The following text is an excerpt from my paper entitled " bits in the mouths of horses - A Serious Welfare Concern"...it has been delivered to the Welfare councils around the country (Australia) and will be also forwarded to various governing bodies of the horse world. Anyone who is interested in using a copy to forward to their own welfare councils internationally please contact me on equinearts@bigpond.com

Following the feedback from the group I selected to proofread and critique the work, I have decided to develop it into a book. The book intends to go into much greater detail as in the writing of this submission I discovered the impact upon the horse (in every way) goes to a depth previously unimagined. I could not include a lot of information and research that I found for use in the submission itself.
The reasoning for this is that :
1) the submission is primarily written for people who may not understand horses, the focus was to talk only of the damage the bit primarily inflicts upon a horse and to obtain the possible banning of certain families/types of bits.
2) the remaining depth of information and research strayed away from the primary focus which is the bit and its direct impact upon the horse. Although the research and information is relevant and caused by the bit, it is a little more indirect. I felt that sticking to the primary impact would be more beneficial...and less overloading for the council.
3) the current size of the submission is already large!

Although the outcome is not expected to achieve banning the bit (the ramifications of such a radical change would be immeasurable at this stage!), it is hoped to achieve the banning of certain families of bits and certain types...and to move toward the CHOICE not to have to use a bit for those who still wish to compete, in all disciplines and including pony clubs etc.

It's not an easy road, the members of 'the powers that be' are often stoic and afraid of change. Old fashioned ideas abound everywhere not just within the horse world...it is up to us...ALL of us ...to act upon what we know. My suggestion to those who say "I would love to go bitless but I can't compete without a bit/go to pony club/go on that ride'... is DON'T GO!!! In my experience at least half the members across all organisations want the choice...if all of you simply said you weren't turning up to comps/rides/clubs the financial pressure alone would effect a pretty quick change!
All we want is the CHOICE (at least at this stage!!...). it isn't a big ask. It isn't even an insurance issue. Its just a choice.

Bits in the mouths of horses ... a serious welfare concern 

On Trigemenal pain...The picture below is from Nevzorov haute Ecole and shows the Trigemenal nerve sitting over the left-hand side of the scissor.

          

..."Anyone who has ever had a toothache will know nerve pain. Human experience of Trigeminal nerve pain is added below for reference to the type of pain experienced when this nerve is ‘activated’, meaning the neurons are firing. Whether or not the nerve is firing because it has physical pressure on it or because it comes from endogenous sources is a moot point, as the pain, is the same. Also known as Tic Douloureux, Trigeminal nerve pain is one of the most painful experiences known to man.

“People with the condition "are begging to be killed," said Kim Burchiel, M.D., professor and chairman of neurological surgery at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine who sees several new TN [Trigeminal Neuralgia] cases a week. "I'm telling you, it's total agony." … To describe the pain sensation, patients may describe a trigger area on the face, so sensitive that touching or even air currents can trigger an episode of pain... The attacks are said to feel like stabbing electric shocks, burning, pressing, crushing or shooting pain that becomes intractable.” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia)

 Headshaking syndrome in horses has been difficult to stop and the cause of it has remained somewhat unknown for a long time. However, Cook's work over the last 15 or so years has really pointed to the bit as being one definite cause and that the syndrome, when bit-induced, is a manifestation of trigeminal neuralgia (Cook 1999b, 1999c, 2000, 2002a, and 2003). The results provided further compelling evidence that the bit is not only an inefficient method of communication but also one that is physiologically contraindicated.

 Temporal Mandibular Joint (TMJ) problems are also found in horses, clinical signs associated with the TMJ in horses have generally been the result of traumatic injuries. Clinicians have reported abatement of clinical signs of common behavioral problems including headshaking, quidding, and apparent masticatory problems after intra-articular anesthesia of the TMJ, suggesting that these problems were related to TMJ pain.

Essentially the joint works by ligaments and muscle to close the jaw, and gravity allows the jaw to open. This being the case, one can appreciate the amount of force used by a rider to overcome the horse’s strength in the jaws… We know horses have a tremendous bite strength and yet how often are horses seen being ridden around, mouths wide open and shaking their heads in desperation and pain? It is under these circumstances the TMJ is most likely injured....."

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It must be remembered that the bit sits directly on this nerve. If you show a bit, any bit, to a 'non-horseperson' they are typically quite horrified that you would think to put it in the horses mouth...or any animals mouth. The very first question is often "but doesn't it hurt?" They can see the truth because they have their eyes open and have not been subjected to any indoctrination regarding controlling horses. As a horse-person, we are bombarded every day with the consciousness that says 'we need bits to control the horse'. It is very difficult to extract yourself from that consciousness, but not impossible. Education regarding the anatomy of the mouth, and the anatomy of the horse, soon leads you up a path of truth...the horse will tell you what is and what is not good for his body...what fits and what does not.

The TMJ is pivotal to the correct movement in the horse. Damage this joint and you damage his movement, his body. Many muscles that are atrophied (wasted or weak looking)in the horse are due to damage to the TMJ. The bit is almost gauranteed to damage the TMJ, by the very way it causes the horse to react...and if the dentistry of the horse is also not up to date or done incorrectly then you definitely WILL have damaged the TMJ.

If your first reaction to riding your horse without a bit is fear ('oh my god I wouldn't be able to stop him!, or turn him!) then this inevitably means your understanding of your horse is quite low. This may seem harsh, but it is true...it is not a judgement, it is not blaming, it is just an observation. Our main resistance comes not actually in the thought of taking the bit out of the horses mouth and relieving him of further unnecessary pain - it comes from the realisation that we have been doing something that isn't right (and the longer we have been fooled into thinking we were doing the right thing the higher the resistance). And because we do not wish to feel that and all that it means, we resist and say it cannot be so...and the defences come up, the justifications, the excuses, the 'reasons'.
None of us ever meant to cause our horses pain (well...very few anyway), it isn't something we want to do.

It is easy to regroup, and change the way you handle your horse...I dont' suggest just taking the bit out and riding bitless immediately, although for some this may be ok...there is a process to go through, there are things your horse will need to understand, and things you will need to understand in order to make the transition safe for both of you. If you really do lose control without a bit, know that your horse never understood truly, what was being asked of him; it was only the pain that dictated to him where and how he had to go. You can change this, you can help him understand...if you are willing to give it a go.
I have said before, it is a choice. You choose either to use pain to control and continue enjoying yourself at the expense of your horse, or, you choose to show your horse another way. A way in which you both can be safe and enjoy your time together.
You Choose.

 

 

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