He thinks hes a giraffe...

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Arniebear

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My lad has a new game and im not sure i like playing with him!!! :D He puts his nose as far up as he can get it when you try to put a bridle and even a headcollar on (although not always with the headcollar) hes 16.3hh and im merely 5ft3!! As soon as u can get a hand around his nose hes fine. He likes his ears being scratched when you dont have a bridle in your hand! So hes not head shy and the minute you have food in your hand he will lower his head and let you put the bridle on, hes 6 in may so i dont want to teach him that if he lets me put his bridle on he always gets a treat! He can be quite mouthy when treats are involved so i try not to treat him lots! Does anyone know of a way to get him out this habit?! Ive tried the obvious things hes in a nice english leather comfort bridle that fits him correctly so its not pain related and like i said as soon as you have food in your hand hes fine, i think its just an avoidance tactic unfortunatly im a short arse!!!!

Sorry for grammar and spelling issues on the iphone in work again!!!!
 
I'm no expert but it sounds like he's basically just taking the pee and being disrespectful. I would keep trying as usual, grabbing nose etc. then treat him when you have caught him. Maybe eventually he'll get bored and realise you're always going to win?
 
Sorry cant quote! Yeah he is just taking the pee- little sod!! Nahhh i love him really hes a cutie!!! Just a naughty one who also has an obsession with zips and toggles!!! I was just wandering if anyone else had any other tactics! For now ill stick with the food thing and hope he gets bored enough to find a new game!!!!! :)
 
haha reading this was like reading about myself, also 5ft 3 with a 16.3 - well he's 17.1 now, but as a 6 year old my horse did exactly this!! I had to put a pack of polo's in my mouth and use my one hand go get his nose and the other hand to put his bridle on! Once his one ear was in he was generally fine. In the end, i scapped the polo's and always went to put his bridle on by standing on something (portable mounting block or bucket) so he couldn't get higher than me at any point. If i was at a show and didnt have something to stand on, i'd tie him up shorter than usual and put his bridle on before removing his headcollar x After i got his bridle on about 8 times first time he stopped doing it x
 
fox used to do this, sometimes hed even let me catch him then lift his head so fast my feet would come off the ground! he's stopped it now though and just opens his mouth for the bit :)

my trick was to use a polo to get his head low as possible then grab him before it got too high haha
 
Try putting the bridal on then taking it off and repeat for some time, rewarding only when it's on.
Show him the treat, but only give it when the bridle is on.

But if he's doing it with the headcollar as well, start with that, it will be easier for you. Put it on, take it off. Horses are bright enough to figure that the headcollar/bridle are connected to being asked to do something. Break that cycle so the horse doesn't know why you are putting them on, take him out and hand graze him, for instance, for 10 minutes

Also with the headcollar, don't feed until he's wearing it.
 
I've been through this with a few horses, where they evade having the bridle on, and at a small 5 ft 4, they usually win. I found unbuckling the reins and re bucking round their necks help stop them preempting my moves, as you haven't done the whole over the head thing. And then grabbing hold of the nose with right hand, and not letting go. One horse lifted me off the ground once, and realised they couldn't get away from me.

Alternatively, stand yourself on a step.
 
Teach him that pressure a couple of inches behind the ears means lower your head, then put the reins over (or un-buckle and re-buckle round neck) shift them up behind his ears and apply a little pressure to get him to bring his head down to a sensible level.
 
Rustle a wrapper in your pocket and gently take his nose while he is looking for a treat. I wouldn't give a treat in a situation like this because you would just be encouraging him to misbehave for a treat to behave, counter productive in my opinion!

But a little teasing works wonders, he'll get bored eventually :p
 
Thanks everyone! Im glad its not just me who suffers/has suffered with this issue! Hes such a cheeky chappy :D will try all of the above thanks again guys :)
 
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