Horse shaking head wildly when bridle being put on??

Supertrooper

Supertrooper

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He's not always done it and it's only when you go to put his ears through but he'll then start tossing/throwing head around. Once it's on he's fine again and is fine having headcollar put on.

When I ride I often lean forward and rub his ears as a reward and he doesn't react.

Teeth are being checked on Wednesday but any other ideas???
 
Sounds like there is pain somewhere. Could the vet check his ears while his teeth are being checked? Maybe he has ear mites or something? I am not very good on ear mites or something. I think the vet needs to check the whole head for pain, especially the ears and not just the teeth for this one.
Does anyone else other than you ever put the bridle on? Could the bridle have been dragged across the ears or the ears folded over to get the bridle on causing the horse to be afraid of it? Once the vet completely rules out pain you need to start thinking about fear.
What about the bit? Is the horse completely happy in his bit? I think it is more likely to be something to do with the ears like ear mites, but once you have ruled that out than this is worth checking. Who rides the horse? What are their hands like? Is he happy to be ridden?

If I were you the first thing I would do is the vet head - ears - teeth check with ears as a priority.
Secondly I would teach the horse to lower his head to the floor to be bridled once you have established there is absolutely no pain and no one else causing fear. Take all the other stuff off the bridle like noseband, reins, curb chain etc and loosen the headstall. Put apple sauce or something lovely on the bit and work on bridling slowly and quietly with the horse opening his mouth to take the treat from the bit. You can tighten the headstall once the bridle is on so it should be much more comfortable for his ears.
 
We have two ponies who do this and I think they have been handled roughly in the past and suspect athe use of an ear twitch. I knew another pony who had aural plaques and the bridle had to be taken apart to put on and off rather than pulling it over her ears.
 
I'm not sure how old he is, although I know you've not really had him long. Could it be that his bridle has become too tight for him? I know he's a Shirex and so presumably he has a big head. I used the old Clyde's bridle (which had had to have a specially made noseband) on the next Clyde but had to buy a longer browband. I am now using the same bridle on my newest horse but when I find a 6 1/2"bit that is not a Dutch gag, I will need some longer cheek pieces. These big horses are always difficult to fit a bridle onto IME. I've also found that they have often been roughly handled in the past because people are scared/rushing etc and they tend to put their heads up which makes matters worse. As someone else suggested, I train mine to put their heads down for bridling when I'm sure that the tack fits.
 
I think it may be that the bridle is too tight, I have now lengthened it a bit so will see how he settles with that (not tried him with it yet) I also think it may be that he has such a thick mane sitting under it, that is making it tight so am going to cut a bridle path for the head piece to sit.

I totally agree that I think he's had some rough handling at some point, I think because they are big people think they have to be bullied into doing everything. He was anxious about everything when we first got him, he is incredibly sensitive.

He has a fulmer snaffle now (was in a plain snaffle) and is alot more settled in his mouth with the fulmer. He will happily put his head down and take the bit and it is only when I go to the top of his head that he gets anxious. As soon as that bits done he settles again.

His ears look fine and he never shakes or worries with his head at any other time xx
 
We had to get his 6 1/2 inch fulmer off eBay, it's ex-military!!!! They're a nightmare to find anything to fit.

Any ideas where I could find a shire x sized bridle!?!?

Oh and he's 13 xxx
 
All the above ideas sound good, I would also suggest possibly pain in his poll? This could be made worse if like you said the bridle was a bit tight where his mane was under it. A vet or physio should be able to check that out for you :)
 
Belle used to hate having her bridle put on or anyone touching her ears whilst she was tied up (but generally OK with you touching them whilst she was in the field). I definitely think she had had some rough handling, maybe ears twitched, so perhaps it's the same for your boy?

For what it's worth, Belle is fine with it now. I also try to touch her ears in the field when she's comfortable with it, to get her really used to it.
 
One of the most common causes of headshaking and largely overlooked is the browband being too short.
It has the effect of pulling the headpiece up onto the back of the horse's ears, irritating them.
To eliminate the browband see if you can get 2-3 adult sized fingers under it with ease when on the horse,
if so then you can cross it off the list, Oz
 
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