Irritating habit when bridled

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kat2290

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The horse I help out with has a very irritating habit of trying to itch his head against you after you put his bridle on. He will also try and itch against the headcollar while it is round his neck after putting the bridle on and end up getting himself tangled up. He is a big 16.2 ID so when he starts rubbing himself against you it can be quite painful and it is really difficult to get him to stop. I've tried everything! Even when you do get him to stop as soon as you pass in front of his head he will try again. It makes it very difficult to check his bridle is sitting correctly. He carries this on until you mount and then he stops and is happy to work, but as soon as you dismount it starts again...when you run up the stirrups he will try to reach round and rub on you, this continues until the bridle is off and headcollar is on.

He occasionally does it just in a headcollar too but this is mainly when he is moulting and has an itchy face. His bridle is an excellent fit, it doesn't pinch and it isn't too tight. I think he has just learned it is something he can do as his owner is quite gentle with him, she tends to end up just standing there letting him rub against her!

How should I be dealing with this?
 
Mine does that . The only way Ive found that sometimes helps is a real good hard brush of his face . I have a quite hard Dandy brush, I hold it on his forehead , he leans into it and rubs his face etc as hard as he wants until he's finished . He's 17h TB and he puts his weight behind it and I put mine behind it but I still end up squished against the wall ! LOL ! Then I put his bridle on . It doesnt always work , but 9 times out of 10 it does.
 
If his bridle fits right it sounds like a case of bad manners which your going to struggle to change if his owner allows him to do it! It's a pet peeve of mine because, like you said, it can really hurt!
A livery at my yard has always scratched her horse under his back legs... he now reverses into her or bangs into her as he passes to position himself for a scratch & he does this every time she is in the field!
 
Mine certainly isnt bad manners . He is very well mannered and amenable in all ways . His tack fits well and all is comfortable . It is a habit which I have tried to break but this is the best Ive come up with . He doesnt itch when the bridle is taken off ( like most horses will have a rub after work) just before it goes on .
 
If your wanting them to stop, and try multiple things to ask them to stop and they still don't, then surely its bad manners even if it is a habit?
 
I've got one that likes to rub his head on me. It is bad manners, and it really hurts!. Sometimes I make sure my elbow is pointing towards his head if I am within range, then if he swings his head at me he will meet the pointy bit of my elbow. That will usually make him stop, temporarily at least.
If I forget to stick my elbow out, and he clonks me with his head I make a short sharp loud noise - clap my hands, yell, or smack a stick on the ground (or all three at once!), it depends what I have in my hands really.
Gradually, he is getting better but it's hard to break a habit once it's formed.
 
I do think it is bad manners purely because he doesn't stop when asked. On the whole he is a very well mannered horse but there a few bad habits which his owner lets him get away with but I don't, diving for grass when your leading him is another, its tricky as he's obviously getting mixed messages from us both!

The brushing his head idea is a good one except he doesn't actually like having his face brushed! He's just likes to be difficult!

I find it so embarrassing when there are other people of the yard as I end up having to repeatedly shout at him and slap his neck to get him to stop but even then he doesn't really pay much attention, I end up feeling like a total idiot!
 
It sounds frustrating. One suggestion I can think of is, for example after you dismount, maybe hold on to the opposite side of his rein whilst you run his stirrups up/loosen the girth etc. There fore stopping him from turning his head into you to rub? I doubt you would have to hold them short enough to turn his head away from you but enough to stop him turning towards you. Then repeat for the other side... although it may result in you having to do a quick scoot round to the other side whilst dodging his head on the way round :D. I think perservence (sp) is the answer but you will probably need to try and get his owner on side in trying to stop him doing it with her as well. Good luck!
 
kat2290 said:
The brushing his head idea is a good one except he doesn't actually like having his face brushed! He's just likes to be difficult!
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Re-reading this part actually makes me think you could try this... if he doesn't like his face being brushed then he may associate trying to rub on you with getting his face brushed... it may stop him? Having one handy after dismounting may prove difficult unless you can pop a small face brush in your pocket and whip it out just before getting off.
 
A micklem bridle stopped this completely with my mare who I would struggle to bridle at all in a conventional bridle! She's like a different horse in it and obviously enjoys getting her own way.
 
My horse does this. The way I stop him doing it is to hit MYSELF to make a noise to keep him off me. Ie if the nose comes towards my chest I do a kind of tarzan chest beat which keeps him out of the area but doesnt make him head shy. Works best with a body protector on as it makes a good noise. I do of course look ridiculous and end up with the odd bruise if I am too enthusiastic but it's my way and it works for me! :)
 
Elsbells thanks for the suggestion but he's actually fine to put it on, it's just as soon as its on he starts rubbing anywhere he can. So I don't think it's actually the bridle, I think it's more that he's realised that scratching while he has a bridle on feels good!
 
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