Double bridles versus snaffles – do we have all the evidence on which to make decisions about their use?
In recent years, there has almost been a polarised position developing when it comes to double bridles versus snaffles. Many welfare lobbyists have called for a ban on doubles based on the “precautionary principle”. The “precautionary principle” is a decision-making approach used in situations where there is scientific uncertainty about potential risks. It advocates taking preventive action to avoid harm even if the evidence of risk is not fully conclusive, prioritising safety over inaction. And in terms of horse welfare, this is an admirable ethos.
However, with large organisations, stakeholders, vested interests, commercial interests, and strongly held beliefs and traditions all at play, things move slowly. And in some respects, this has allowed researchers to fill some of the knowledge holes. In the past few years, there have been contrasting and sometimes conflicting studies on the double bridle. There has also been a lot of emotion at play, and of course, the images of horses with blue tongues. Tight nosebands do not look pretty and must cause discomfort, possibly pain or even long-term injury, and it is good that there have been steps to limit noseband tightness in some areas of competition; it would be amazing to see this across the board.
I’ve been delighted to have been able to contribute to some of the recent research around bits and bridles with a range of collaborators, and have ongoing research in this area. I was really excited to see a study published in the past few days from researchers at Aberystwyth University and the University of Portsmouth entitled: Influences of Double Versus Snaffle Bridles on Equine Behaviour at Dressage Competitions and Factors That Interact with Their Effect.
The group developed an ethogram (essentially a checklist of all possible behaviours a horse could show during a dressage test, such as bucking, tail swishing, mouth opening, etc) and then scored 135 British Dressage tests, 70 in double bridles and 65 in snaffles across Elementary, Medium, Advance Medium PSG and Inter I. At Elementary, 77% were in snaffles, whilst at Medium it was 59%, and at Advanced Medium it was 56%, but at PSG it was only 7%, and at Inter I it was only 5%. This really makes the interpretation of snaffle vs double at PSG and Inter I very limited, as the total number of horses in snaffles was only three, unfortunately.
Key Findings
- All horses showed mouth opening with an average frequency of 11 times per minute of the test.
- 87% of horses showed tail swishing, with an average frequency of 7 times per minute during a test.
- Double and snaffle bridles affect horse behaviour differently.
- Head tilting, head tossing, tripping, and low levels of tail swishing were similar across competition levels for the double bridle but increased with competition level for the snaffle bridle.
- Incorrect canter lead, gait change were higher when using a double bridle compared to a snaffle bridle.
- Mouth open, tongue exposure, and jaw twisting were higher at lower competition levels for double bridles only, but increased at higher competition levels for both the snaffle bridle and the double bridle.
- The authors concluded that there is “a multifaceted interaction between bridle type, inferred rider skill level, and riding style.”
Bottom Line
Certainly an interesting study, and as always, answers some but also raises more questions. The authors concluded “Further hypothesis-driven research to assess the impacts of individual and combined forms of affecting factors on conflict behaviour, as identified in this paper, is needed in order to fully understand the complex interaction of bridle type, rider skill, and ridden head angle and its impact on the welfare of the ridden horse.” We have some more research in this area that should be published shortly, which will complement this paper. The unfortunate aspect of this paper is that at PSG and Inter I the data is based on observations of only 3 horses in snaffles compared with 43 in double bridles which makes it impossible to draw any conclusions about the behaviour of horses in double bridles at this level compared with horses in snaffles.
Faithfull, R.; Lewis, K.; Drury, E.; McBride, S. Influences of Double Versus Snaffle Bridles on Equine Behaviour at Dressage Competitions and Factors That Interact with Their Effect. Animals 2025, 15, 1782. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15121782
