weird bridle issue!

[L&M]

I was wondering if anyone could help with a bizzare habit my horse has got into.
Over the last few weeks, when I come to remove his bridle, as I take the headpiece over his ears, he spins. This leaves him with a bridle hanging off the bit, still in his mouth, but with reins etc trailing on the ground, and eventually falls off once he lets the bit go! I daren't hang onto the reins as am worried that the bit will bang his teeth and panic him more.
The first time it happened was when I turned him out after riding a couple of weeks ago - our field is off a bridlepath just adjacent to the yard, so often untack him in the field and carry the tack down to save 2 journeys. It came totally out of the blue and was nothing obvious to spook him. The next time I rode, I brought him back to the yard afterwards instead and he was fine when untacking him there, so just put it down to a freak thing. However, a friend rode him a few days ago and he pulled back, this time whilst putting the bridle on, which again left him trailing his bridle across the yard. Today I tacked him up and he was fine having the bridle on, but freaked out again when removed.
He had his teeth checked at Easter, and can't see any explantion for this behaviour. He is not head shy and doesn't have a problem with his ears being touched, and seems ok with his headcollar too.
However he is quite a quirky little horse, so could just be a phase he is going through - last summer he decided that he didn't like being tied up and would pull back until broke free, again this was just for a few weeks, and then just stopped the habit one day and hasn't done it since! However the bridle situation is more worrying as I don't want him to hurt himself, and as we compete regularily don't want to lose him around a lorry park trailing his bridle.
Any ideas?!

 

[Kat]

At competitions I would travel him in his bridle until you are sure you've cracked the problem.

In the meantime at home try taking the bridle off by unfastening a cheek piece and see what happens. It will mean that if he does disappear he will not be trailing a bridle. He should also be easier to keep hold of.

The other thing to try would be riding with a well fitting head collar on under his bridle, so that you can clip a rope (maybe a lunge line) to the head collap before you take his bridle off and keep hold of him.

Sounds to me like maybe something has frightened or hurt him once and he is anticipating the same again.........

 

[Fii]

When you untacked him in the field, he was probably keen to run off (back to his mates?)
so as you took the bridle off he was already thinking, ok, off i go, and then went, yaahooo, im free!!!.It may have startled him to find the bridle not quite off, and it gave him a scare, so when you went to take the bridle off next time, in the yard, he antisapated the same thing happening, hence his reaction.
You could try having a headcollar on under the bridle for a while, so that you can hold onto him better, while removing the bridle.

 

[L&M]

Some good advice - thank you. I think you are right with the anticpation thing as he is quite sharp and especially as has frightened himself a couple of times now.
When I get him in tomorrow I will try your suggestions - do you think it would be best to bridle him/unbridle him in a stable so that he can't back off, or would it panic him more if he couldn't run?

 

[Chestnuttymare]

He just wants to get away quickly. I would do it in the stable and practice teaching him to stand until the bridle is off and you allow him to leave. Maybe ever time you take the bridle off, give him a bit of apple or carrot whilst telling him to stand. He will then wait at the field to get his treat. I had to do this with my mare and she did this too and tank off before her headcollar was off properly. Now she stands like a lamb.