Samenvatting

Since 2010 the KNHS, the Dutch equestrian association, has allowed horse-rider combinations to use a bitless bridle during official dressage tests. The crossunder bitless bridle is one of the most commonly used bridles during these tests. Research has shown that horses wearing a crossunder bridle exhibit lower heart rates compared to horses wearing a bitted bridle but conflicting results have been found concerning heart rate variability and the frequency of stress related behaviours. No performance related comparison between the crossunder bridle and bit has yet been conducted in the context of a dressage competition. Therefore the aim of this research was to compare performance and stress levels of horses with and without bit.