Drawing on decades of research in this area, David Mellor says it's time that horse riders acknowledge that some methods they use cause pain.| Horses and People
Bit Blindness The term “bit blindness”, coined in 2020, emphasises that after its inception four millennia ago, bit use in horses has long been normalised [1,2]. Moreover, not only has the use of bits been normalised, so too were the distinctive behaviours associated with that use. Indeed, this dual normalisation was so widely accepted that […] The post Bit Blindness and Questioning the Concept of Pain-induced Musculoskeletal Lameness appeared first on Horses and People.| Horses and People
A critique of “The Role of the Equestrian Professional in Bridle and Bit Fit in the United Kingdom“ In this compelling critique, Professor Emeritus David Mellor examines a recent study published in Animals by Kathryn Nankervis, Jane Williams, Diana Fisher, and Russell MacKechnie-Guire. Mellor questions the almost complete absence of references to bit-induced mouth pain, […] The post Bit-Induced Mouth Pain and Wider Equine Welfare Assessments Ignored in a Paper on Bridle and Bit Fit appe...| Horses and People