• How bits affect your horse’s body (the full picture)
• Signs your horse might be uncomfortable
• What you can do to help (whether you use a bit or not)
• How to transition toward gentler options when you’re ready

Summary:
Summary by AI:

A veteran horse vet argues that bits always create physical tension and potential pain, starting in the tongue and spreading through the hyoid apparatus to the horse’s neck, shoulders, and entire body. This tension can cause resistance, behavioral issues, breathing restriction, and even injury—often worsened by tight nosebands, tongue ties, and over-flexion. Many signs labeled as “misbehavior” are actually pain responses. While not all horses or riders can go bitless immediately, bitless riding should be the long-term goal, with minimal rein pressure, proper training, and careful observation of distress. If bits are used, they must be correctly fitted and handled with the lightest possible contact, always prioritizing the horse’s comfort and welfare.

Transcription: 

Renee (00:00:00.00)
Your horse is not misbehaving. They could be reacting to the pain that bits cause. Now, before you click off, I’ve seen this time and again as a 30-year horse vet. Here are the reasons why bits can be harmful for horses and how to keep them safe and happy, even if you’re not ready to go bitless. Let’s start with the fundamental problem with bits. The truth is, a bit is never comfortable. It can be tolerable. Here’s how to really understand bit situation. Try this. If you stick a piece of metal across your tongue, you could use a pen. When you do, and even if you just pause the video and think about doing this, you’ll notice the tongue automatically moves back in the mouth. It’s making space for the metal. Notice, too, when the tongue moves back, this automatically tips the head down. The tongue will get tired from moving back. Then you might find yourself lowering the tongue under the metal and stretching it forward. Notice this automatically tips the head up. I used to think there was space for the bit. I remember being taught as a kid, the horse has bars where there’s no teeth, so the bit sits there and doesn’t bother the horse.

Renee (00:01:11.22)
And that made sense to me at the time. But I’ve learned The mouth does not have extra open, vacant space for the bit. The bit always affects tongue, bars, lips, and surprisingly, a lot of connections all the way to the shoulders. More on that in a minute. The fundamental problem with bits is that they automatically create tension, not just because it relies on causing pressure to communicate, and that pressure can easily become pain, but because just the bit alone in the mouth creates tension throughout the body. This contradicts the riding goal of a relaxed, responsive horse. Let me detail the process so you fully understand. But first, let me be clear. I don’t think every horse can be ridden without a bit tomorrow, and I don’t think every rider can ride without a bit tomorrow. I just want us to fully understand what’s happening so we can make informed choices for ourselves. First, the bit impacts the tongue immediately, like we just talked about. Now, the bit itself may directly cause pain due to design or improper size. But even if it’s the mildest bit, perfectly sized and fitted, it still affects the tongue. But wait, there’s more.

Renee (00:02:22.04)
Next, the tongue attaches to the hyoid apparatus. What is that? The hyoid apparatus is a complex of bones and cartilage within the skull. It connects to numerous muscles, extends from the tongue to the sternum, that’s the chest, the shoulders, the abdomen, and pelvis. This forms a continuous myofascial chain that influences the horse’s posture and balance and overall movement. So the tongue, the hyoid apparatus, and all these connected muscles are supposed to be relaxed and freely able to move. But the second we add any bit, we decrease movement ability through the entire horse. Now, that always happens with any bit. There’s no way to avoid that tension. Yes, that tension can be tolerated by the horse, but now you know it’s happening. So for example, if you’re wondering why your horse can’t lift his shoulders as easily as he does free lunging, the bit can be why. Unfortunately, it can get worse. Most horses aren’t resistant. They’re protecting themselves. One way a horse tries to get relief from tongue pressure or pain from the bit is by opening the mouth and potentially putting the tongue out the side of the mouth. And what do people do?

Renee (00:03:33.04)
They think they’re fixing this problem by putting flash or drop nosebands, figure 8 nosebands, and/or tongue ties to keep the mouth shut. This is not good. Even worse, when the horse can’t open his mouth or stick the tongue out and is hyperflexed, also called wall quarter, this is a perfect storm. You got the tongue pulled back in the mouth, the mouth clamped shut, plus the head overflexed past the vertical. Guys, Everything is squishing the airway of the horse. The nostrils become huge from flaring for air, and the tongue can become blue from lack of air in circulation. This is seen in upper-level international competitions, including the Olympics. It’s absolutely awful. Now, if you know someone who understands what is happening, and hey, many people don’t, but someone who knows what’s happening and still does these things, I’m asking you to tell them something from me. Get a freaking a motorcycle. You want a toy? Get a toy. The horse is not a toy that you can do whatever you want with, don’t care if they’re in pain and can’t breathe. Just get a new one when they break. No, the horse is a majestic soft a hard-earned creature.

