Hello everyone!

I live in Arkansas and am considering going bitless. I have a 7 year old
gelding that I seldom ride. One reason I seldom ride him is that we both become
a nervous wreck whenever I try. I have not actually ridden much in several
years. I use to take riding lessons, and then quit shortly before I had my
youngest, who will soon be 9. She inherited the "horse gene" and a couple of
years ago she started taking riding lessons and we got a couple of horses. We
weren't able to swing riding lessons for awhile but she is now taking them
again. So now I feel freer to work on my own horse and his/my issues.

He becomes quite nervous when he even thinks I might try to ride him. I pulled
him out of the pasture yesterday and he was very nervous, but all I did was toss
my little girl on his back and lead him around with a halter on and he never
minds that. But if I were to drag out the bridle, omg. Half the time I can't
even get it on him. He will not even open his mouth. He's only about 15.1 but
seems to be a giraffe when time to bridle, lol. If I do get him bridled he
fusses quite a bit with the bit in his mouth. I have tried many different
kinds, it doesn't seem to matter which one I use. And then, when I go to
unbridle him, every time he yanks his head up and clenches the bit in his teeth.
I am very careful when I take bits out, I always hold them so that they don't
bank the horses teeth. Obviously in his past someone was not so careful. I
know he was trained and then pretty much left out to pasture for a couple of
years, so really he is a "green" horse.

I would like some information on which bitless to try. I am very interested in
the Dr. Cook bridle but have some confusion about how the reins work. I am
going to join the local dressage club and I know that I will probably be the
only one bitless. I would like to keep it as similar in action as I can to a
traditional bit. I have heard that with the Cook bridle the action with the
reins is quite a bit different and there is some re-learning involved. I am
also looking at some bridles on a website called Crazy Ropes by Debbie. Is
anyone familiar with these? The price is much more in line with what I can do
right now. I really can't afford a Cook's at the moment but want to try
something just to see if I get improvement in our issues.

I look forward to your input. Thanks very much.

Regards,
Kellie