter. Mr. Woodruff and Mr. Buck tried to make the Be Nice Halter function as a bridle in the manner Mr. Buck had envisioned, however, the Be Nice Halter could not function correctly as that kind of bridle and subsequently Mr. Buck engineered the first version of Spirit Bridle with the rein connectors.
Mr. Buck subsequently changed the original design and the U. S. Patent Office issued a new application number without an interruption of the application date. The U. S. Patent Office issued the number because of the design changes that occurred when Mr. Buck discovered that the original design had a dangerous flaw. The rein connectors, which allowed for the owner of a bridle to use their own reins, maintained an interruption of the contact with the horse that could and did result in loss of control of the horse.
Dr. Cook was introduced to Mr. Buck through Ms. Sigourney Richmond-Darby, whom had read a book on racehorse breathing written by Dr. Cook and felt the two men should meet as Dr. Cook had theories on breathing while Mr. Buck had acquired the facts experienced through the invention of the bitless bridle and could/did inform Dr. Cook about breathing and muscle structure interaction in horses.
Dr. Cook met with Ms. Richmond-Darby, Mr. Charles Weed and Mr. Buck at the Showpark in Del Mar, California after Dr. Cook had attended a veterinary conference in Phoenix, Arizona at which he spoke of the bitless bridle. At this meeting Dr. Cook observed three horses in the bitless bridle and had extensive conversation with Mr. Buck, Mr. Weed and Ms. Richmond-Darby, regarding the operation of Spirit Bridle the bitless bridle and its notable success on every horse is was used on. Dr. Cook inquired about having the rein connectors instead of the continuous reins and was informed by Mr. Buck and Mr. Weed of the dangerous situation such a design created. Dr. Cook was informed that Mr. Buck had tested that design and rejected that exact design as dangerous, unreliable, unsafe and inefficient in creating lateral and longitudinal flexion, collection, and braking. Dr. Cook was shown the photographs used by Mr. Buck in the original patent application which contained images of the rein connectors.
Within a short period of time after this meeting, Dr. Cook and Mr. Buck incorporated Spirit Horse Ltd. in the state of Delaware to produce and promote Spirit Bridle. Mr. Buck was President and Dr. Cook was Chief Veterinary Officer. Dr. Cook began to write numerous articles about Spirit Bridle, however, referencing it most of the time
as the bitless bridle. Dr. Cook had made an agreement with Mr. Buck to obtain substantial investors that would provide for the financial stability of the company, thus providing a joint livelihood; however, Dr. Cook’s effort raised only $1500.00. Mr. Buck was forced to use monies received from sales of the bridle [which were few] to live and was unable to provide bitless bridles to customers due to Dr. Cook’s lack of promised capitalization of the company. During this time period Dr. Cook had begun a campaign of misrepresenting Spirit Bridle as Bitless Bridle and Dr. Cook quickly resigned from Spirit Horse Ltd.
Shortly after Dr. Cook’s resignation it was discovered that he was selling and representing Mr. Buck’s Spirit Bridle as Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle, including informing potential customers, the media and others that Dr. Cook had “invented” bitless bridle. As a material fact of his illegal activities, Dr. Cook took Mr. Buck’s Spirit Bridle to Equitana 2000 representing it as Dr. Cook’s invention under the name Bitless Bridle and received the award for Best Innovative New Product. This information came to light after Mr. Buck received a telephone call from one of his customers stating they saw Dr. Cook and Mr. Buck’s Spirit Bridle at Equitana under the name Bitless Bridle. Subsequently, Mr. Buck spoke with the Manager of Equitana and he validated the information and apologized for the misrepresentations by Dr. Cook.
After repeated contacts from Mr. Buck, Dr. Cook changed the design and reverted back to Mr. Buck’s original 1988 design even though Dr. Cook was fully aware of the design flaws which included making the bitless bridle dangerous.
The Fraudulent Patent
On July 15, 2003, the United States Patent Office issued patent number 6,591,589 to Dr. W. Robert Cook for the “Bitless Bridle”. This patent is illegal under patent laws and the perpetration of patent fraud upon the United States is a federal felony.
Dr. Cook did not inform the U. S. Patent Office of his personal and business involvement with Spirit Bridle and Mr. Buck; this is a federal crime.
Dr. Cook’s design is not an ‘improvement on Mr. Buck’s design, it is in fact a complete reversal to a dangerous design.
Dr. Cook’s patent claims that the “Bitless Bridle” is humane and does not cause pain and discomfort to the horse is fraudulent.
Dr. Cook made false and fraudulent claims to the U. S. Patent Office which is a federal crime
Dr. Cook has made false and fraudulent statements on his website and in print media which constitutes criminal acts.
