Bad Bridle Behavior!
Many horses, especially school horses, develop bad habits when it comes to tacking up. Horses may try to lift their heads away from bridles, clamp their mouths closed, or even get nippy when you try to tighten the girth. Today, we’ll talk about ways to work with a horse who moves his head when you try to put his bridle on.
First, practicing with your horse when you’re not going to put a bridle on at all will help. If you have cross ties, start there–it will limit how much he can move. If you don’t, tie him to a proper hitching post in his halter. Then just reach under his chin. If he moves his head when you do this, move with him until he can’t move his head any farther to the side, just keeping your hand underneath his chin. If he stops moving and lets you keep your hand under his chin, pat him, tell him good boy, even give him a tiny piece of his favorite treat. He may, however, resort to raising his head really high to try to avoid your hand–try to keep your hand on his chin while he does this, until he drops his head back down (he’ll get tied of holding his big head up!) As soon as he drops his head, reward him. Do this until he’ll let you put your hand under his chin without moving, and then just put him away. Keep doing this over several days until on the first time you can put your hand under his chin on the first go without him moving. Then try it all over again reaching over his nose, reaching above his ears, etc. Soon he’ll learn to let you put your hands wherever you want around his head without moving. Be patient, but persistent. Don’t let him get away from you.
In the meantime, when you do actually have to tack your horse up, try reaching under his chin and wrapping your hand up over his nose. This trick allows you to put some pressure on his soft nose with your fingers, which will let you guide him and hopefully keep his head a little closer. Another thing you can do, if you’ve got helpers, is to have one stand on the side that he likes to turn his head to. When he turns away from you, have the helper push his head back toward you.
Using these techniques, you can improve the behavior of your horse, even if he’s a school horse! Be patient, and always reward your horse when he’s good. Good luck!
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Comments on Bad Bridle Behavior!
THANK-YOU!
Thanks, this will help a lot!
I have one question though. the horse won’t take the bit in and I am tall enough to reach her head when she raises it but she still wont take the bit. It took 3 people to get her to take the bit. Any tips?
Hey,
just recieved you email update to say that you’ve released a knew podcast about Bad Bridle Behaviour. I looked in itunes (because that’s where I get to watch your podcasts) and couldn’t find it. Any idea why? Thanks for putting up all the podcasts, being new to riding it really helps to know what I’m doing. I really appreciate it!
Thanks,
Emma
@Emma:
Emma–
This blog is just a blog, unfortunately, no podcast! So that’s why you can’t find it on iTunes–there’s nothing there ;) Maybe, though I should start making at least voice podcasts even if I don’t have video to go with it…? There’s a new idea!
Thanks so much for checking in, and hopefully I’ll have a new video up soon!
Cheers,
Ali
A good trick for getting a horse to open his or her mouth is to put your thumb in his mouth and press down gently on the gum in the gap between his teeth where the bit goes. But if your horse is this resistant to putting in the bit, it’s probably worth looking to see if there is any good reason for it! For example, if the bit doesn’t fit right or the bridle is too loose, it could be painful for her and that’s why she doesn’t want it. So make absolutely sure that everything fits right. Also, make very sure you aren’t hitting her teeth with the bit–I did that to Noah and he stopped letting put the bit into his mouth until I stopped whacking his teeth! If you are positive that she has no good reason for avoiding the bit, then it’s time to work on training her better. If you can, come out and bridle her when you aren’t going to ride. Put the bit in, and take it out, then put it back in a bunch of times in a row. Every time she accepts it, reward her with words, pats and a treat. Keep at it, until she learns what you’re actually asking for.
-Ali
thanks a lot it realy helps ali B)
Hy ali.I woud like to no about hackamore bits and bridle bits so far i no that hackamore bits
are a littla diffret then plane bridles.But i woud like to lern more about them.
I have a nother problem i wonder if you coud help me with.
I have a shetland pony and i woud no that ther a litta more stubren then other horses.
Now she is my pony but im a litte bit biger then her now i woud like to get a big horse
but i woud allso like to trane her first for my brothers.
The trubel i have is that i need to trane her to go left and rihgt when i ride .she wasent
fully trane from the start so (aka) like to no how to do this left and rihgt thing with her.
Thanks for writing in! Firstly. hackamores don’t have bits–that’s what makes them different! They only use pressure from the nose band to work–nothing in the horse’s mouth. I’m not quite sure how to help you with your second question… I would probably start on the ground working with the pony on a lead rope. See if you can get her to respond to you putting light pressure on the rope to the right and and then the left. If you can do that on the ground, she can do it in the saddle ;)
-Ali
Hi Ali,
My horse that i ride, Bailey is extremely bad about taking the bit. he either puts his head down or up or he will just not open his mouth like you said and when I go to pick out his hooves in the front he will try to bit me UGH!! he makes me look bad i’ll keep trying though it willl happen one day ha ha ha thanks so much for making these videos They helped me ALOT with those horse exams which I aced YAY I am now cantering which isn’t going so well he always puts his head down and i fall foward he scares me alot and he’ll break out it to almost a gallop for just 6 inch jumps which is fun to go over but not when he act’s like that ~SIGH~ i guess it just takes Miles and Miles in the saddle! =D From Amber & Bailey!
Ali I was wondering if it was possible to have a bridel without a bit or would that still me considered a hackymoore
Well, there are things called “bitless bridles” but they are basically glorified leather halters. The reins just clip right onto the side of the nose band.
-Ali
Hi Ali- I love this blog! A video on the steps you describe above would be super helpful for us visual learners…;-) thanks!!
That would be a good idea! I’ll add it to the queue ;)
-Ali
Hi Ali, there is this horse at my riding school, and when ever i try to put a bridle on her she swings her head around and try’s to bite me and she lifts her head up really high. She also hates me putting her girth tight and try’s to bite me on the neck! She also hate walking into the school arena and she wont budge and she is an ex racehorse so when i canter she try’s to go into a gallop! But i always manage to pull her up
These are all classic school horse bad habits, I’m afraid. They will take a lot of consistent work to fix, which is almost impossible when you’ve got a bunch of different people riding her. It would be best to start with someone to help you, who can keep her from biting. Next is to make sure that there is nothing causing her pain, like a pinching girth or an ill-fitting bit or bridle. Always be careful to slowly and gently tighten the girth, and make sure you don’t bang her teeth with the bit as it goes in or out. As long as you can rule out that she’s acting out of pain, then you can move on to fixing her habits. Have your helper hold her lead rope, rather than having her in cross ties or hitched. Practice going to put the bridle on with her halter still on. If she acts up, have your helper back her up five steps, then walk her forward again. Repeat until she doesn’t turn toward you when you approach her. You can do the same thing with the girth. Unfortunately, if the other riders don’t hold up your training, you’ll have to redo it often. Good luck!
-Ali
When my daughter goes riding she usually has to tack up the horse she will be riding but they always puff out and then the saddle slides down. do you have any tips
You have to check the girth multiple times, and always tighten it right before you get on. You may even have to hop off after a few minutes of riding and tighten it one last time.
-Ali