How would YOU deal with a horse that would not accept a bridle?

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mystiandsunny

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What would you try, and in what order? Inspired by the Parelli thing lol! Esp as I have one you couldn't put a bridle on when we got her, and one we had difficulty getting it off safely (used to rear and run backwards). Both fine now!
 
I would undo the nearside cheek piece, remove the browband, put headpiece on neck, as if putting on a headcollar, and repeatedly slide it up nearer the ears until it was in position to enable me to put the bit in, then do up cheekpiece.

This may take days, maybe weeks.
Then i would replace browband on the off side, and when horse was comfortable, slot headpiece through browband and insert bit and do up cheekpiece.
This also may take days/weeks.
But it would be far better than battering an already anxious horse into submission, wouldn't it?
 
I have a mare that was very funny about her ears when I was breaking her in, I had to take the bridle apart and put the headpiece and browband over her ears and make up the bridle after that, I'd take my time and do it a few times, rewarding with a carrot when she let me. It was a long time before I could just bridle her up.

I had time on my side and I think thats the key to that sort of thing..
 
Looked after a racehorse that through being badly broken, hated the bridle.
The lads would corner him and twitch or just use brute strenght to get it on .
I used to spend a bit longer taking it apart and coaxing it on, eventually you only had to undo one side of the bit to get it on and only took 5 min,
It took about 5 weeks to get to that stage, hardly a long time in the grand scheme of things.
I dont know why people forgoe Patience in aid of 'quick fixes' they think they will get with other methoods.
 
i undo my horses bridle to put it on - tbh she's a cantankerous 12yr old canny mare and i can't be bothered to argue with her lol! this way she accpets it no bother and we can get on and go riding - if i try to do it conventionally she gets upset - so - happy me + happy horse or stressed me + stressed horse - a no brainer for me
 
I'd break it down. (Also sort teeth out first for a start)

I hate that a lot of youngsters are not taught to drop their heads on cue and to take a bit or let you handle their mouths. Why not when it makes life so much simpler for everyone?

1. Teach the horse to drop his head on cue. Essential for me as I am a short arse and even a 14 hander sticking his head in the air is beyond my reach.

2. Then get the head piece/browband issue sorted.

3. Then the bit. (Anyone ever used those flavoured bit wipes?) I put the bit on an elastic headpiece, and don't laugh but elasticated leg straps from rugs are great for this, that way there is no faffing about with ears. I have no qualms about using bribery for this, honey, treacle, whatever a horse likes.

Works for me, everyone has their ways, and if it works then that's just fine.
 
It took me 10 months to be able to bridle my recent mare easily (bless her she does have big ears). I just spent time rubbing and massaging her neck and poll, breaking down the bridle and generally not making an issue of it! Still makes me smile and she gets a "good girl" and a pat every time I take her bridle on and off!!
 
would take it apart and take time, probably use clicker training. and if the bit is an issue i would ride in a hackamore. simple. wouldnt stress the horse.
 
I'm no expert but I would go back the the foundations and concentrate on building a relationship and give the horse time to settle in etc. first by fair and consistant basic handing, no sudden moves, not forcing anything the horse is uncomfortable with and gradually building confidence in me as well as general day to day handling, leading, grooming (touching where acceptable and in a way acceptable to that horse) and very gradually extending comfort zones probably including reward based sessions CT or whatever.
When horse is fairly settled I'd arrange for full exam of mouth face, neck ears etc. to rule out and then treat any physical causes and then start working specifically on getting the horse comfortable with being touched closer and closer to the head using advance and retreat and possibly food reward or CT keeping within the horses comfort zone and certainly trying not to invoke a fear response. Approaches can be made from the withers and then slowly up the neck gradually working twards the head and ears for example. I'd observe the horses different responses to tack and general goings on around the place (I have a horse that got really upset at the smell of leather) and try and weed out what may be specific things that bother him and modify stuff to suit untill the horse is ready to move onto coping with a specific fear eg. in my leather smell hating horse he never had a leather halter and intial bridle work was done with head collar and then synthetic bridle and saddle.

