Your tips; getting bridle off & headcollar on at shows

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mrussell

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Picture this;

excited and exhausted horse arrives back at the lorry. Hard working groom has to untack fidgety sweaty horse and once the bridle is off... so is the slippery sweaty geegee. Groom struggles to keep the wriggler under control with just its reins and martingale whilst trying to get the headcollar back over its nose which is now some 2 hands higher than it was before the bridle came off.

Yep, it would be easier to poke butter up a cats bum with a hot needle than get this little tykes headcollar on.

So... your tips please !

(ps sweaty wriggler is a dope on a rope at home so its not a case of day to day bad manners just uber excitement)
 
Mine can be like this at home & knows exactly how far I can reach & just grows that little bit more so I can't get it on her when she has got over excited. I have had to buy a headcollar a size to big put this on over the bridle & slip the bridle off underneath the headcollar not the easiest TBH but the safest option I have found.
 
My advice. Don't - just put the headcollar on over the top, detach the reins and the martingale and sort it out at home ... at least until said geegee is more settled and used to the routine at shows. It would be nice to give them a nice relaxing wash off, completely untack etc etc, but in practice this isn't always an option. IMHO better to stay in control and have a 'fun' day than keep fighting an excited horse. Much nicer all round for those involved.
 
buy a headcollar that unbuckles on the nose, head, and clips at the throAT.
that way you can feed it on under the bridle
 
Take the bridle off in the lorry with the partition done up. Sponge horse down etc everywhere apart from head. Load horse with bridle on, close up partition, lean over, slip off bridle and on headcollar, finish sponging horses head and all done! (less escaping horse!)
 
Buy a headcollar that has a nose buckle too, and you can put it on, then slide the bridle off. I am bad at remembering things like this but you may have to undo the nose buckle on the headcollar briefly to get it off.

Oooor, undo the straps on the bridle but keep the reins round the neck, put the headcollar round the horse's neck (do it up on the last hole where the buckle by the side of the head is), slip the bridle off (and reins) and then just slip the headcollar over the horse's nose. That way, you always have either reins to hold which are round its neck, or the headcollar, which should be over his nose very quickly
 
Ha, I can carry on that situation...

hot sweaty horse with reins round its neck, does a runner with groom holding bridle at headpiece, bridle snaps leaving reins and bit round horses neck whilst its running round the carpark (sorry all the people who hate calling a horse 'it', but I won't swear on the forum).. bit banging on said horses knees, so horse steps through the bit which is now swinging under his belly and buckle of reins in the saddle position.. then said horse stops to eat grass... owners run around the carpark after said horse... catch up with it. want to kill it. Horse goes obediently back to trailer, loads and gets taken home!

We just put the headcollar over the bridle now, load then take bridle off. We never take said horsey off trailer unless he has a bit in his mouth. lesson learnt.
 
We havent got to that stage yet but I cant see it being far off ;0)

We now travel him tacked up so think the safest option is to wash down in a bridle and take it ff once he's on. (Hadnt actually thought of that ! doh !)

thanks everyone....

(ps CotswoldSJ - for some reason hes like an automaton at shows so think he would probable decapitate himself if we tied him up by his neck. This is the only horse Ive met who has to put his knee boots on his handlers.... if you catch my drift) (bless him)
 
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