Teaching young horse to happily be Unbridled!

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saddlesore

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2 1/2 yo, been lightly bitted. He is happy to have bridle put on and accepts the bit happily. He is currently in a straight bar nathe. Happy having his ears handled etc and is more than happy to carry the bit for an inhand walk (controlled via a head collar) etc. However he isn't delighted about it coming off! As soon as I take the headpiece over his ears his head comes right up and he tries to throw the bit out? I haven't allowed this and have held the bit steady in his mouth until he drops his head and relaxes and then I let him drop the bit. I did this as I didn't want him to 'run away' from the bridle and I didn't want his teeth bumped. Any thoughts/suggestions? :confused:
 
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MadBlackLab said:
Has he caught his teeth on bit before when taking bridle off and he now panicking it will happen again
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No, I've had him for a while now and have done all the early breaking work with him and I've been so careful. I've purposely used the nathe too as it is so soft. Otherwise that's what I would have thought too!
 
I'll try the sweetie thing- he is very food orientated so worth a shot. Just so out of character! If I persevere and take the bridle on and off several times he will settle and begin to keep his head down but next time I'm back to square one!
 
I would use the sweetie, but would not repeat, just take the bridle off once after you've finished the lesson, with minimum fuss.
If he thinks you're going to put it on and take it off repeatedly it will make it into a big deal.
It's not, it's a baby thing and he will relax about it eventually if you don't make it a problem for him.
 
With all my youngsters I slip the head piece over the ears while slowly holding it at the height with the bit still in he mouth. I hold my hand at the muzzle and give them the command drop. They open their mouths and drop the bit out. I do not use any treats as this can lead to bad manners, they are always looking for that treat if you do this. A nice rub of the nose and upper neck is good enough.

The first thing I do is to teach them to lower their head on command. This helps when brushing the forelock and face and of course putting the bridle on. This also helps when I start clipping them. If everything is done calmly and without a fuss they soon learn to except any movement around the head.
 
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Several years ago I was saying the same thing, just let him lower his head slowly, then give him a carrot what ever, to open his mouth, they do tend to panic, that's why they grab hold of the bit, just give him time to learn to let go, don't make a fuss.
 
Had this problem with my two year old as well. Likewise, never been banged with bit etc and was fine getting bridle on but just didn't like his ears getting folded forwards when bridle coming off whereas fine when with our hands. Went back to handled ears a lot from all directions, flattening them until not bothered then went to headcollar on and off with lots and lots of repetitions deliberately taking it off like a bridle. Used a headcollar that had a throatlash clip for this.
 
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