newbie wanting to know where to start

Hi all, I've recently signed up after giving a lot of thought to going bitless with my horse. I've tried nearly a dozen different bits and no matter who rides him, his tongue just hangs out, he grabs the bit and off he goes.
The only thing is, I'm not sure how much I trust myself and his training. I've only had him six months and in that time he's twice gone into a panicky gallop on the trail. Granted, that was in our first month together and since then our bond is growing and he's easier to get under control. He's a dressage horse, so I'm not the least bit afraid he'll get out of control indoors though I do wonder if there's any particular bit that is the best suited for dressage?
I was thinking of the micklem multi bridle because I could try out the three different bitless options to see which suits him best (that is, hoping that any of these works??) Are there other bridles that might be a better starting point?
Thanks!

Welcome here Rumba!

I am not very knowledgeable about what bitless is better than another, so I will let the very well experienced people in here advise you on what may be best for your horse. I just wanted to welcome you here .

For what it's worth, I use a Nurtural Bitless on my horse. I'm happy with it, but because of my lack of knowledge in fitting, I'm still not 100% sure that I have it fitted perfectly. My mare seems to be fine in it, but I don't know if it could be even better. I've done my best to fit it like they say to on the video, so that's all I can do . Not a lot of bitless people to talk to in my area, which is too bad.

I use a Dr. Cook's and they seem to work well. Like Cyndi, not too many bitless in my area as well, so I had a friend come out and help me fit it.

It's working for me so far!

Where to start? with the right attitude to the problem. I first went bitless when I finished a 30 mile endurance ride on Dancing and got vetted out for my horse having a bruised mouth. I was horrified and I thought, well, I can't stop her in any bit, so bitless at least I can't hurt her mouth and do you know she was no more and no less difficult to control in a halter than she was in a pelham. My point being, that your horse needs retraining and deciding to go bitless means you are determined not to hurt him any more. Dancing still runs off with me as everyone here knows after 7 years bitless but the difference is that I trust her, she runs for fun not for fear, and when we HAVE to stop she always will - we have an understanding.
Now, Dancing is just a mad horse who likes to go fast - I can't pony her because she pulls my lead horse along -but most horses go fast out of fear, or pain, or because they think that is want you want them to do. The first thing you need to find out is which of those 3 things it is, unless you are lucky enough to have a horse like Dancing in which case just hang on to your hat!
Keep posting her we will do all we can to help. Where in the world are you?

Oh, I forgot to say, any bitless will do, just pick one you like the look of, I think what is on the horses face has no relevance to what is in it's head. Just my opinion.

I use the nurtural and the lightrider depending where I am and what I am doing - all I know is that the more Trelawny matures, the less I need to pick up the reins at all - except to stop him eating grass!!!!

Thanks for your replies.
I had a awful experience yesterday and I feel terrible about it. I was mounting my horse in the arena, getting ready to join a girlfriend for a short ride outdoors. A lady let her very energetic horse loose in the paddock next to the arena and for some reason or another my friends horse spooked and mine joined. I was JUST sitting down into the saddle and had no feet in stirrups and actually had my back to the whole situation when I felt his muscles tense under me and before I could even blink he was off and so was I. I felt terrible because my hand didn't let go of the rein and when I stood up i could see I had pulled on the bit. I felt AWFUL! I wanted to cry and spent the next hour apologizing to my horse. I still feel terrible.
On a more positive note, my dressage instructor rides this horse once a week and I mentioned that I wanted to start him bitless and she said "Oh, I have one in my locker, just pick it up when you want to try it." But, she left before I could get the locker combo and therefore I didn't have it on him when I took my tumble. I believe she has a Dr Cooks cross-under style.
I had ordered the Micklem a couple of weeks ago but his size is backordered, so hopefully it'll come in shortly. Until then I'll be using my instructors and a halter.

Sorry about your little episode! That is another reason why I went bitless - I don't have steady hands! But we are working on that!

Let us know how it works out for you!

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Horses thankfully forgive us for the things we do to them unknowingly. Good thing you have an understanding instructor that has a bitless bridle =D

Personally when I am looking for a bitless bridle I am looking for something that gives me suttle communication and no pain.
Because of this I am not a fan of any bitless that places pressure on the mental nerve of the face. The mental nerve is part of the trigmenal nerve branch and sits just back of the bottom lip. It is a very sensitive nerve. A lot of "harsher" bits have curb chains and so do mechanical hackamores. Curb chains, straps etc amplify the pounds of pressure you pull by 10 x or more. When/if I pull back on both reins (which is not often I want my horse to respond to my body/voice so I use one rein most of the time if needed) I want my horse to feel pounds for pounds of what I am pulling by, not by pounds of pain.
I use a nurtural bitless bridle. I have tried many bridles through my riding career like hackamores, sidepulls, bosals, other cross unders such as dr.cooks and a few amish made ones. I train a few young (and sometimes old) horses a year to ride and drive. Every one of them go bitless regardless of their training. I find if they can go in a nurtural they could be ridden in a bosal or sidepull or even halter. I just found I needed suttler cues and this is what the Nurtural gave me. I remember riding in a bit and I always wanted to believe and was told I had very soft, elastic hands. I remember what I used to have to do to stop horses or slow them down. Now especially with my mare Indigo all I have to do is close my hands a little. It's a world of a difference. Some horses transform right away, others it takes a wile but mostly it's the rider that needs adjusting and as they find they can feel what their horse is doing because it's relaxed, quieter cues come naturally.

Well, I tried my instructors bridle and I am over the moon! Consider me sold. I rode my boy a half hour in the outdoor arena just getting a grasp of how he'd feel under me. I felt like he tucked his nose to the inside a bit more, so maybe I was trying for too much contact. however, he was relaxed (even a bit in slow motion) and yet he was on my leg, and tracking up from behind and stepping under beautifully. He was also easy to stop, at the merest suggestion from me and that has been a challenge. He usually tries to push through the bit and it ends up being a fight.
I also took him on a very short 30 minute ride through the forest with a short canter and he was lovely.
It'll take some time to get a grasp of rein aids, because I did feel that was different.
I don't know if you can see, but this is the bridle I used. It's a real simple deal with a crossunder chin and applies pressure to nose and under the chin. I liked it a lot because it feels like the pressure is released pretty quickly.

Great to hear that this bitless worked so well for you!!!! What brand is it? It looks really nice. No adjustments to make on the cheeks !

And you are another person who is able to post pics in your posts!! Do you use a web-based photo site, like Picasa, or something, that allows you to transfer photos?? I've tried to post pics in here, and I get a pop-up type of link, but I can't even get that to work for me.

That is so great! We hear stories like this each and every day when people choose bitless.

However I can't see the images?

You can't see the image? Might it be a setting on your computer that's causing the problem? Maybe that's my problem with not being able to post pics in my posts - a setting. Grr...my husband, the computer genius, is away till Sunday, so I can't check with him. Here I am, stuck with being able to look at fabulous pics, but not being able to post any! LOL!!

BTW, since you can't see the pic, it looks like a soft rider bridle...at least I think that's what they're called .

Nope, it's not a soft rider!! The one I was thinking of is the Light Rider...but that's still not the one that's in the pic, because the light rider has a cheek strap.

It looks and sounds like its an under the nose job like the Light Rider, but it doesn't look anything like mine. I'd be v. interested to know what it is Rumba