Suggestions on a post it (hard to bit)

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My friends horse has always been a bit of bother. She's spent the last year working a lot on ground work and trying to get his other issues sorted but is now ready to ride more.

Issue is she can't get the bit in. He is seriously headshy when bridling as his previous owner twitched his ear and basically beat the **** out of him in order to tack up.

Today for example he wouldn't let it go in and snapped the bridle while throwing his head up - owner said right I'm not riding then but I had the stubborn head staggers and didn't give up and I got the bit on but I did have to shout at him quite firmly which I know his owner won't do as she's a bit softer than me.

She works my horse freeschooling just for leg stretch and I'm going to be working with hers lunging and long lining and general ground manners etc but this is the part we need to get past - I can get the bit in cause I'm much larger stronger and firmer but the goal is to get the owner to get it in.

He's been tried in head collar, all the bitless types and click together bridles. He needs the bit basically and his bridle has to be built on his head there is absolutely no way of putting just a normal bridle on over his ears.

Also to add he has a fungus in his ear vet she cream for but since there is absolutely no way to get near his ears it can't be treated which is another reason I want to help crack this!
 
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Interested in the responses to this as I'm having exactly the same problem. Mines a project so I'm working on this but seem to have hit a brick wall as old owners were very rough with her around her head
 
You could start with feeding treats through the noseband before you even attempt to put it on further. Take the bridle apart as it is the ears which will be the problem as they will be sore. You have to take this very slowly. Treating at every stage and talking telling the horse what your doing as you go along.
 
Owners done all that before he never got anywhere with it and he now just snaps any time a hand is near his head and at pockets wanting a treat. I actually told her to stop treating him so much cause when walking he spent all his time snapping at you.
 
Having to fight and shout each time will not help long term, he needs to learn to trust that it will not be a battle if he is ever going to get over this fully.
I would get something sorted to make life easier for him, either a headcollar with clips to attach the bit or for now a simple headpiece with no browband on noseband and clips for the bit so there is very little to assemble and nothing to the front of his his ears, once the main part is on then just make a fuss of him and do no more for a few days then start to introduce the bit by attaching it one side, having something nice in your palm as well as the bit and see if with care he will open to take the treat and quietly slip the bit in, if he pulls away try and go with him but be careful not to knock his teeth, having a soft rubber bit will really help as will covering it with something tasty although it can get messy on your hand.

Time taken to get him confident will be worthwhile, it is not about being stubborn or winning a battle but thinking outside the box with a horse that is genuinely fearful and one that has aural plaques and been ear twitched has every reason to be scared and fearful, the poor boy deserves to be treated with care after that experience.
 
be positive said:
Having to fight and shout each time will not help long term, he needs to learn to trust that it will not be a battle if he is ever going to get over this fully.
I would get something sorted to make life easier for him, either a headcollar with clips to attach the bit or for now a simple headpiece with no browband on noseband and clips for the bit so there is very little to assemble and nothing to the front of his his ears, once the main part is on then just make a fuss of him and do no more for a few days then start to introduce the bit by attaching it one side, having something nice in your palm as well as the bit and see if with care he will open to take the treat and quietly slip the bit in, if he pulls away try and go with him but be careful not to knock his teeth, having a soft rubber bit will really help as will covering it with something tasty although it can get messy on your hand.

Time taken to get him confident will be worthwhile, it is not about being stubborn or winning a battle but thinking outside the box with a horse that is genuinely fearful and one that has aural plaques and been ear twitched has every reason to be scared and fearful, the poor boy deserves to be treated with care after that experience.
Click to expand...

She has a custom made clip on brow band which he is fine getting on, he's fine getting things on behind the ear so that's not a major major it's just a bit awkward - she also had a bridle with the two clips at the side and put the bit in as you described and it worked for a little while but it snapped today when she couldn't get it in. After I got it in we had to basically put random holes in it to "make" it stay on for a short ride so he didn't think he had gotten away with it.

I will try the head collar with bit clips for now and definitely try a rubber bit with something tasty.
 
Ok takes a whole thisone ... start on day one by getting hand on front of his nose. You don't even have a bridle in your hand for this. You don't even have a bridle in hand at this point. With the horse loose in the stable you just rest your hand on their nose. Wherever they go you follow but it is important that your hand doesn't come off their nose. When they stand with your hand on their nose reward - I do use treats for this as it gets them used to your other hand going near those mouth. Once you can walk into the stable and have the horse accept your hand on their nose with no/ minimal fuss (this can take days and days) then start to touch their mouth on the near side of their face... encourage and reward when you can do this but most importantly DO NOT EVER let go of their nose... this is not always easy . But stick with it. Eventually you will be able to get your thumb in their mouth. At which point introduce a head collar with a clipped throatlash and practice the 'over the ears' bit - with no bit at present - once this is easy (and this is usually the toughest step) introducing a bit is relatively easy. The main thing is not to move on until they are happy with the previous step and to not remove your hand from their nose so they learn that you are not going to let go whatever they do but equally you are not going to hurt them ... if you have a big horse you need someone tall or ultra determined - I've done this with a 16.3 and I'm 5'3 so it is possible. The only time I let go is when she went up vertical but when she came down my hand went straight back on...
 
