Inspiration, Perspiration and Imitation [2007]
A short discourse on why the BitlessBridle is patented, and our attitude towards our imitators
Robert Cook FRCVS, PhD
Edison spoke of invention as being 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Many have misunderstood what he really meant by this allocation. He was saying that it is all very well to have a creative idea or 'inspiration.' So far so good... that is the 10%. But it requires sheer hard work and determination ('perspiration') for the idea to be developed into a marketable product or program... that is the 90%. As Edison wrote,
"Genius? Nothing! Sticking to it is the genius! Any other bright-minded fellow can accomplish just as much if he will stick like hell and remember nothing that's any good works by itself. You've got to make the damn thing work! ...I failed my way to success."
In relation to the development of the cross-under bitless bridle, the perspiration has included:
- testing the design and getting rid of the bugs
- applying for a patent and refuting its initial rejection
- achieving a patent and defending the same
- finding a way to mass-produce the bridle at the right price
- discovering and training suppliers
- obtaining the necessary capital to manufacture, distribute and sell the bridle
- creating a demand where previously there was none
- persuading horsemen of the invention's validity and value and why it represents an improvement on the bit, an item that perhaps they have been using since childhood, and which their ancestors have used for 5000 years
- drawing on 50 years of veterinary research and several decades of experience as a rider, to write and publish articles in the scientific and horseman's literature, explaining why the bit is a bad Bronze Age idea and why the cross-under design is a major advance in equine welfare
- surveying horse skulls in Natural History Museums around the country, to document the damage the bit does to the jaw and teeth
- creating an educational website
- writing a book about the disadvantages of bits and the advantages of the first bitless method that is also painless
- refuting the ancient myth that a bit controls a horse
- giving lectures, presentations and demonstrations on the research
- explaining why the new bridle works, how it works, how it is fitted and how it should be introduced
- overcoming the riders and drivers fears of going bitless
- providing technical support on all types, breed and age of horse, ridden and driven by horsewomen and horsemen of all ages and experience, in all disciplines, and under all conditions
It is difficult to allocate credit for the initial inspiration. I certainly don't claim it myself. Horsemen have known for generations that horses can be ridden very well by attaching reins to a simple head collar and crossing them under the chin. This practice is familiar to experienced horsemen in the hunting and racing worlds and probably in many other worlds too. We may never be able to put a name to the inventor of this valuable idea. As far as I am aware, the first person to incorporate the idea into what I now describe as a cross-under bitless bridle was a bull-dogger in the rodeo world by the name of Ike Grimsley of Swink, Colorado. Grimsley, nicknamed 'Ink of Swink,' worked in New Jersey, Philadelphia and the rodeo circuit in the early 1950s. In 2005, I was shown a Grimsley bridle by his friend, Leon Manchester who, at 81, was still using the bridle daily. Its design was identical to one that I had been introduced to in 1997 by Allan Buck of Ramona, California, with the one difference that it had a line of copper wire stitched to the underside of the noseband and poll piece. Grimsley never tried to market his bridle. It was simply a design that was made-up as needed for a small circle of his fellow bull-doggers.
Buck tried to market the design but ultimately failed. When his attempt 'died' in 1999 I determined to prevent the idea from dying at the same time. A proverb from Borneo encapsulates a truth, the egg laid by a duck is sometimes hatched by a hen. In 'perspiring' on behalf of the bridle I have acted as the hen to hatch Grimsley's egg. Through my agents in many countries outside the USA, the BitlessBridle is now available worldwide.
Such has been the success of this humane development that, in the last few years in particular, many foreign companies have started to market copies of the bridle. Most of these are straight copies. Though many are marketed by persons who claim to have thought of the idea independently, which is dishonest, at least the horse is still the beneficiary. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I am less sanguine about companies that combine unacknowledged imitation with denigration. Such people, having taken silent advantage of my groundwork, make unnecessary modifications to the design and now promote their product by denigrating the BitlessBridle with false information, i.e. using 'FUD,' the ploy of spreading 'fear, uncertainty and doubt.' When such a company adds insult to injury by attempting to export their product to the USA this is both aggravating and illegal. The cross-under principle of bridle design is protected by US Patent No. 6,591,589. Any company that sells any version of a cross-under bridle in the USA infringes the above patent. If you are confused by these negative marketing campaigns and need clarification, please contact info@bitlessbridle.com or sheila@bitlessbridle.co.uk.
Robert Cook
You may also like to read "Confronting Misinformation"
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