Cinch Magazine- Your Online Equestrian Source

Bitless Bridle Comparison: Dr. Cooks

To find more about the Dr. Cooks Bitless Bridle, please see website here.
Star Rating:

Please note rankings:
1= poor 2= satisfactory 3=good 4=excellent 5=outstanding

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Comments:

The Dr. Cooks is a beautifully made bitless bridle. It doesn’t possess any functional gimmicks to its design, and thus may be more readily accepted among horses who appreciate ‘familiar’ feeling bridles.

The leather is truly top quality, and the buckles have ‘rollers’ which makes adjustments much easier, especially when bridling a nervous or fidgety horse. Another nice feature in the manufacturing of this bridle is that the excess leather easily fits into their keepers, unlike others brands we have tested.

The Dr. Cook also has improvements over past generations of the brand, incorporating a solid crownpiece that aids in keeping the cross-under straps in place. A solid crownpiece is, in our opinion, a necessary component on any cross-under bridle- and the Dr. Cook delivers.

In Use:

Performance wise it is a very good cross-under bridle. Pressure is directed through the cross-under straps. Instead of applying direct pressure on the mouth, the strap pulls against the horse’s jaw on the opposite side of their head, “pushing” instead of pulling the horse in the desired direction.

Under saddle, nearly all the horses relaxed right away into the bridle- moving out well, collecting and maintaining even pace. The horses even showed a thin ‘lipstick line’ of slobber. Halt and turning cues were very good, but care must be taken that the bridle is properly adjusted to facilitate immediate release of pressure.

While overall the bridle performed fantastically, there were times when horses were able to resist rein cues (such as when in a full out gallop), but circling as if in a bit was able to bring the horses back easily. Nonetheless, this bitless offers control about equal to a bitted bridle.
One normally irritable Thoroughbred responded so well and was so content in the Dr. Cook bridle, that while hand-galloping her tail was flagged and she was still obeying cues without any fuss.

Conclusion:

The Dr. Cooks is very well suited to schooling and hacking use, and has the craftsmanship of a bridle to be shown in. While we would not normally recommend cross-unders as the top bitless choice for dressage, we feel that the Dr. Cooks is the most well-suited of its style.

The Dr. Cooks is quite versatile, but it does exert more poll pressure than some other bridles, so care must be taken in this regard. If you have a horse who is extremely sensitive to such pressure and like to ride with a steady contact, an alternate bitless bridle may be a better choice.

Overall, if you want a made-to-last bridle that feels like butter in your hands, the Dr. Cooks is a good investment. Everything on the bridle is top-notch, and it is widely accepted by most horses. To top it off, it is very user friendly and easy to adjust, making it ideal for nearly everyone.

The Dr. Cooks Bitless Bridle retails between: $70-220 USD.

Pictures and video to be posted shortly.