Is your horse well-trained, and you’re ready to add a neck rope to your riding regimen, in preparation to go bridle-less? Clinician Julie Goodnight recommends riding with a neck rope and your bridle to know you have control before you do bridle-less work.

Pick up Goodnight’s neck rope, a handy training tool designed by Goodnight for training her own horses and now available for the advanced horse and rider for riding bridle-less and in preparation for doing ground work at liberty.

This neck rope can be used for bridle-less riding, to help guide the horse without the bridle, or as a neck collar for doing ground work without a halter, in preparation for doing ground work at liberty. Twisted marine cord provides stiffness to aid in cueing while the leather breakaway keeps your horse safe. Plus, a leather strap on the tail-end allows easy connection to the saddle when not in use.

“I designed this neck rope to be a safe and effective tool to use for riding your horse without the bridle—the ultimate sign of an excellent horse and rider,” says Goodnight. “The neck rope gives you great control when needed for turning or stopping without the bridle. The stiffness and contours of the rope help your horse feel the aid better, and the leather breakaway and connector strap are safe for your horse and convenient for you. Aside from bridle-less work, this neck rope is also very handy as an intermediate step between doing groundwork with a halter/lead and working at liberty.”

For tips on training your horse to be ridden without the bridle: