You’ve probably seen war bridles in western movies or in books or art depicting the old West with its images of First Nations warriors riding the plains on their horses, controlled by just a bit of rawhide around the lower jaw. Also known as a Native American bridle, the traditional war bridle has no head stall, no noseband or browband and no throat latch ‒ it is essentially a loop of rope that sits in the horse’s mouth acting as a bit with the two ends containing rings for reins.
War bridles.
Today’s applications are varied and may include use on any particularly head-shy horse, or a horse with any skin or dental issues or other reason it can’t or won’t wear a headstall and bit. Some horse owners have tried it to have fun and push their training to another level, but it’s not necessarily a solution to any particular training issues.
According to blogger and horsewoman Tatum Norris, who writes for her site curlyfarm.com, war bridles are for horses “with plenty of training teaching them to respond to cues from a traditional bit. Certainly, history would show that many horses have been broken to this style of bridle without previous training, but for safety, comfort, and sanity of both horse and rider you’ll want to first have a horse that responds well to gentle rein cues and turns off pressure from your legs before transitioning to a war bridle.”