Horse wont let me put bridle on any ideas?

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Gryfiss

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Basically had new horse all has been going great started backing got him to the point where he is being sat on so decided to send him away to be finished professionally.

So decided to get his teeth before I sent him the equine dentition I usually use came out accompanied by another ed as he was unable to do him due to an injury anyway turned out horse had wolf tooth so needed to go to the vet in the end. But ed still did him (not wolf teeth just tided up the rest) anyway but was quite rough resulting in him rearing hitting his head a few time on the top of the stable .

Cutting a long story short it has now resulted in him rearing every time i go to put the bit in once i can get him to relax he will pick the bit up out of my hand but this takes a good 10 min.

Any advice welcome i dont want to be rough with him hes not naughty just scared.:confused:
 
The big lad was terribly head shy and still cant touch his ears and rather than fight i undo the bit from one cheek piece pop the head piece over ears and then quietly bring bit in mouth and do up on cheek piece . not conventinal but some times thinking outside box means no fighting . :)
 
He has suffered muscle damage to his head by hitting it off the stable, im guessing he has the biggest headache going, he needs seeing by a cranial therapist, I know a great one pm for details if you want. I had the same problem because mine used to rear as I put him on the trailer and caused damage.
 
<must not suggest pat parelli Must not suggest pat parelli must not suggest pat parelli>

Have you thought about getting Pat Parelli to do it? :)

Oops! :o In all seriousness, plenty of time, and just being workmanlike. :)
 
babymare said:
The big lad was terribly head shy and still cant touch his ears and rather than fight i undo the bit from one cheek piece pop the head piece over ears and then quietly bring bit in mouth and do up on cheek piece . not conventinal but some times thinking outside box means no fighting . :)
Click to expand...

Tried this he is worse doing it this way, hes not bothered about his ears just around the muzzel lips area its so annoying as he was so good before :( I guess its going to be slowly slowly catch the monkey !
 
Natch said:
<must not suggest pat parelli Must not suggest pat parelli must not suggest pat parelli>

Have you thought about getting Pat Parelli to do it? :)

Oops! :o In all seriousness, plenty of time, and just being workmanlike. :)
Click to expand...

Like Catwalk:eek:


It is probably more the fear of bashing his head, possibly still suffering pain there, rather than the bit going in his mouth that is the issue. That needs to be looked at first then start to take the bridle apart once he can have it put on again.
I had a pony come in for schooling that had pulled back and damaged his atlas, he was very difficult to bridle but with a physio session and plenty of patience soon learnt to trust it would not cause pain.

Just seen your next post, so the poll is probably not the issue, try a happy mouth or rubber but that is covered in something he likes, it may get messy, keep the headcollar on while you put the bridle on, then either leave it or unbuckle after bridling if the noseband can be undone.
 
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JBP said:
He has suffered muscle damage to his head by hitting it off the stable, im guessing he has the biggest headache going, he needs seeing by a cranial therapist, I know a great one pm for details if you want. I had the same problem because mine used to rear as I put him on the trailer and caused damage.
Click to expand...

was the problem just when you put the bridle on or he reared in general ? he doesn't seem to be bothered round the ears just round the nose lips and muzzel area .
 
be positive said:
Like Catwalk:eek:


It is probably more the fear of bashing his head, possibly still suffering pain there, rather than the bit going in his mouth that is the issue. That needs to be looked at first then start to take the bridle apart once he can have it put on again.
I had a pony come in for schooling that had pulled back and damaged his atlas, he was very difficult to bridle but with a physio session and plenty of patience soon learnt to trust it would not cause pain.

Just seen your next post, so the poll is probably not the issue, try a happy mouth or rubber but that is covered in something he likes, it may get messy, keep the headcollar on while you put the bridle on, then either leave it or unbuckle after bridling if the noseband can be undone.
Click to expand...

will do did it with a rope today then gave him treats when he took it I will get the mollases out :)
 
Have you tried spending a lot of time semi cuddling him and stroking around his mouth until you can put a finger or thumb in his mouth with him being relaxed. when thats ok I use an old friends method of bitting which is to wet the bit and roll it in sugar then let it dry so the sugar sticks to it and repeat a couple more times so you have a very nice tasting bit that takes a while for the horse to get all the yummy stuff off and its not over sticky on your hands as its dry. its not normally long before a head or mouth shy horse is trying hard to get into the bridle :)
 
Hi,
I have had horses in the past that's exactly the same, wouldn't let me put the bit in there mouths. Mine used to hold his head high so I couldn't reach and I don't believe in fighting with a horse to do so. My mum came up with the idea of Golden Syrup as she read on the internet, we did this for a couple of times and after that my horse accepted me putting the bit in his mouth every time. Might not work on every horse but maybe worth a try.
 
