Bridle

A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit.

Headgear without a bit that uses a noseband to control a horse is called a hackamore, or, in some areas, a bitless bridle. There are many different designs with many different name variations, but all use a noseband that is designed to exert pressure on sensitive areas of the animal's face to provide direction and control.

The bridle consists of the following elements:

On a double bridle, where the horse carries two bits (a curb and small snaffle, often called a "bit and bradoon"), a second, smaller headstall, known as a 'bradoon hanger' or ‘slip head’ is used to attach the bradoon. A second set of reins is attached to the bradoon, and hence the rider carries four reins.

The bridle, depending on style, may also contain some of the following elements:

A hackamore, put simply, is headgear that controls a horse via pressure points on the face, usually with a nosepiece instead of a bit. A hackamore is not the same thing as a halter, as a halter is primarily used for leading and tying up an animal.Bitless bridles are similar to hackamores, but some designs use different leverage principles for control. Hackamores and bitless bridles use a headstall with reins attached to some type of noseband or nosepiece. Various designs allow control and good communication to the horse and may, in some cases, be more comfortable to the horse, particularly a young animal or one with a mouth injury.

The jaquima or original bosal style hackamore is mostly seen on young horses being started under saddle in western riding disciplines. Bitless bridles and other types of hackamore are most often seen on horses used for endurance riding and trail riding. A design called the mechanical hackamore is sometimes seen at rodeos. Most horse show events do not allow bitless bridles of any kind. The exceptions are show jumping, where equipment rules are fairly generous, and in certain western horse show classes for "junior" horses, which permit use of bosal hackamore.

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Wikipedia