Who is it for: a horse that has suffered a mouth injury or won’t accept a conventional bit. This puts pressure via the curb or chinstrap under the chin, the poll and the front of the nose. How it works: the reins are attached to the shanks, which connect to the noseband and chinstrap. There are various varieties, such as German, English, flower and bosal.
Although there is no bit, it can be very severe in the wrong hands because of the amount of pressure it can exert. The most common bitless bridle, hackamores are essentially a noseband with a shank, which acts on pressure points on the nose, chin and poll – there is nothing in the horse’s mouth. Who is it for: the double bridle is used in higher level dressage and showing, while Pelhams, with roundings, and Kimblewicks are popular options for children on strong ponies. It has similar action to the Pelham, but due to the lack of shank and the fact that it is used with one rein, it is considered a milder option.
Pelham: a single mouthpiece – usually straight but can be jointed, which is more severe.Smaller ports offer added room for the tongue. Sometimes they have a port, which can apply pressure on the roof of the mouth if it is very large. Some designs also give a small amount of poll action. How it works: by putting pressure on four areas, the tongue, corners of the mouth, bars and the chin groove. These provide greater control compared to the snaffles. It has the potential to be very severe so should not be used by novice riders. Who is it for: typically for horses that lean on the bit, are on the forehand or are strong pullers to give the rider more control. Some riders feel this is less severe than the other gags because the elevator action is more limited. They can be used with two reins – it is easier for steering to have the snaffle rein as well. The longer the shank, the greater the poll pressure. American gag: this has shanks, which can be of varying lengths.People do use just a single gag rein, but this is a very strong set-up and gives no option of using the plain snaffle contact. Another set of reins attaches to the snaffle rings. The top part attaches to the headpiece of the bridle, while the bottom part fastens on to the bottom gag rein. Running or Cheltenham gag: strips of leather or cord replace the cheekpieces and slide through the holes in the bit rings.Dutch gag (pictured above): consists of three or four rings – the top one where the cheekpieces attach and three lower ones for various settings, with the lowest being the strongest.They are designed to be used with two reins, one connected to the snaffle part, and the other to the ring below the bit to increase poll pressure: There are three main types of gag, all used with a snaffle-type mouthpiece.
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