There are sufficient documents filed within the Federal District Court system to validate the claims set forth regarding Dr. Cook’s fraudulent procurement of a patent. The real question is functionality…the Dr. Cook bitless bridle cannot function correctly as the operating technology was created for…the Spirit Bridle does function correctly.
Spirit Bridle won a two and three-quarter mile steeplechase race in England on August 30, 1999 on a horse named Fabulon and the bridle was given full credit for the win.
Spirit Bridle was approved for thoroughbred horse racing in 2002 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Spirit Bridle received an endorsement in 2004 from Walter Zettl for use as a schooling bridle for dressage horses and riders.
Lateral flexion,
Longitudinal flexion,
Complete engagement of the back
Complete engagement of the hindquarters
Lengthening of the shoulder swing
Constant light contact by the rider
Lightening of the impact forces on the forehand
Natural balance of the horse {no rocking horse motion}
Full and complete braking system
These are just some of the attributes the Spirit Bridle [Bitless Bridle “the original”] releases for horse and rider.
As the actual and factual inventor of the Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle and subsequent copy cat bitless bridles, I can state unequivocally that if a client is seeking a bitless bridle product predicated upon the truth and is seeking the individual who presents integrity regarding such a bitless bridle product, then one should open their eyes to see, open their ears to hear.
Does WAZ really endorse a bitless bridle? I would be interested in seeing Mr Zettl’s official endorsement and why he likes bitless for dressage schooling.
Please permit me to provide a couple of corrections to your comments about my bridle.
1. The bridle does not, as you write, control “primarily through poll pressure.” The bridle distributes pressure around the whole of the head and is gentle throughout. The greatest pressure, such as it is, occurs over the bridge of the nose, with less pressure over chin and cheek and least pressure over the poll. 2. The bridle, in all materials, provides instant release. For some reason many people assert that it doesn’t but they are wrong. If you need more information on this point, there are a couple of articles about ‘release’ in the FAQs on my website.
The distribution and instant release can be easily verified by any user. Simply place a finger under each section of the bridle while applying and releasing rein traction.
I am appending below my response to Allan Buck’s version of the history of the crossunder bitless bridle.
Best wishes,
Robert Cook
Chairman and CEO, The BitlessBridle Inc.,
History of the Crossunder Bitless Bridle
Robert Cook, June 2010
The Internet is a channel for communication and a forum for free-speech that transmits both information and misinformation. The misinformation may be accidental or deliberate. It is up to the reader to decide whether any particular Internet item is genuine treasure or fool’s gold.
The Reverend Allan Buck’s history of the crossunder bitless bridle needs editing:
• At no time has Buck owned intellectual property in the crossunder design.
• In 1894, a crossunder design of bitted bridle was patented in the US by James R. McCleod of Calgary, Canada. In the 1950s, a bitless version of the crossunder design was developed by ‘Ink’ Grimsley of Spink, Colorado. Grimsley was a rodeo ‘bulldogger’ and the bridle was made for his friends at the Philadelphia Rodeo. In 1984, the crossunder design was the essence of Don Woodruff’s patent for the Be Nice halter. Subsequently, Woodruff’s patent lapsed and, to develop the Spirit Bridle, Allan Buck attached reins to the Be Nice halter. Buck’s Spirit Bridle and my bridle are essentially the same as the Grimsley bridle.
• As with most inventions, the crossunder bitless bridle is the summation of many people’s work. Buck may have developed the design independently, without prior knowledge of the Grimsley bridle. Yet history shows that he is not its first inventor.
• Buck is fond of resorting to the law and acts as his own attorney. But he cannot also act as judge and jury. Neither I, nor the US Patent Office, have been found guilty of the crimes he lists.
• I was under no contractual agreement to raise capital for Spirit Horse Ltd. Starting in 1997, the professional help I freely gave Buck, by publishing the reasons why the bit is a handicap for horse and rider and by recommending the crossunder bitless bridle, was entirely voluntary. In 1999, Buck forfeited my goodwill by the unacceptable behavior he admits to and obliged me to sever my association with Spirit Horse Ltd.
• Buck employs the marketing tactic of raising fear, uncertainty and doubt about a competitor’s product. My bridle does not have a dangerous flaw (see ‘User Feedback’ at http://www.bitlessbridle.com). Many foreign companies now market a crossunder bitless bridle and, without exception, they have all chosen to copy the design he alleges to be dangerous.
• At the very least, Buck should be credited for rescuing the crossunder bitless bridle from oblivion and recognizing that it was applicable to and a benefit in all disciplines. For this he deserves the gratitude of every horse and equestrian.