Horse Profile: Bella is a Warmblood/ Cleveland Bay, 16.1hh bay 12-yearold mare. Her previous owner had her for just 12 months as Bella's turn of speed frightened her. Bella was incredibly thin and also tended to headshake when ridden, but we thought both of these could be overcome with correct feeding and regular lessons. As we began increasing her hard feed to build her up she became more and more lively, even on non-heating rations, and bolted with my wife Ruth when out hacking which really knocked Ruth's confidence. 

We took advice and changed her diet, limiting her sugar intake and increasing her forage and work load, and got her checked out all over (back, teeth, saddle etc). This helped quite a bit, but still Bella didn't seem to enjoy being ridden, and in addition to headshaking would regularly try to evade any contact by pretending to be a llama and holding her head as high as she could, regardless of who was riding her, and especially during lessons. She also had a tendency to bolt out hacking.

We were advised by a previous instructor to put her in a standing martingale, but that just made matters much worse, so I decided to get rid of all the gadgets and start again from scratch. I had a go at just riding her round the field in a headcollar, and she was much, much better. That's when I thought I'd see what she was like in a bitless bridle.

We found the information about Dr Cook's bridle on the internet and there was a stockist relatively locally. The regular bridle didn't fit Bella, but Sheila, the proprietor of Bitless Bridles UK was very helpful, taking Bella's measurements and making one up to fit her. I tried it out in the fields at home first and Bella was a lot calmer straight away her eyes didn't glaze over, she didn't sweat and didn't seemed to be irritated like she was with a bit.

Comments (take into account design, performance & value): The leather-look washable bridle is made of lightweight material which feels a bit thin, but it works so I guess that doesn't matter!! I did think initially that it could be a bit more robust, but what you're paying for is the system and it's made Bella easier to control. The bridles come in a variety of materials so you can opt for a leather bridle if required.

As an inexperienced rider I was putting too much pressure on the bit but this bridle makes you reassess how you ride, and even if I do lean too much now, I'm not creating a battle. My instructor, Sue, keeps asking if she's the same horse!

I was initially worried about going on the road but it isn't an issue she is much calmer and easier to control, and she even seems to enjoy schooling now! The Dr Cook's Bitless Bridle is good value for money and probably cheaper than a bit and bridle combo. It's proved to be a real success for Bella as a problem horse, but I don't know whether people would choose to buy them for horses who are going OK in their normal tack.

For more information about the Dr Cook's Bitless Bridles, log onto www.bitlessbridle.co.uk