At 08:21:47 on 08.06.11, Flicka wrote:
This article really interested me as one of our racehorses was a bleeder. This led to behavioural problems. I think if we'd realized that was his problem earlier on (sometimes, as in his case, they don't show blood coming from the nose)we would have tried different treatments. However by then his association of 'fear' and the racetrack was so deep rooted we felt it was at his age, too much to undo and kinder to retire him. So I was interested to read this article where the vet Dr Cook suggests that in many cases bleeding is caused by a horse resisting the bit and drawing back his tongue. Bitless racing? May sound mad, or is it?
http://tinyurl.com/6jh8clr

At 01:51:58 on 20.06.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Not at all mad lol grenville bleeds from his nose when he wears a regular cavesson (not a full on bleed its more a tiny trickle of blood) because he resists the bit ALOT and pulls his tongue right back so he has to wear a flash or go bitless, i do both. However i don't know about racing bitless grenville is very very strong in his bitless and i find i need to use a lot of seat and leg controls to control speed and movement which i think would be very difficult when jockeys are off the horses back and have very short stirrups... It could work though and i guess there would be only one way to find out

At 08:32:30 on 20.06.11, Flicka wrote:
Do you remember this blog post about a very interesting trainer called Mark Smith who has worked with race horses for a long time. He teaches people to ride at speed by making them ride in a head collar.
http://blog.trotontv.com/2010/06/bitless-not-brainless.html

At 01:32:20 on 21.06.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I do remember this lol i just don't think it would work with jockeys being used to riding with a bit i find bits and bitless really different to ride in and my friend rides grenville sometimes and even though i find him pretty cooperative in it she can't ride in it yet she rides him fine in a bit so it wouldn't just depend on the horse but also the rider but i love bitless and would love everything to be done bitless! Dressage, racing, XC the lot! But honestly i don't see it happening especially since a lot of race horse trainers (the ones i know) are REALLY closed minded and are unlikely to try new things that could risk their chances of winning.

At 17:07:52 on 24.08.11, HorseVet wrote:
Bleeding has nothing to do with the bit. It is usually caused by a burst blood vessel in the lungs resulting from low grade respiratory infection. If a horse is resisting the bit the teeth haven't been done properly and unfortunately this is all too common. Best wishes HorseVet
http://www.naturalhealingsolutions.co.uk

At 13:34:29 on 30.08.11, Flicka wrote:
Thanks HorseVet, I didn't know that bleeding could be down to a low grade respiratory infection. I quite agree that a lot of horses teeth haven't been done properly and this was certainly the case with our horse. Once we got him home, I got a decent dentist to sort him out. He had had his teeth done countless times before! It actually makes me pretty angry that lots of horse owners are putting their faith in an equine dentist who doesn't do the job properly. I've come across it time and time again :(

At 15:52:41 on 07.02.12, luckylucy wrote:
I agree with Horse Vet about bleeders. Behaviourally I have found that a horse that is known to 'take off', is often them just wanting to get it over and done with because they KNOW that they are going to bleed and it is fear driven. I can imagine they feel like they are drowning. ANY blood coming down the nose is not 'just a nose bleed' it is a full on blood vessel rupture and should never be taken lightly. Horses frequently have bleeds that never come down the nose so be warned, especially if buying a horse out of racing.