cant get his bridle on

[asbo]

horse went from lowering his head to get his bridle on to now sticking it up in the air so you can not get it on

had his teeth done, poll & back checked , bridle & bit fit checked.

it can take 30 mins to get it on sometimes, at the moment i can only get it on with a treat under the bit & the bit covered in apple juice

at 17hh hes way to big to do this & if i stand on something he turns away from me or pushes me off the stool

hes a very strong horse who needs to be hacked in a pelham or a waterford as he tends to bugger off if he gets the chance

any ideas?

 

[jumpthemoon]

I know someone who has this problem with her big horse. She has started to leave a headcollar on under the bridle so she can use it to pull his head down. I usually manage it by holding the bridle in my right hand whilst also putting my right arm around his head and hand on his nose. Use left hand to tease the bit into mouth. If he is too strong for you to do this I would suggest a headcollar though, until he has forgotten about it!

 

[Michelle73]

I think he's trying to tell you he's not happy about something and if he tanks off there's a big lack of respect for you. I'd go right back to basics, ground work, you can't beat it. I took on a horse who threw his head in the air, clampped his mouth shut and closed his eyes when you tried to put the bridle on but that was because his previous owners had just clanked the bit around and crushed his ears when putting the bridle on. Only took two days for this horse to realise I wasn't his owners. Now he curls his head around me and holds his mouth wide open ready for the bit! If you have the respect on the ground you'll have it when you're on board. So far it sounds like you've tried everything I would have thought of. Which Waterford are you using, is it a gag, snaffle, fulmer?

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

I have the same problem, unfortuntely he has got no better, just be patient and whathever you do do not get frustrated clumsy andgry or anything with it.

I would carry on with the apple stuff

My horse was checked over and is fine, teeth, vet etc, even has a day off a week.

 

[lizzie_liz]

Is there something wrong with his ears?

We had a horse who didn't like her ears being touched so to put a bridle on you had to undo the bit from one cheekpiece and place the headpiece on and then put the bit in its mouth. sorry not explained very well

 

[the watcher]

It may be he is just being naughty about putting the bridle on, but it is worth checking his ears..all those little midges can make them very sensitive around their heads

 

[asbo]

he is in the hanging mouth waterford.

he was worse when i 1st got him, he used to hunt & x/c then had a year off work then i got him.

he was doing really well on the ground, was just the bridle problem but since Saturday the ground work has gone out the window again

he is schooled in a french link snaffle & goes fine in that if in a school or a walk/trot hack but last time i cantered on a hack in that he almost galloped of the end of the hills

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

must admit aswell, mine has always had a problem with being ear shy

 

[the watcher]

[ QUOTE ]
Is there something wrong with his ears?

[/ QUOTE ]


OOoooh spooky!

 

[asbo]

he can be a bit funny about his ears actually, will try to have a look in them tomorrow

tbh he knows he can walk over me if he wants, last owner did nothing with him, he released hes a lot stronger than me & tries it on.

he was a total git yesterday, took a stable door down & broke every bit of twine he was tied too, not been like this for ages

 

[asbo]

it seems to be the whole putting the bit in, i can put the headpiece on with no problems but struggle to get the bit in.

trouble is the more he yanks his head away the more chance there is of the bit banging off his teeth

 

[Michelle73]

[ QUOTE ]
he can be a bit funny about his ears actually, will try to have a look in them tomorrow

tbh he knows he can walk over me if he wants, last owner did nothing with him, he released hes a lot stronger than me & tries it on.

he was a total git yesterday, took a stable door down & broke every bit of twine he was tied too, not been like this for ages

[/ QUOTE ]

Definately sounds to me like you need to re-assert your authority on the ground. I'd spend a few days working on your ground work, lunging and making sure he totally submits to you on the ground before moving forward. So many people just forget about the ground work lunging is a great way of making sure they know when and how to stop - I practice walk to halt to walk then move up to walk to trot and back to walk and then trot to halt then stright to trot again. As soon as he's balanced enough in canter then I will be doing canter to halt and back to canter. I teach turn on the fore hand from the ground first too. Also the porcupine game is great way of teaching your horse to respect your space. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, just thinking of those who don't know very much who may be reading.

 

[rach1984horse]

asbo I used to have this problem with a horse I rode at college. What I used to do was un hook the bit at one side, put the rest of the bridle on being careful not let the bit bang him in the face, then once I had done the noseband up you can have your right hand under the noseband, and use your left hand to get the bit in.

