Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine |
Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle Now Available in Australia 30-day Moneyback Guarantee There is only one type of Bitless Bridle that provides both pain-free and comprehensive communication with your horse - the crossover/whole-head-hug design. Other bitless bridle designs (hackamores, bosals, and sidepulls) work by pain or the threat of pain. Beware of copies and imitations. There is only one crossover Bitless Bridle on the market that has been physiologically validated by a veterinary surgeon, one who has focused 50 years of his research career on the head, neck, and chest of the horse . . . Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle TM. Try the real thing Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle risk-free for 30 days. READ our warranty. Sizing information BUY Bitless Bridle ONLINE BUY Bitless Bridle Mail Order Form READ Comments by Australian and New Zealand Users Click here READ Comments by US Users READ Comments by UK Users READ Bitless Bridle Articles Fact Sheets DOWNLOAD Bitless Bridle Users Research Questionnaire Dr Cook invites new Bitless Bridle Users to complete the first column of his research questionnaire straight away and the second column after they have used the Bitless Bridle for a month or more. Send completed questionnaires to: Ysabelle Dean Bitless Bridle Associate Clinician Australian Equine Arts PO Box 697 Pakenham Vic 3810 Ph: 0412 684 374 "Metal in the Mouth - The Abusive Effects of Bitted Bridles" (Cook & Strasser). The compelling evidence in this book, explained in laymen's terms, conclusively shows why removal of bits from our horses' mouths represents a fundamental advance in equine welfare and human safety. BUY "Metal in the Mouth" ONLINE or Mail Order CONTACT Ysabelle Dean, Dr Cook's Australian Representative and Bitless Bridle Associate Clinician ysabelledean@bigpond.com |
Australian Equine Arts |
Australian Equine Arts |
Go Bitless You have a better horse than you think |
Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle Now Available in Australia 30-day Moneyback Guarantee There is only one type of Bitless Bridle that provides both pain-free and comprehensive communication with your horse - the crossover/whole-head-hug design. Other bitless bridle designs (hackamores, bosals, and sidepulls) work by pain or the threat of pain. Beware of copies and imitations. There is only one crossover Bitless Bridle on the market that has been physiologically validated by a veterinary surgeon, one who has focused 50 years of his research career on the head, neck, and chest of the horse . . . Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle TM. Try the real thing Dr Cook's The Bitless Bridle risk-free for 30 days. READ our warranty. Sizing information BUY Bitless Bridle ONLINE BUY Bitless Bridle Mail Order Form READ Comments by Australian and New Zealand Users Click here READ Comments by US Users READ Comments by UK Users READ Bitless Bridle Articles Fact Sheets DOWNLOAD Bitless Bridle Users Research Questionnaire Dr Cook invites new Bitless Bridle Users to complete the first column of his research questionnaire straight away and the second column after they have used the Bitless Bridle for a month or more. Send completed questionnaires to: Ysabelle Dean Bitless Bridle Associate Clinician Australian Equine Arts PO Box 697 Pakenham Vic 3810 Ph: 0412 684 374 "Metal in the Mouth - The Abusive Effects of Bitted Bridles" (Cook & Strasser). The compelling evidence in this book, explained in laymen's terms, conclusively shows why removal of bits from our horses' mouths represents a fundamental advance in equine welfare and human safety. BUY "Metal in the Mouth" ONLINE or Mail Order CONTACT Ysabelle Dean, Dr Cook's Australian Representative and Bitless Bridle Associate Clinician ysabelledean@bigpond.com |
Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine |
ABOUT DR. ROBERT COOK, FRCVS.,PhD. Robert Cook, FRCVS., PhD., Professor of Surgery Emeritus of Tufts University, Massachusetts, is a veterinarian who, for most of his career since graduating from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 1952, has been a faculty member of clinical departments at schools of veterinary medicine in the UK and USA. He is the author of two books for horsemen, Specifications for Speed in the Racehorse: The Airflow Factors, and Metal in the Mouth: The Abusive Effects of Bitted Bridles. He has also produced a videotape Selecting Racehorses Using the Airflow Factors. His research has been focused on diseases of the horse's mouth, ear, nose and throat, with a special interest in unsoundness of wind, the cause of bleeding in racehorses, and the harmful effects of the bit method of communication. Cook has published nearly a hundred articles in scientific journals and many articles too in horsemen's journals. These articles incorporate contributions to knowledge which have benefited the horse and been of practical value to horsemen and equine practitioners. But he believes that the work he has done since 1997 to investigate the bit method of communication in the horse and to validate the Bitless Bridle is now doing more for the welfare of both horse and rider than anything he has done previously. It is helping horsemen in all disciplines of equitation to achieve improved performance. The horse's mouth is one of the most sensitive parts of its anatomy. The application of pressure to a steel rod inserted in this cavity inflicts unnecessary pain and frightens a horse. Fear initiates a flight or fight response (bolting or countless forms of resistance). In addition, putting a bit in the mouth of a horse that is about to run, is akin to putting a muzzle on a horse that is about to eat. A bit is contraindicated, counterproductive and, in the wrong hands, potentially cruel. His research has shown that the bit is responsible for over a hundred behavioral problems. Cook is happy to endorse the Bitless Bridle as a preferable alternative to the Bronze Age technology of the bit. The Bitless Bridle provides a method of communication that is safer, more humane, and more effective than the bit. By comparison with traditional bitless bridles, it is happier than a hackamore, better than a bosal and smarter than a sidepull. All these depend on the application of pain or the threat of pain, whereas the Bitless Bridle is painless. With a subtle but simple system of two loops, one over the poll and one over the nose, the Bitless Bridle provides the rider with effective communication through the ability to apply gentle and painless pressure to either the whole of the head (slowing and stopping) or half the head (steering). And where the head goes, the horse follows. Cook thinks of this head-hug signalling system as providing what he calls a benevolent headlock. He considers it to be the best thing to have happened to the horse since man first placed metal in its mouth, 6000 years ago. It outstrips the invention of the stirrup in terms of benefits, as the stirrup was solely for the benefit of man, whereas the Bitless Bridle benefits both man and horse. You may contact Dr. Cook at (410) 778-9005 or e-mail drcook@bitlessbridle.com |