I'd say in summary for me it would depend on that particular horse and what I learned about him from his responses day to day and then devise a plan to, in the first instance make him feel secure, safe and grow in confidence and then work in small steps to over come the bridling issue by whatever non scary means possible.
 
Firstly rule out any pain, get the horse/pony checked thoroughly by a vet for teeth etc and also have seen thermal imaging at work, its amazing how it picks up the smallest area of discomfort on a horses body

once horse out of pain, I would go back to basics to get the horse happy with being handled around the bridle area and take it bit by bit until horse happy, if it meant putting bridle on in parts I would do I would also take it slowly and repeat every stage until horse comfortable and at ease before I went onto next stage, it all depends really on what part of bridling the horse the horse was not happy with and working slowly away with him or her until confident with the whole proceedure

not by force or scaring the poor horse into making it do what I say using brute force, no time or patience!
 
We have a mare,ex racer who was a nightmare to bridle, and when we first got her to put a head collar on. You could get the head collar over her nose, but you had to make sure that you did the head piece up half way down he neck, then slide it up, or believe me it could take the rest of the day to catch her if you dared touch anywhere near her ears. Same with the bridle, used to take it to pieces, and make sure you had all the time in the world to put it on. She had been ear twitched in the past and hated both ears being touched.
While I was pregnant we put her in foal, when we stopped riding her it became my mission to desensitise her and be able to touch her ears. I spent weeks and £'s on carrots until it was acceptable for me to scratch around the base of her ears.

She then had a break of three years to have babies, being handled every day, but no bridle being put on.

When she came back into work we realised that if you split the reins before putting them over her head the bridle wasn't a problem, but you had to sort out her ears and forelock very quickly as you would only get one chance!

Three years on we still split the reins every time we put the bridle on, but now occasionally she will stand and let you play with her ears, but only on her terms and when she says it ok, or she will disappear to the back of the stable with a very cross face.

She is an Alpha mare with character and quirks, she knows her own mind, we respect that she respects us, the whole family have learnt alot from her.
 
Interesting! I would spend time with it in the field, scratching it all over until it was happy to have it's ears played with and rubbed because every horse I have ever know has loved that once it realises that it's enjoyable.

Then I would start with a leather headcollar and see how it reacts, still keep on rubbing and scratching it's ears etc.

Then I'd play with a bit - nothing else just the bit in my hands as I once had a youngster who hated bits and was a buggar so I just used to hold the bit in its mouth with my hands, play with it, make it relaxed, cover it in molasses, keep rubbing and scratching.

Then play with headpiece, then add the bit, all the while scratching and rubbing it's head and ears - make the whole thing enjoyable with lots of treats so it looked forward to having it's head scratched.

No idea if it would work with a really bad one and I would expect it to take weeks/ months but that is how I would go about it.

I expect that some talented youngsters just aren't given time to get used to the things we put at them, particularly competition horses, always such a rush
 
My eventer was difficult about having his ears touched. He had something painful inside, although the vet said gave me some cream there wasn't a lot to be done about it (particularly as he didn't want the crean inside his ears!) He was OK to bridle, so long as I did it carefully, but he wouldn't have the clippers anywhere near.
 
Blues a bit funny with having his bit in, He doesn't refuse it, or clamp his mouth, he simpley sticks his head in the air and tosses it a bit slowly, it's the same avoidence tactic he uses when trying to rinse his head or having drops in his eyes when they're gunky.

I just tack him up like normal, no fuss, not forcing it, just slip the bridle on, have the bit flat in my hand and let him toss (luckily i can just reach when he does this) and when he settles ask him to accept the bit just by holding it to his mouth, and as soon as he takes it he gets a polo, then slide it up and over and it do it up.

It works as well...he did settle down a lot, then i started to forget the polos and he's regressed a lottle. Oops.

It's the bit he doesn't like, he's only got a french link in so nothing harsh, and his teeth were done recently, but he's got a very sensitive mouth so i couldn't be suprised if he's been yanked in it as some point in the past.