It maybe won't solve the problem, but it does mean you can get the bit in.

 

[ecrozier]

Our mar4e can be like this sometimes too, I thnk it is a remebered habit from before. Like yours, she did lots of huntiing/xc and was owned by some fairly rough people by all accounts (not saying everyone who hunts is rough on their horses but there are a few!). When we first got her, she would do it all the time, with patience (didn't need any 'games', just fair and consistant handing) she is now fine 9 out of ten times, still sometimes does it, but getting less and less frequent.
I have more trouble than my husband though, despite being much more experienced, because I am short! I'm sure that she feels me having to stretch up to reach over her ears etc, so thinks 'why is she tensing up', then she tenses and pulls her head away. Whereas he can stay much more relaxed because he doesn't have to stretch! Does that make sense? Can you use something more stable than a stool, eg a step?

 

[asbo]

thanks everyone.

i do ground work almost every day with him but will up it a bit

i have the short problem as well

the stool is fairly stable but he turns his head round so i cant get near his mouth

was considering a hackamore so he gets ridden but still work on putting his bridle on each day?

 

[Nels]

I am having the same problem with my new horse - he is fine with all ground work and very well behaved. I can easily put a headcollar on him in the middle of the field, lunge him with a cavesson on etc and he obeys all my voice commands. But the minute i get the bridle out he lifts his head so high I can't reach and if i persist he actually rears up so I can't put it on at all. Have tried building the bridle on him and then doing the bit last - some days he won't even let the leather near him and other days that is fine and it is just the bit that is the problem. I can't tie him up because he panics and rears up even more. He has already had his teeth checked by a vet but I am getting a dentist out again this week.....sometimes I think he is just being naughty since he is only 5, but other times he looks genuinely scared. I am being very patient but any advice would be very much appreciated.

Asbo - sorry to add all that to your thread! And I do sympathise with your problem....am also considering the bitless bridle route to see if it helps....

 

[asbo]

happy for you to add on, if it means we both get help thats fab.

just wondering did you see him getting tacked up when you went to try him?

my lad was in a full size bridle when he actually needed a extra full & it was hurting him behind the ears which could be a reason both mine & yours could be doing it?

 

[zigzag]

My mare is difficult to bridle cos sh has aural plaques and ws held down for treatment (before I had her) she just raises her head to high so i can't get bridle on, have solved it by using a piece of apple and as she takes it slip the bit in as she is munching I can easily slip bridle over her ears, I think with her it is psychological and she thinks she is going to be hurt if I distract her she is fine, and yesterday managed to bridle her without apple though she had a piece after, I think it takes time to trust,

 

[Grumpy Herbert]

My mare has aural plaques too, and is difficult to get the bridle on - sometimes she'll let you do it normally, sometimes you have to take the bridle apart. You can buy cheekpieces with clips on for the bit, which are helpful. They would probably be good for your chap, as you've said you can get the headpiece on ok. They worked for us!

 

[Michelle73]

I think you're all doing a marvellous job of sticking with your patience and perseverence. I hope that all your problems will be solved one day soon through your hard work. Out of interest, all those of you who are having problems how long have you had the horse and how long have you had the problem?????????????????????? Just curious if its a similar time span for everyone???????????

 

[asbo]

thank you

i have had him almost a year & he has been doing this since november time

 

[OWLIE185]

Had this problem with our Shire X Thoroughbred. Used to take the bridle apart and assemble it on her which worked a treat and eventually she allowed us to put it on as normal.

 

[*hic*]

Re: timespans: my little cob had to have the bridle assembled round him when we got him. It took over a year before we could ALWAYS put hte bridle on normally but there is sometimes even now an issue about you putting anything over his head onto his neck - ie reins or martingale neck strap.


As for helping others: my youngster has been broken using a pressure halter. The first thing she learnt was to drop her head when pressure was applied by pulling the rope down. It's her resting position now and she can be left in the middle of the field while you go and get a piece of tack you've forgotten and she won't move. She has also been taught that her bridle is put on by one hand going over her head between her ears holding the headpiece. Her head is of course low as she's waiting for us. Now that we are sometimes lazy and catch her with her bridle I put the reins just behind her ears and pull her head down with them using the same pressure point as her halter.

It may take a while to teach but using a pressure halter makes life so easy with a potentially bolshy horse!