Emma Bearman Photography
WHY BITLESS?
Simply, horses do not need anything in their mouths. They are very able to interpret subtle and kind cues. Many of the old masters started horses bitless, as do western riders. There is no reason other than tradition to move to bitting horses. Transcend bridles are designed to sit comfortably on the horses face, with no pressure needed. Communication should come from weight, energy, intent, voice, body, and softly from the reins. A bridle is often required for competition, or riding in public places. Transcend is a smart, quality, bridle to provide subtle confirmation of cues to the horse.
THE TRANSCEND STORY
the PRE-EMINENT bitless experience
I went bitless in 2006, and was stunned to find that my horse at the time, who had been in a rubber Pelham with elastic curb, was transformed by removing the bit, so much happier, and the relationship between us immediately improved. I had no fear of being unsafe bitless, and in fact, felt very much safer than I had bitted. I have never been a competitive rider but I have always wanted my horses to be able to carry me comfortably, using their backs well.
I worked my way through many of the available bitless options but didn’t feel entirely happy with any of them, and so started to experiment with home-made bridles. What was simply an experimental bridle for me and my horses became Transcend Bitless Bridle ®. The double bridle of bitless bridles.
I designed Transcend in 2009, but ceased production in 2012 as I was unable to make the bridle widely known without social media (which wasn’t viable with my job at the time) I relaunched via FaceBook in March 2016.
What I wanted to achieve was a bridle which had no indirect impacts, no mixed messages, no poll pressure, no squeezing, no leverage. I wanted something that would enable direct communication with immediate release, and as soft and gentle as possible.
