Safely retraining a hard-to-bridle horse at Lucan Lodge

When a horse, especially a big tall horse, is difficult to bridle there can be a risk to the handler. A horse that barges, head tosses or pulls away during bridling can injure the poor tiny person on the ground! Step one is to establish a ground tie. Step two is to ask the horse to back up every time he moves away or flicks his head high.

Once he has realised that he will have to back if he exhibits these behaviours, he becomes less likely to try them. They don't get him anywhere, and backing is hard to do.

To ensure we stay safe with such a tall horse, we can use an alternative method of bridling while he is being retrained. Rather than try to get the bit into his mouth and then pull the head piece over his ears, which can result in the bit coming free and swinging towards us, we can place the head piece on first and secure the throatlatch. Then if he tosses his head suddenly the bit can't hit the handler - it may bang him on the nose but, his nose is tougher than ours!

We can then undo the cheekpiece on the near side, and let the bit hang down. The bit can then be held safely, and placed against his lips. If he tosses his head, the bit stays low, held by the handler. In this video, you can see the bit being repeatedly placed against his lips, gently but consistently. Every time he does a big head toss, he is asked to back. Eventually, he stops trying to avoid the bit by head tossing, and opens his mouth. The bit slides in, and is secured again at the cheekpiece on the near side. A nice scratch is his reward.

Ears-then-bit is a much safer way to retrain a hard-to-bridle horse than tying it down, standing high above it, or twitching an ear or a lip. It also keeps the horse calm and free from anxiety. With repetition, the horse will lose his resistance to bitting, and you can eventually go back to bridling in the standard way (bit-then-ears).

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• lucan lodge
• rachael greaves
• horse
• training
• problem
• retraining
• bitting
• bridling
• bit
• bridle
• tossing
• head
• dangerous
• canberra
• act
• nsw
• australia

[LucanLodge]

@Justasam - as long as he has the basic concept of keeping his feet still, that's all you need. Horses learn to stop shuffling their feet pretty quickly if you are just patient and persistent and you keep squaring them up again every time they move. It does take longer to teach them to stay in a ground tie without you next to them, and it's a good skill but not essential. With the basics down and no stamping feet to contend with, it's much safer for you to work on issues like head tossing!

[LucanLodge]

@animalrights800 it is frustrating isn't it! But you're right, getting mad just makes it worse. Can you get the bridle over his ears without him tossing his head? If so, then this technique should work for you, and keep you safe. Make sure he doesn't have a good reason for resisting though - get your vet to check his teeth in case they are hurting him when the bit is in. If his teeth are OK, it just takes time, patience and consistency to reteach him that the bridle is not a big drama.

[LucanLodge]

Horses who clench their jaw and pull back when the bridle is being removed are in a vicious circle - they do it because they're afraid it will bang their teeth, and when they do it they do bang their teeth!

[LucanLodge]

This technique is useful for horses who grip the bit and pull back when you are removing the bridle as well. Undoing the cheek strap on one side allows the bit to drop out while the bridle is still over the ears, so any pulling pressure is taken on the head piece rather than the incisors.

[mrm007mieszko]

like horse to

[Justasam]

how ground tie trained should the horse be? Well enough to stand next to you while you're bridling? Or well enough you can leave him ground tied for 5 minutes or something?

[animalrights800]

i have a 16.3 hh appaloosa and everytime i try to bridle him (d-snaffle) he backs up throws his head everywhere and put it so high where i cant reach it, i've tried treats and tying him but nothing has worked. everytime the strap or the bit touches him he tos his head and it just gets me frustrated and i know im not suppose too, but i dont get to ride him at all.

[DeathByPurpleUnicorn]

How do you retrain a horse that is hard to unbridle(he bites the bit and then jumps backwards)?