Is the Dr.Cook harsh?

horsesforever

horsesforever

x.x.x
Apr 21, 2007
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uk! :)
I have recently become interested in going bitless as my horse headshakes and is generally not too happy with his snaffle. (Have tried others) Came across the Dr.Cook bitless bridle site and it seems to be one of the more well known ones. The website sings it's praises and makes it out to be the perfect solution but of course it would :p At the end of the day they want to sell their product. I have heard of very strong horses unstopable in normal bits that "magically" behave perfectly in a Dr.Cook with no braking issues. So obviously the Dr.Cook is kind on the mouth (as theres nothing there lol) but is it's action harsh on the horses face? It must do something fairly strong to have all these super strong horses respond to it? My horse is not strong at all, doesn't pull but I just want to make sure the Dr.Cook isn't going to be causing him pain in other ways.

I want to get a balanced opinion of these bridles before getting one. They do the 30 day guarantee though I suppose. So anyone got any knowledge or experience of these?

Also, any other good bitless options to consider?

Thanks
x
 
I have a dr cook.
I used it on my tb ex racer but it rubbed her, so I stopped using it.
I now use it on Shay, he is very strong, when I tried him in a bit it was horrible, he felt so out of control and he was so dead in the mouth to it, it felt like he had no head. Now in his dr cook he stops really nicely and and is easy to 'control'. I have the beta one and my only problem with it is that when Shay and I had a discussion about direction the headpiece would slip through so one strap was longer than the other, I now have a purple cross pull with the head piece sewn together and its great.
(Shay has a dust and pollen allergy, so wears a nosenet)

this is shay in his dr cook
PICT0006-9.jpg


maddie and I hunting in the dr cook
maddie-hunting.jpg
 
The Dr Cook isn't harsh and they can be a brilliant bridle to use on some horses.

The trouble is, some will either learn to lean against one and may become difficult to stop or like my Beau, due to the mechanism, will begin to feel claustrophobic while wearing one.

They do offer a trial period though, if it doesn't suit your horse and it's returned within a set time scale you'll get a full refund.

Nothing to lose really.

:)
 
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No they are not harsh.

The whole point of why they are effective on strong horses, is often the strong horses are running from the pain in their mouth from bits.

And as for leaning on them, it is the same as for a horse leaning on a bit - don't give them anything to lean on, drop the contact and ride with your bodyweight.

There are a small number of sensitive horses who do find it constrictive, but cross under bridles are an excellent why of introducing your horse to bitless bridles
 
My friend tried it on her Section D, and it rubbed him quite a lot. He also tries to eat every time she stops to let traffic pass, much more so than in his bitted bridle - but then he is quite a greedy pone! :rolleyes:
 
My share horse has a Dr Cook which was used when she was out hacking (we use a snaffle for schooling). She has always gone very well in it until recently when we've had a few 'stroppy' moments resulting in a lack of brakes. So for the moment we've changed back to the snaffle when we're out and I feel far more confident in our braking ability.

I do hope that when she has learnt that she can't rush past other unknown horses and that spinning and heading home is unacceptable that we can return the Dr Cook.

As others have said if you have nothing to lose then give it a whirl.
 
dr cook

I use a dr cook on lally and she is great with it. I actually feel more in control with it than with the bit. She was a total nightmare before I used one with bucking, throwing her bead, spinning but now she is great. I can not tell you how great it is to ride her with the Dr cook - and no I don't work for them! I was so pleased with mine that after the 30 day trial I updated to the leather model. As long as you get the sizing right and the fit it is no problem. Lally now actually looks forward to her hacks out - before she would grit her teeth and set her jaw so that getting the bit in was a real struggle. Now she puts her head forward and seems to know that it is time for fun. And as for stopping there are no problems there. :):p:p
 
Thanks for all the replies, really helpful :) All sounds quite positive!

Mm the sizing looks really complicated! I think you have to measure a few places on the horse's head? I will have to print off the page from the website and head to yard equipped with tape measure! :p My horse has a huuuuge head and his current bridle rubs, so I want to be really sure of the sizing so he's all comfy.

I'd be fine to hack out off road but does anyone hack out on the roads in them? How safe do you feel? And does anyone know if your insurance is affected if you say, you hacked out in one and had an accident? I'd like to think my horse would be fine, he's brill on the roads and we don't have brake problems but we all know that horses will be horses and it is possible that he could spook, take off. But then again, the Dr.Cook sounds good for stopping so not an issue perhaps!
 
I hack Tess out in a Dr Cook all the time and surprisingly it hasn't rubbed her at all despite otherwise being a thin skinned Tb. She can be strong occasionally if the mood takes her and if so tends to curl up and disappear in a bit, but it doesn't happen in the bitless. I can't say I've ever felt out of control in it and she's normally a delight to do fast work with it on. Going on the road isn't a problem, and most insurance companies don't seem to be bothered. It's a bridle after all, which is what the Highway Code suggests should be used.

don't give them anything to lean on, drop the contact and ride with your bodyweight.
Click to expand...

Heehee, that would result in stunning acceleration in our case if madame was in the mood ;)
 
I hack out using a sidepull, not quite the same as a Dr. Cook's, but bitless too. Like Yann, the Insurance just notes that horses should be hacked out using a bridle. I could prob ride him out in a headcollar and two lead ropes with the same effect, but for the sake of legality, I use the bridle.

In terms of control I have not had any problems at all - but I restarted him entirely using the sidepull, so all his training has been geared around it (and I reeducated myself at the same time that pull on both reins does not equal stop ;)).

I think the horse learns what cues mean stop - you have one set of cues when using a bridle with a bit which your horse probably (hopefully ;)) understands. I think you need a different set of cues with the bitless - don't assume you can ride exactly the same and that it will work. I would suggest maybe having a think about how you would stop a spooky or joggy horse without a bit, and practice in the school before taking the show on the road :D

For what it's worth, among the stop your feet cues we have, my two most effective atm are (1) drop reins on horse's neck and (2) stroke mane just in front of the withers. Taking a feel on the inside rein (a sort of half halt) is getting there and for emergencies, we have the one-rein-stop (but we've never had an emergency yet, fingers crossed).
 
I know this is a little older post, but I bought a DCBB for my Percheron in November. She's doing VERY well, probably at LEAST as well if not better with the Dr Cook's as when we used a snaffle. I feel better about using it, as well, because I know I'm not banging a bit around her teeth. Brakes are no problem, even though she IS very strong!
I've ridden with two other women that have used DCBB for the last year or so, and BOTH swear by it. They won't ride any other way, now.
The ONLY issue I had is that I had to trim hair under her jaw, because the way the bridle is set up, the reins would pull hairs as they pulled through the O rings. But the representative at DCBB was VERY helpful in finding a solution for the problem. I'd give it a go, as you DO have 30 days to decide.
 
I ride my SJ in an english Hackamore and am awaiting the arrival of my DCBB - I can't wait!! :D
 
A few years ago, we tried it on one of our feisty mares, and she was pretty good, but it seemed like it lacked some control.
We've been using the Nurtural Bitless Bridle... a fairly new, up & coming company. It's similar to the DCBB, but the two straps that cross each other under the jaw are actually in a Circle-X gizmo, keeping the straps in place and allowing the horse to understand the commands better.
Also for the rubbing, this bridle had a rubber material that has bumps on it, which allows air to circulate through there and it causes less friction on the nose.
It's worth checking out, we enjoy it with all our horses! www.nurturalhorse.com
 
newrider.com
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