How to fit a bitless bridle
New to bitless or just want to check your bridle?
Getting the right fit on your bitless bridle's noseband is vital for both horse comfort and for the bridle to function as intended.
The 'safe zone'
The most important aspect of fitting a bitless bridle is to make sure that your noseband always sits in the 'safe zone' of the horse's head. This is the area of the nose below the end of the cheekbone and above the unsupported tip of the nasal bone.
If you look up an image of a horse's skull you can see these areas clearly – and just how quickly the nasal bone tapers away. As a rough guide, any noseband above where a bit would sit in the mouth is putting pressure on the tip of that bone, and anything lower than that point is simply supported by cartilage.
Nosebands that sit too low on the nose put pressure on those delicate facial structures and on the sensitive nerves around the lower nose, which should obviously be avoided.
^ Correct noseband positioning. Note how the upper noseband and hackamore shanks sit below the cheekbone, but above the delicate lower nasal bone.
When checking that your noseband sits in the 'safe zone', make sure you account for any movement up or down that any part of the noseband may make during use. It is common for the upper noseband to slip down a little or for hackamore shanks to move up slightly as they turn, so you will need to leave a bit of wiggle room to account for this.
Noseband position
To begin fitting your bitless bridle's noseband, start at the top and work downwards, beginning with adjusting your cheekpieces.
As a starting point, I like to place the top edge of the noseband 1-2 fingers' width below the end of the cheekbone. This generally gives enough allowance for any movement in the noseband to avoid hitting that bony point, but you may need to allow a little more, depending on your bridle and your horse.
^ Eventually, you can judge cheekbone clearance by eye, but when starting out it's good to double-check your bridle's fit with a finger or ruler measurement.
If you position your noseband correctly against the cheekbone and find that it sits too low on the nose, then it is likely that your hackamore shanks or sidepull rings are too big for your horse, and you will need to swap them out for something smaller. All hackamore shanks in the Inca Equestrian shop have dimensions included in the description, so you can work out what is in the size range that you need.
Noseband tightness
Once you have the noseband position correct, you can go ahead and tighten it. For this, I like to use the measurement of two fingers, which you should be able to fit snugly but without force underneath the top point of the upper noseband.
^ Your noseband should be tight enough to prevent slipping, but not so tight that it is putting force on the horse's head.
Most equestrians are familiar with the problems an overtight noseband causes: pain or discomfort, tension, and trapping of the jaw. But we also need to make sure that the noseband is not too loose.
A very loose noseband causes the bridle to slip during use, which can lead to things such as the cheekpieces moving towards the eye, the upper noseband slipping down, shanks twisting and pressure being put in unintended places.
The full picture
Once you have your bridle all set, take a step back and look at it as a whole. Try testing the bridle out and check that it is sitting correctly during use.
Does everything look right to the eye?
Does anything seem too tight or too loose, or is anything out of place?
This is where you may need to make some small adjustments to suit your horse as an individual.
Need some help fitting your bitless bridle? Unsure if you have the right size? Get in touch for free advice.
