Teaching youngster to lead off the bridle

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vickiejohn

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Morning!! Am after some advice please! I have recently taken ownership of a fabulous 5 yr old Wb mare. She is an RSPCA rescue,who was seized as an 18 month old. Due to the length of time it has taken for the legal stuff to go on,she has been held at a boarding yard until I took her on 2 months ago.
She knows absolutely nothing!🤣 We have now established the very basics ie tying up,picking feet up and being led and I have also bitted her.
My question is…how to I now progress to leading off a headcollar to leading her off a bridle? I’m terrified if she spooks or shoots off with a bridle on,I’m going g to catch her in the mouth with the bit and cause issues.
Am I overthinking?! Do I just “get on with it”?!! She’s a big girl and I feel I sometimes need a bit more control than just the headcollar!
It’s been about 20 years since I had a youngster,so I feel like I’m floundering a bit!!
Any advice greatfully received!!!!😆
 
The helpfulness of the bit is the fact that if she misbehaves the bit is uncomfortable and negatively reinforces the behaviour. My youngster would take a chance at misbehaving in a headcollar but never with a bit in her mouth. The one piece of advice I was given decades ago was never let a youngster get away from you, hence using long lead ropes or lunge lines because once they know they can…they try it again and again.
 
lucky horse to get another chance, :D

control to my mind doesn't work because in the end this is around 650 kg taking off and you have no chance of stopping that. I would do a lot more work on control. In your headcollar practise what to do if she tries to shoot off ie watch her continually and the second you see her thinking pull her head to the left and push her bum over so you break the running off and are in control.. Train her with lots and lots of stops, backs and starts. Lots of turns either way. I would carry a schooling whip whilst doing this to guide her. I use lots of voice commands. When leading forwards she would match my stride so when I stopped she would automatically stop. When I backed she would automatically back. That just takes work and endless repeats. I would move onto doing it with the headcollar rope thrown over her neck and just walking beside you and listening. You can also move onto doing it without a headcollar with just a schooling whip to guide her.

If you look at TRT I think the first section is having the horse walking calmly behind you well out of your space. You stop and it stops. I think there is a free trial of TRT so you may find that worth a look.

When you have done a lot of work this way then put your headcollar on top of the bridle and still use the head collar. Then you can start to remove it. She will be stopping on your voice, your body language and her respect for you.

I think you either train a horse so it behaves/obeys/respects your space. It does take time. Or you are dependent on ropes, bits and even harsher devices and the horse is always stronger than you are so the risk of them bogging off is still there. .
 
paddy555 said:
lucky horse to get another chance, :D

control to my mind doesn't work because in the end this is around 650 kg taking off and you have no chance of stopping that. I would do a lot more work on control. In your headcollar practise what to do if she tries to shoot off ie watch her continually and the second you see her thinking pull her head to the left and push her bum over so you break the running off and are in control.. Train her with lots and lots of stops, backs and starts. Lots of turns either way. I would carry a schooling whip whilst doing this to guide her. I use lots of voice commands. When leading forwards she would match my stride so when I stopped she would automatically stop. When I backed she would automatically back. That just takes work and endless repeats. I would move onto doing it with the headcollar rope thrown over her neck and just walking beside you and listening. You can also move onto doing it without a headcollar with just a schooling whip to guide her.

If you look at TRT I think the first section is having the horse walking calmly behind you well out of your space. You stop and it stops. I think there is a free trial of TRT so you may find that worth a look.

When you have done a lot of work this way then put your headcollar on top of the bridle and still use the head collar. Then you can start to remove it. She will be stopping on your voice, your body language and her respect for you.

I think you either train a horse so it behaves/obeys/respects your space. It does take time. Or you are dependent on ropes, bits and even harsher devices and the horse is always stronger than you are so the risk of them bogging off is still there. .
Click to expand...
Thank you!! You’ve given me lots to think about and to try..appreciate your reply :)
 
Midlifecrisis said:
The helpfulness of the bit is the fact that if she misbehaves the bit is uncomfortable and negatively reinforces the behaviour. My youngster would take a chance at misbehaving in a headcollar but never with a bit in her mouth. The one piece of advice I was given decades ago was never let a youngster get away from you, hence using long lead ropes or lunge lines because once they know they can…they try it again and again.
Click to expand...