My problem is, even though i can get it on quickyl and with limited hassle, my sharer can't and he starts getting wound up and eventually i have to do it for her, i'm thinking of talking to her and setting a number of attempts to limit the amount of time and upsetting him til she's better at it, or getting her to tack up Herc so she can practice the art of tacking up on an easy horse before a difficult one. (she'd never had to tack up before she started loaning blue)
 
My loan pony as a young teenager had been beaten over the head with a crowbar and was really head shy.

You used to have to slide the headcollar up her neck then buckle it over the nose, the bridle had to be taken apart and put on around the neck and very slowly moved up, it was impossible to use a browband.

It took me a over year and lots of bribery to be able to catch her normally (eventually she was fine as long as you didn't move suddenly) and three years to be able to bridle her normally. However I wa sthe only person who could do this.

It just takes time and lots of patience.
 
1) Thoroughly assess for physical discomfort
2) Time, patience and a very gradual progression. Never expecting the horse to accept more than it can cope with reasonably. i.e. ask for 1 out of 10 to start with- progressing to 10/10. If it took me months to reach perfection then so be it.
 
I'd use clicker training personally. Breaking it down into tiny steps keeping the horse comfortable and stress free and the handler safe.
 
Firstly check for teeth & pain issues - if all clear I would put the bridle together around the horses head, gradually reducing the number of pieces I dismantled it into, if you catch my drift!?

I sure as hell would be working on the issue over a number of months rather than trying for a 'quick fix' answer in a couple of hours potentially seriously physically injuring the horse & almost certainly mentally scaring it!
 
I'd beat it senseless until it dropped it's head and I was able to pull the bridle on, poke it in the eyes until it calms down.

Seriously though, I have had several horses like this- none had probs with the bit, one had a prob with the bit in conjuction with the headpiece (bit fine on its own, headpiece fine on its own so just undid the bit and put it in afterwards). The current "project" will have it on if the cheekpieces are long enough to slip over the ears easy enough but taking it off is a hassle. She gets a small piece of carrot as a reward but she isn't the brightest spark and can't figure out how to eat it whith the bit in so saves it for later! She doesn't like mints :(

No point in being mean to them unless they are just being sh**ty about it, it won't work and will make the problem worse IMO.
 
patients and gentle handerling, softly softly catchy monkey, exactly what did with my daughters section b taken over 5 years but we can now put her bridle on without dramas and breaking it down.

Also toffee around the bit is a cracking one for them to except the bit. an oldie but a goody.
 
I am currently breaking a 14yo who clearly has issues with his bridle, especially the bit!

When first started working with him he was very nervous and very scared of anything that jingled, like a bridle or a lunge cavesson. After about a week of taking him out and about in his headcollar on and tying him up and fussing him, rubbing his ears and head I could finally get the lunge cavesson on him with no issue. He isn’t a headshy horse but there is something that clearly concerns him with jingling metal. He was then being lunged and tied up in the cavesson and not batting an eye.

I knew the bridle was going to be difficult as I had been pre-warned. I tried once to put the bridle on normally to see how he reacted. He threw his head in the air and I realised that I had to go right back to basics. With the lunge cavesson on him but loosened I undid one of the cheek pieces and threaded throw the cavesson. I then held the bit flat and gentley asked him to open his mouth we had a tiny bit of head throwing but after a couple of goes he let me put the bit in his mouth. Then you have to hold the cheek piece while you quickly buckle them back to the head piece. I am still at this stage now and will keep using this method until he is 100% willing to accept the bit and the bridle. Then I am going to put it on over a headcollar and undo the nose band and slide it out from underneath. He is a lot clamer in his headcollar and although it is a pain having to work this way until he is confident I am not going to hurt him I will do anything I can to make him happy.

Taking the bridle off is where his real issues start. I have tried to take his bridle off to see what he was like which is when he grabbed hold of the bit and ran backwards, rearing and scaring himself. Since then, I undo the check pieces and get him to relax his head down and the open his mouth. This is taking a long time and just as you think the bit is going to be free he bites down on it chucks his head back and I have to quickly try and relax him and lower his head to remove the bit without it hurting him.

