Help needed with youngster refuses to let me put her bridle on

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Hi,

My 5 year old mare is getting very sure of herself and has started getting bolshy, she will not let me get her bridle on without a struggle, her head goes up in the air and she drags me around the stable. Trying to put her bridle on outside or at a show is a complete nightmare I nearly lost her in a showground she virtually dragged me! not acceptable!

I've tried putting a head collar on her and around her neck while I bridle her but she just gets strong.

I need to re-educate her to accept the bridle, I can't put it on her as has been suggested in trailer as she will back up and hit her head on the roof, shes a nightmare to load as it is.

I have had her teeth checked and all is ok. I've tried taking the bit off and putting the bridle on without the bit to start from scratch but she still prats about!

Could do with some advice on how to sort this!
 
I think its just a case of doing it 20 times a day, feed her a treat as you put it in, good girl and off 2 mins later. At first it takes as long as it takes. Be firm a sharp 'NO' when she starts to back up and ALWAYS bring her forward again before you attempt to put the bridle on.

Might pay you to do some general ground work with her manners too
 
It's difficult to advise without seeing what it is the she is actually objecting to.
Can you ask someone knowledgeable to watch you attempt to put the bridle on, to see if there is anything specific that you could change?
 
if its putting the bit in her mouth try feeding her polos or covering the bit in tooth paste

If its ears loosen the cheek pieces....we have one irish mare who hates having her bridle put on her left ear first...put her right ear through first and she stands like a saint!!
 
Hi,

she wasn't overly keen with it being put over her ears, I have to stand on a step to reach her, shes 16'2 ISH and a big girl. She wears a fulmer snaffle
 
Not being able to see the root of the objection the best thing to do is start from scratch. If you also get annoyed and cross your horse will pick up on this and it will give her a reason to be more fearful and to object.

If you continue this way and end of having battles you will be teaching your horse that she should avoid being bridled at all costs. If you do not get the message in the way she is telling you now she will reinforce her message and may end up rearing, which is not what you want. And you don't want to have to invest in a ladder in order to get the bridle on.

Horses are reactive and she is telling you that she is not comfortable about the bridle, bit or the nose band.

Always give your horse the benefit of the doubt.

She may be objecting to the bridle itself. There are areas on the bridle which can cause discomfort, headpiece, browband, noseband.

The solution will take time and you must be patient. You don't want to have to resort to taking the bridle to pieces every time you want her to wear it.

You have to act as if you have all the time in the world.

Get your horse's confidence back with just the head collar and teach her to lower her head when you pull downwards on the rope. Have you tried this at all ?

Massage your horse's head gently so she is used to being touched behind the ears etc.

I had a similar problem with my gelding and actually invested in a webbing endurance bridle with bit hangers.

1. Without the bit hangers the bridle goes on like a head collar.
2. I would put this on and potter about, brush my horse, pick out feet for example.
3. then I would clip on one of the bit hangers and potter about again, maybe groom the tail again.
4. Then the other bit hanger - I would place the saddle.
5. Then I would clip one of the hangers to the bit and gently place it in my horse's mouth and clip on the other side.

It took longer to start with but I broke the activity down into manageable sections. This is the key, not to get over excited and animated. I always spoke to my horse and gently stroked him and gave the odd piece of apple as a surprise treat.

When you do get to the stage when you can begin to place the bridle on in it's entirety move slowly and don't rush, stroke her talk to her. Don't give her a reason to object. Try to change the way you put on the bridle every so often so she doesn't anticipate. For example don't start the process each time by placing the reins over her head, this will give her a cue as to what is coming next.

You will know if you are doing the right thing by her reaction, get it right and she will remain calm.

all the best
 
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i have/had this problem with one of my youngsters who is 17.2 and just puts his head right up so I cannot reach. Had dentist out to check teeth, did the same with him, his opinion was he does it because he can,so i put the bridle over head with bit unfastened on one side, then i put hand in mouth,(where the bit lays so safe !) to keep tongue down then slide the bit in, all done as quietly and quickly as possible. He is now being quite good to have the bridle on in the usual way but this has taken me since May ish to get this right. So with all these things its a case of just quietly/calmly plugging away until they accept it. I did start giving a treat but found it to difficult with holding the treat and getting the bit in the mouth, so gave up with that.
 
Echo one of the other comments, my ID wouldnt let me put her bridle on when i first got her, took me three months of taking it apart before i put it on, tried all the polos/sugar on bit etc - turned out simply putting the 'wrong' ear in first worked a treat - tried it by accident once and never looked back!! Wish i had tried it three months earlier!!!
 
Break it down into chunks to see if you can establish what part she doesn't like. Take the bit and reins off and practise putting the bridle on over her ears... on and off again, lots of praise and treats. Then put the bit back in, minus reins (just for ease of use!) and practise putting the bit in her mouth, asking for it back again, in and out, lots of praise and treats. Then progress to combining the two....

My Clydie X is ear-shy at the moment because of the flies so I have to slide the headpiece up from his neck, over the top of his head and then bring the browband round the front, slide the straps through the loops and then put his bit in his mouth sideways and do the cheek piece up. Once it is on he's fine but get the headpiece near his ears ATM and he's not a happy boy.
 
She is pushing her luck, generally needs to learn to respect you, you'll always have trouble until she starts to work with you, by relaxing her head.
Go back to basics by doing ground work, long reining, poles and suchlike so she learns to do what you want and in a non stressed environment.
There is no reason why you can't ride with the webbing headcollar under the bridle, just remove the bridle nose-band.
If you can rope an experienced friend, this might work, as they might have a few more ideas or she might decide to let them put the bridle on [this happens!]
You can also get billet stud fixed browbands so you leave one side open till the headpiece is on.
Basically she needs to accept the bit, try a happy mouth to see if she is objecting to a cold metal bit, but now it is a habit, which is unfortunate.
If you are travelling to a show, is there any reason why you don't bridle up before you travel, the headcollar goes on top, and you will have proper control when you get there.
If you need to get higher than her you will always struggle, especially when she is stressed, and you will get pretty stressed too!
 
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I had real problems with this! – my horse also knew that if it’s not me that is putting the bridle on he can try it on… however the girl that now rides him is a little firmer with him and hasn’t had a problem since…

The way I got round it was firstly make it a nice experience for them, don’t clunk the bit against there teeth just do it calmly – a bit of molasses on the bit works a treat I personally wouldn’t give them treats and tit bit every time not unless you want to teach a youngster to take someone’s hand off… Lots of praise when your horse is good for you a nice rub and encouraging words goes a long way – You can do it several times and just repeat if she is good give her, her dinner afterwards so that she knows she did good ;-)

Hope this helps let us know how you get on
 
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