This is a sure fire way to make the horse scared of the bit and unwilling to take a contact when you ride them. We need to train them from the beginning to seek the bit, not to get jabbed in the mouth as punishment
I use a rope halter when I need a bit more control.
 
My big mare was 700kg of dangerously behaved, knew her own strength, bolshy 4yo when she was given to me. The monty Roberts dually headcollar gave me enough to say NO and bring her back to me - I couldn't afford to let her back legs get within kicking distance.

I actually did her initial backing in it too because she'd reared over backwards before me and I didn’t know if that had been a response to being poorly bitted, jabbed in the mouth etc (was just p1ss poor horsemanship turned out).
 
You could try an in hand bridle with a 3 way coupling, or a headcollar under a 1/2 bridle with a coupling, link headcollar d-ring with coupling d-ring on lead rope clip. Both increase pressure onto nose rather than onto mouth through the bit.
 
TheMule said:
I use a rope halter when I need a bit more control.
Click to expand...
Yes, there are brilliant. They're uncomfortable for the horse to lean on so are much more effective than a headcollar in the instant you do need a bit of an advantage. Plus no risk of socking them in the mouth. if you are at all worried she might bog off, I'd probably use a rope halter and a lunge line rather than a bit. I'm absolutely no expert but my colt gets called "Little Mule" sometimes - for good reason - and a rope halter works a treat on him. Once he understood pressure and release it didn't take long for him to decide that leaning on the halter was a mug's game.
 
Hi I recently got a 3 year old and he wasn’t bitted when we got him. I used to keep the head collar under the bit to start with and lead/lunge him off that. once he was more settled with the bit I moved on to a 3 way coupling as it also attaches to the nose aswell as the bit so not all pressure on the mouth. I’ve used this as a stepping stone as he wasn’t happy being led directly off the bit initially but now he’s had this on for a couple weeks I can now lead him from the bit with reins etc no problems.
 
vickiejohn said:
Morning!! Am after some advice please! I have recently taken ownership of a fabulous 5 yr old Wb mare. She is an RSPCA rescue,who was seized as an 18 month old. Due to the length of time it has taken for the legal stuff to go on,she has been held at a boarding yard until I took her on 2 months ago.
She knows absolutely nothing!🤣 We have now established the very basics ie tying up,picking feet up and being led and I have also bitted her.
My question is…how to I now progress to leading off a headcollar to leading her off a bridle? I’m terrified if she spooks or shoots off with a bridle on,I’m going g to catch her in the mouth with the bit and cause issues.
Am I overthinking?! Do I just “get on with it”?!! She’s a big girl and I feel I sometimes need a bit more control than just the headcollar!
It’s been about 20 years since I had a youngster,so I feel like I’m floundering a bit!!
Any advice greatfully received!!!!😆
Click to expand...
Bless her - gosh what a life she has had. Sounds like she won’t have been broken to the bit at all (guessing if she was seized at 18 months and you have only recently got her).

She will need gently breaking to the bit before leading her with it. Basically the breaking in process needs to start- the youngsters we always did had a bit of time with the just the bit in their mouths for a few weeks before leading them.

There are control halters you can buy- definitely worth trying first before she is properly bitted.
 
New horses on the forum require photos ;) - congratulations!

I'd work with everything @paddy555 has suggested, but I would do this with her bridle on (no nose band though) to allow her to start to associate the bridle with 'work' a little. I think of it a bit like us putting a suit on for work in the morning -just sets the mind set a little and she'll get used to the feel of the bit in her mouth at the same time.

I don't like standing ponies in a stable with a bridle on to 'bit' them. I feel their stable is a place of calm and a safe place, not a learning environment.

Back when we had the stud our stallions knew the difference between their headcollar, riding bridle, in hand bridle and the 'serving' bridle. They came out of the stable wearing each very differently behaved.
 
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