He never reared hes just not that type of horse he would just shake and shake and shake his head really vigorously............ he was always fine with me touching round ears and head but talked to some friends and got in touch with a cranial lady, she is amazing sorted out all my problems, she has been this evening to treat and horse looks 10 time better already
 
crabbymare said:
Have you tried spending a lot of time semi cuddling him and stroking around his mouth until you can put a finger or thumb in his mouth with him being relaxed. when thats ok I use an old friends method of bitting which is to wet the bit and roll it in sugar then let it dry so the sugar sticks to it and repeat a couple more times so you have a very nice tasting bit that takes a while for the horse to get all the yummy stuff off and its not over sticky on your hands as its dry. its not normally long before a head or mouth shy horse is trying hard to get into the bridle :)
Click to expand...

Thats a fab idea never heard of that before , I do the first bit already otherwise I would have no hope I'm going to sugar my bit now :)
 
harveysmom said:
Hi,Did i read it right that its only been a couple of days since he had his wolf teeth out?
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No I had et out they said give a day off so gave him 2 then worked him lightly had the problem then, went to vets next day had wolf teeth out they said give 7 to 10 days off so its been 10 so tried today. should add he was fine once bridle on
 
Haven't read other replies so may suggest something similar!
My horse was dangerous to bridle - got to the point that i didn't even want to bother, i tried every trick but since using a bitless bridle it takes 2 minutes to tack up! He pushes his head into it :)
 
I used to struggle with my horse at shows as he used to be looking at everything and I could never get his bridle on, I spent a little while putting his bridle on and he gets a treat straight away, I still do this now and he tends to grab the bit himself if I hold if for him and put his head down. I am doing the same for my youngster and he is now much better about having the bit in his mouth.
 
Go bitless I had a similar problem with my big mare. Dr Cook's bitless bridle cured all her issues, no resistance to bridling, no grinding teeth, no using her neck to pull against me, instant steering, instant brakes and a happy horse.
 
Hello again, His mouth maybe a little sore and hes trying to avoid it.
My boy went through a faze of not letting you put his bridle on i just sent him to be broken with the problem letting them know so they could try and sort it while he was away.
They did we have no problems now
Do you trust the people who are schooling your horse if so tell them they can sort it
 
Clicker train him - or at least reinforce without the clicker. Break it down into tiny stages - undo the cheek piece/headpiece buckle, slip the headpiece over his head and then give him a treat (I find polos useful, I can have a pack in my pocket and the next one to use in my teeth so both hands are free). Once he has learned to be relaxed about that, add the brow band etc, build bit by bit, rewarding as you go. The sugar on the bit acts as a reinforcer for having the bit in his mouth, and you can ask him to lower his head by having the reins over his neck not far behind his ears and applying steady downward pressure. The instant he offers the slightest lowering release the pressure, and again, build on that bit by bit - reward with a polo if he has found it difficult but done it in the end. .
My 16.2hh warm blood decided he didn't like his - after working as above, he now takes the bit and lowers his head to have the headpiece over his ears - he still gets the polo but only when the complete bridle is on and all buckles done up. It took a number of weeks, but I didn't set aside time like I should really have done, I just progressed it every time I wanted to ride him. Make it worth his while and reinforcing can overcome even past painful memories done right (timing and shaping the behaviour bit by bit).
 
I was about to suggest a clicker as well, if you are positive it is not pain related. Not had bits in the babies yet, but both of them had different issues with having headcollars on, and 10mins over 3 sessions (half hour in total including rests) had each of them chasing me across the field to shove their noses in for me if I just hold it open, and they haven't looked back since - can't wait to get that headcollar on. The clicker was dropped after only a couple of days, but they still get a reward once the headcollar is on.
 
Well definately if he may still be in pain don't do anything until that's sorted, otherwise you're just reinforcing the problem.

