JP, yep. so many people assume bitless is nicer but the leverage can make it just as nasty as any bit. totally depends on the bridle you use, and like you said, some horses don't like that pressure
Mine would hate being bitless. Wasn't a fan of face/nose pressure. Wasn't even a fan of the 2-3 times I tried to ride around in a leather halter. Rope halters and bitless bridles would have been horrible for him. Simple double joined bridle and a variety of ergonomic, loose fit bridles for us.
It really just depends on what Oklahoma likes. If she doesn't like the bitless bridle, then I'll have to do research into what type of bit(s) she might have been shown in.
Both of mine are ridden bit less for leisure rides, they both ride in a Ken Mcnabb lifter when training, my reiner also rides in a Bob Avila double ring snaffle when training, and she shows in a correction bit but don't remember which one.
Rocky actually needs bitless because of his mouth design. I wanna see if Oklahoma will go bitless, but it's hard to say with her. Denali can keep her bit since she can't ever make up her mind on if something's scary or not