It's white crusty stuff so yes it may be that be positive.

I'll try a few of those steps blitz - the over the ears but may have to wait. Building the bridle up with his pop on brow band is not too much bother if he would just accept the bit easily.

I'm going to experiment with bits also - at the moment he's in a jointed one with the high bit guard side thingys. Very slim thoroughbred mouth, so I might try a good chunky lozenge type.
 
Don't touch the ears! They should be left well alone, there is nothing you can do. Maybe the horse was roughed about, but aural plaques are enough to give the horse this extreme reaction alone.
 
You can take the bridle apart and put it on piece by piece starting with the headpiece and browband, so the 'over the ears' moment is the easiest bit, you just have to pop it on. But as others have said, the ear plaques alone can sometimes make a horse headshy if they're painful, so maybe check those out more thoroughly with a vet and avoid irritating them.
 
The ears we can cope with never touching if that's what it takes - getting the bit in without a fight is going to be the thing to achieve


Out of interest what causes the plaque stuff in the ears? It's the only horse I've seen with it.
 
His are quite bad. Both ears are totally white inside. He allows his left ear to be touched tho, but not the right which is the one that was twitched every time he was tacked by old owner. Old scars and all that.
 
I would try a rubber /vulcanite mullen mouth bit or similar - no joint and simple eggbutt cheeks. The less there is going on in his mouth, the better, I would think.
 
If his ears are so badly affected, then no wonder he is avoiding his bridle, poor boy.

There is no substitute for taking your time when you have an issue like this.

I would take the bridle apart to put on - there is no point getting using force when the reaction is from pain and discomfort,and the ear twitching will have added to his apprehension.
I'd try using a cutaway bridle around the ears, and a sheepskin sleeve on the headpiece too.
 
Getting the bridle on the head is fine is the getting the bit in part we need to fix. Getting it on over the head would be ideal but that won't happen soon. Just need to get the bit in.

So I have a clicker ordered, going to look for a rubber bit, get some squirty honey or jam
 
Try rolling it in something sweet. (Sugar and peppermint oil, jam etc). Also try a plastic bit.

Basically this is a patience test. I wouldn't even bother with a bridle at this point - just have him in a headcollar and hold bit rings in your hand. You don't want to have a fight or make it harder as this is actually about improving his confidence and trust rather than getting a bit into his mouth...

If if starts escalating (rearing or threatening to) you need to be the one to de-escalate. Just hold the end of the lead rope, wait until his heart rate goes back to normal and try again. Scared horses don't learn much, and you don't want him to associate bridling with fear.
 
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Yes that's a good plan.

His teeth have just been done a month or so ago so not that. I have a Mullen mouth snaffle waiting for me so that's going to be what I use for now. Owner text saying she played with his mouth today and she could do everything but as soon as she picked up the bit he clamped his mouth shut so I'm thinking he hates the metal or possibly the single joint (I hate any horse in a single jointed bit!)
 
What about a bridleless bit like a meroth? So he can get used to bitting without the stress of his ears needing to be touched etc

As a groom there was a mare on the yard that would evade being bridled by giraffing and refusing to come down, the best thing I found was to gently slide my hand from her withers up her neck to her poll before she went too high, a lot of the other staff struggled because they always went straight for the face!
 
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To get a horse to open his mouth, slip your thumb in the side and press on the tongue - firmly, not hard! A browband is not absolutely necessary, so for horses which are frantic about their heads and ears I generally use a simple sliphead with snap hooks so that the strap can go over behind the poll like a headcollar and the bit ring can be quickly snapped on.
 
I had a tb who suddenly became difficult about the bridle going on. It turned out to be an ear infection, he also had aural plaque which the vet told me to leave alone but I did have to get drops in for the infection. For a long time afterwards he would not let me put the bridle on in the conventional way as he was expecting pain. I undid the bit on one side of the cheekpieces, placed the bridle above his head and then lowered it into place, then slipped the bit in and did it up. I had to stand on a box to do it but he accepted it this way without a fuss, if you tried to put the bit in first, he acted up. Im sure it was the pain from his ear that caused the problem though!
 
Well i worked him today and got him clickering like a pro, and bitted him three seperate times with no issue while free in the arena, so he could move away at any point if he wanted to.

He needs work on lunging badly though. Hes "parelli trained" aka turns in and walks to you and turns on the forehand to stay with you rather than let you chase him on. Work on that next time, i want him lunging both ways without any turning in at all. All in all a good session and i learned a lot more about him.
 
Haven't read all the replies so apologies if I'm just repeating..!

My friends horse is a pain to bit, he also has aural plaque. She has a bridle with clip cheek pieces, unclips the left hand side (standing on left side) and gives a treat whilst putting the ears through headpiece/browband, and then another treat to open mouth and slip the bit in and just easily clip it on. It's really simple, even I can do it and things like that really annoy me!

It's a pain but I think with him it's really down to the aural plaque which unfortunately should just be left alone.
 
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