Renee (00:04:46.05)
It’s our job to keep them healthy and happy. These people who know what’s going on and still do this should not even have horses. Now, if you’re just learning about bits and their impacts, that’s fine. We’re all on a learning journey. Now that you know, let’s talk about what to do for your horse. First, recognize pain and distress in your horse. Here’s the major warning signs. Teeth grinding, bucking, resistance to bridaling, resistance to contact, blue tongue, which is a serious circulation issue. Head tossing, specifically indicates discomfort, although it may not always be bit related. There are a lot of physical signs you can identify to understand if your horse is suffering. I made video explaining them here. Now, those were the major signs. For the more subtle signs, try videoing your horse while you’re riding. Watch in slow motion to catch subtle signs. Look for things like ears back, eyes squinted, too many wrinkles at the lips, even general unhappiness. These signs may not show up at all times, so check gait transitions closely. One thing you can check on yourself is consider how your hands and arms feel after riding. Riders leaning weight on the reins make everything worse.

Renee (00:06:03.13)
See if your arms or hands are tired or stiff, even numb after riding. If any of these, you’re using too much pressure on the reins. If you need the reins for balance, instead Use a neck ring or grab strap until your seat develops. Next, check for physical damage caused by the bit. Bits can cut, rub, and pinch delicate tissues. Look for sores or redness on the tongue. Check the sides of the tongue, the top and the underside. Check the gums, the lips, the bars, the roof of the mouth, and the inside of the cheeks. I’ve seen this type of damage on many horses, and the riders had no clue. Plus, I’ve also seen tongue scarring, tongues partially severed, cheek scars, and more from bits. All bits are potentially harmful, though some designs are worse than others. Any bit with a hinge joint or joints can poke the roof of the mouth. Bits too Wide can punch as they go back and forth through the mouth. Bits too narrow, pinch the lips all the time. There are hundreds of types of bits, and there are many varieties of shapes of the mouth and sizes of the tongue and sizes of lips.

Renee (00:07:16.05)
They’re all unique. Bits really need to be sized and fitted to the horse, and it’s not easy to do. If you’d like to learn more about bits, I recommend the BitDoctor from the UK who’s on Facebook. Next, consider the bitless bridals. They work by attaching the reins to the bridal, so the pressure is on the head instead of the mouth. I highly recommend this as a goal for riders. Here’s my position as a vet. I’m not completely against bits, but bitless should be the goal, in my opinion, especially for advanced riders with well-trained horses. Doesn’t bitless show the highest level of gentle communication? The thing is, some advanced riders, like Olympic competitors, are actually using the most harmful bits with harmful equipment attached to it. That’s totally backwards. Aren’t you supposed to be the best? Why are you have to use all that? Now, I know not all horses and all riders can go bitless immediately, but it should still be the ultimate goal as you advance. Try watching some of the advanced bitless riders. They are incredible, beautiful to watch. They should get the awards. By the way, bits are not the only thing humans invented for horses that are unintentionally hurting them.

Renee (00:08:27.20)
The same situation happens with horses which can cause severe health issues. You can learn more about that in this video. How to transition or prepare for a bitless. There are several ways to train horses to go bitless. There’s lots of information online, and hopefully you can find a local trainer or clinic as well. What you want is a good ground training foundation. You want to perfect your training, usually with long-lining. You want to use voice commands. Other people use clicker training, but so you can use the same commands on riding that your horse already knows from the ground. This builds great communication with your horse. Also, a good way to communicate with your horse is by first understanding his personality and how it connects with yours. I’ll talk about the best horse breeds for different types of human personalities in my next video. Subscribe so you don’t miss it. If you use a bit, the key principle is to use the absolute minimum pressure to contact the bit. Never lean weight on the reins. You When I was in group riding lessons as a kid, if anyone leaned on the reins or kept jabbing their horse in the mouth because of poor balance, they didn’t get reins.

Renee (00:09:38.17)
The instructor took the reins off. Instead, you got a neck strap to hold onto until your balance was better. We were allowed reins when we could balance. Today, so many riders I see use the reins for balance, and they’re using their body weight on the reins to control the horse. This is ridiculous. It’s hurting the horse, and it’s no good for the rider either. Now, the bit can be non-painful if used correctly. Let’s just get back to focusing on the horse’s point of view. The proper fitting matters. Consider professional bit fitting. There are specialists whose full-time job is fitting bits correctly. They’re totally worth it if you can find one. To start learning some basics, the bit doctor on Facebook is helpful, and keep watching your horse for signs of distress. In summary, when a horse wears a bit, it creates tension. There’s no way around that. But that tension doesn’t stop at the mouth. It travels through the pole, the neck, the shoulders, and the entire body. This tension can show up as resistance, behavior issues, or eventually pain and breakdown. These types of problems are why I created the Tucker biokinetic technique. Tbt teaches you to identify what’s wrong in your horse’s body and how to correct it so your horse can relax and respond and heal at the root, whether you ride with a bit or bitless.

Renee (00:11:02.23)
Your horse isn’t being difficult. They’re asking for help, and you can learn how to give it step by step inside the TBT courses linked below. Thanks for watching, and see you next time.

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