I was joking about pp and catwalk :o just my warped sense of humour :o
 
Oh just thought one of things i did to help my horse was put his headcollar on differently i used to undo the buckle then i changed to undoing the clip under his jaw and slipping it over his head like you would with a bridle it helped break it down a little
 
I would go back to basics using a bitless bridle, using advance and retreat and reward every try techniques.....Can you rub his shoulder with a bitless bridle? Work it gradually up the neck back and forth until he relaxes and then take it away as a reward.....progress with baby steps until you can rub his head all over with the bridle, then start putting it over his ears!! Of course this will take time and patience and not all owners have these attributes!!! But if you take the time it takes it will take less time!!! As an extra to this, can you ask him to lower his head with your hand on his poll? Will he lower his head when you ask him??? When he is completely comfy with you putting this on his head you could start to introduce a bit in a similar manner, especially if the mouthpiece is covered with molasses/honey/apple sauce!! He has had very nasty dental experiences and I don't blame him at all for being sceptical!!! Good luck.
 
Should have been given bute and antibiotics for any bang on the head, did vet check out the bang, is vet happy xrays were not needed. In time he will get over the fear and it will be forgotten in the meantime you need to get bridle on, so undo cheek pieces, slip head piece over ears, maybe using a rope around neck if need be, then put bit in mouth and reattach cheek pieces. Hope all works out. Whne taking off bridle make sure bit does not get caught on teeth if horse pulls away before bit is out of mouth. Again use rope before completely removing bridle, take your time.
 
babymare said:
The big lad was terribly head shy and still cant touch his ears and rather than fight i undo the bit from one cheek piece pop the head piece over ears and then quietly bring bit in mouth and do up on cheek piece . not conventinal but some times thinking outside box means no fighting . :)
Click to expand...

I do this too it may help you. Can you smear something tasty on the bit to make it a nicer experience too?
 
Gryfiss said:
Basically had new horse all has been going great started backing got him to the point where he is being sat on so decided to send him away to be finished professionally.

So decided to get his teeth before I sent him the equine dentition I usually use came out accompanied by another ed as he was unable to do him due to an injury anyway turned out horse had wolf tooth so needed to go to the vet in the end. But ed still did him (not wolf teeth just tided up the rest) anyway but was quite rough resulting in him rearing hitting his head a few time on the top of the stable .

Cutting a long story short it has now resulted in him rearing every time i go to put the bit in once i can get him to relax he will pick the bit up out of my hand but this takes a good 10 min.

Any advice welcome i dont want to be rough with him hes not naughty just scared.:confused:
Click to expand...

Ben was a dude with his bridle before his teeth were done, then he hated the bridle:rolleyes: not quite such a violent reaction but certainly tried to fling his head up! Patience and time was all it took.

It has probably been asked but how soon did you re bridle him after his wolf teeth extraction, it could have been too soon and caused pain. Dunking the bit in honey or mint powder will help him look forward to it a bit more, then just gently gently, perhaps even taking the bit off and putting the bridle on and off without it, and doing the bit part as a separate exercise with yummy stuff on it, then starting to combine the two... Oh and lots of praise for doing it right!
 
Natch said:
<must not suggest pat parelli Must not suggest pat parelli must not suggest pat parelli>

Have you thought about getting Pat Parelli to do it? :)

Oops! :o In all seriousness, plenty of time, and just being workmanlike. :)
Click to expand...

Yay, good idea... Since all the catwalk-bridle-parelli videos disappeared ive been sadly lacking in disgusting entertainment videos, op could you refer your horse to pat parelli and video it so we can all reel in shock at his disgusting and brutish handling of such a situation:rolleyes:
 
babymare said:
The big lad was terribly head shy and still cant touch his ears and rather than fight i undo the bit from one cheek piece pop the head piece over ears and then quietly bring bit in mouth and do up on cheek piece . not conventinal but some times thinking outside box means no fighting . :)
Click to expand...

Tried doing it this way again today thought it might help if I did the throte lash up so it didnt fling off every time he put his head up :o sometimes i'm so stupid !!

Anyway good result spent 30 min practising and rewarding this morn and 1hr doing the same tonight will do the same tomorrow hopefully he will come right he was lots better by the end and relaxed.

Thanks for all your reply's some I will be trying out as well . x :)
 
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