It is a long and very slow process and although never ridden, lunged or long reined he has been tacked up before. Something must have happened with the bridle in the past because he has been thoroughly checked and his mouth and teeth are good. Just to get to the stage I am at now with this horse has taken nearly two months, he gets better every day and I know that I just have to keep taking baby steps. If I tried to put the bridle on him the way I watched Parelli do he would probably have a fit, he is after all a very sensitive soul aka a wimp! :D
 
I had to do this with Bigbird.

So first you check whether there is any physical reason ie aural plaques, sharp teeth etc.

Then you gently get them used to having their ears touched by finding a spot they like to be itched, slowly rub up their faces until you can scratch the poll (most horses love this) this can take days or it can take hours, in the words of Pat Pepperoni, take all the time it needs. Eventually you will be able to massage the ears which again, once they accept it, most horses find relaxing. Once you can do the ear massaging the rest is easy. I found with BB that I could then put the bridle on slowly as long as I kept up the ear massage, it got to the point where she would (and still does!) offer her ear for scratching, she loves having the very end of her ears rubbed in a circular motion :)

Another way is to 'build' the bridle on piece by piece, combined with the aforementioned rubbing etc.

Needless to say, all the rubbing and scratching is accompanied by much soft talking, I used to use the word HOLA (she only understood spanish at the time), as you can use it very softly.

I am 5ft 3 a short arse basically but I managed it without resorting to a gum line or a rope tied round her leg, although to teach her to pick her feet up I did loop a lead rope around her back feet to raise them as she was rather like a 16.2 foal with her feet when she arrived here and it was a way to safely hold the foot without damage to either of us.

It actually took less than a week to get her used to the bridle and probably two weeks before she was picking up all four feet.
 
ive never had this problem but i would try using good tecniques deffinetley not parelli i prefer monty roberts if im honest with you im a big lover of the dually, but after i while i would give in a ride bitless this way everyones happy
 
:oI have a section d who can be difficult to bridle - main issue is the bit.
He dislikes a metal bit so always has a happy mouth french link......and you know the minute he developes even a rough edge to a tooth as you can't get near his mouth!

He can also be funny about a head collar (he's a bit special IYKWIM;))

I deal with the head collar issue by always having one that unbuckles at the nose, if he's having a bad day you just put it on further down his neck and then do up the nose band after you've pulled it up behind his ears.

This horse has really tried my patience in the 14 years I've had him but I've learnt that you cannot force him to do something - apart from being a d*mn sight stronger than me, the fallout of him being frightened by something is dangerous to say the least.

When he was being bitted (and we started having these problems) I used to take the bridle apart but then he'd start chucking his head about when you tried to slide the bit in so I did the slice of bread and jam wrapped round the bit trick which would work eventually and after about 3 months of a bridle on and off every day I thought the problem was cured.

Fast forward a couple of years and just as he was coming into work after being backed the autumn before, the bridle became a major problem again. After vet checks etc it turned out that the dentist I had been using religiously every 6 months hadn't been rasping his back teeth properly and he had hooks. They were dealt with but now the bit was a phobia, along with the dentist sadly. At the time I dealt with it by being very quiet and matter fact about it - putting the bridle on over his headcollar so he couldn't chuck his head about, in a very BHS way (left hand on his nose, right hand opening his mouth and sliding the plastic bit in) and just ignoring the hissy fits but no matter how many attempts it took, he was having his bridle on! Luckily he's not the strongest willed horse, just the silliest:) and you can do most things with persistance. To this day, there are incidents over his bridle - the minute he starts I check his teeth. I even bought a gag as it was getting very expensive getting a dentist and a vet for sedation 9 or 10 times a year and it's usually that he has got a teeny tiny twig or food of some description in his back teeth. But he does have his teeth rasped 4 times a year, not because he has a problem mouth but because he is so sensitive:o It has taken 10 years with a fantastic dentist so he can be done without sedation.

The point of this essay is that there are more ways to do something than immediately obvious and which method you use depends very much on the horse itself - what works for one might work for another. I'm not into NH etc, in fact I would say I'm "old school" but I've never seen the point of setting yourself up to fail by being stubborn!
 
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