| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| katherineepea |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 8:42:57 PM
I have finally found a really lovely sharer who has been sharing for about 3 weeks now. Everything going well until last night when he wouldnt let her get the bridle on and kept sticking his head in the air. the lady who lives on the yard(elderly, not able to help) said she was there till 10pm
he can be a bit of a cheeky monkey and was a bit monkeyish today when i put it on, obviously having gotten away with it last night but now im worried as hes taken the p*** gotten away with it and her confidence has fallen through the floor I dont know what to suggest?
he does try things like this but can always be overcome- with his last sharer he used to get outside the gates go halfway down the bridlepath and then just stop and go no further! he has tried this with me but a firm word and nudge forward and on he goes. he just does it to test but would never go too far or be nasty
anyone have any suggestions?? |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| katherineepea |
Posted - 06 Jun 2009 : 07:51:49 AM
She is I think if anything too soft with him, I am going up with her today to try some different methods out. Even our new farrier called him a cheeky monkey yesterday and thats exactly what he is!
She has spent time with him on the ground grooming(which almost never have time for to do a 'full groom') and hand grazing and lunging etc she is very careful to do everything right.
A groom on our old yard ear twitched him as he wouldnt let me near his mud fever but it was horrid and he was funny about having his ears touched for 2 years after and still can be now. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. I will have a look in his ears but his teeth are up to date.
Thanks for all your replies! |
| Gerri |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 10:24:14 PM
Actually zan and for your information, I have never ever inflicted pain on any of my animals or ever raised my hand to any of my animals in my life and used to take on horses that others had given up on and never ever gave up on them either. so YES it SOUNDS awful, but proof is in the pudding and we gave him treats as soon as the bridle was on, after a few wekks he happily accepted the bridle, it was not done with force or aggression, he was a huge horse and I am tiny, no excuses but if you want to think I inflicted pain or discomfort on my horse then that is up to you. |
| SarahA |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 9:44:11 PM
Sounds like he is playing:) Undo the cheek piece on one side, slip the full lot over the head and then its just a matter of opening the mouth and putting the bit in and re attaching the one side. but you have both hands free and it cant slip off, alternatively, put them at the back of the stable and stand at the withers, turn the head towards you holding the nose, they cant escape as the only way to go is quarters away and the stable wall is there, keep head low and then try to put the bridle on. |
| mogwai |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 6:54:22 PM
All my horses (ranging from the grand old age of 3 1/2 to 14 months) all lower their heads on command. It's something i teach them almost immediately. I use clicker training, but basically any reward based training will work long term (bread round the bit, polo mint etc).
I'd also suggest, if your sharer is new to your horse, getting her to spend a little time with him on the ground so they can get to know each other a bit, before climbing aboard.
I'm sure you'll get things ironed out and they're hacking off into the sunset before long
Ros x |
| Karon |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 6:01:11 PM
I had this problem with my first horse and, to start with, solve it by undoing one cheekpiece, getting the bit in then doing up the cheekpiece. Now I do cheat and have bitless bridles which are very easy to get on! Leaving a headcollar or halter on under the bridle works well too as then you have something to hold the horse with.
Watch your sharer putting the bridle on, too, and see how she does it - could be she's being too rough and quite rightly your horse is saying "no way". Or maybe she bangs his teeth with the bit when she takes it off and he's not happy to have the bit back in again because of that. |
| ali bali |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 5:18:46 PM
A horse I ride used to do this regularly and at 17.3 it was a nightmare until we hit on the plan of just holding the bridle up as high as possible in a 'ready to put on' position and waiting (not attempting to put it on) for as long as it took. Agony on the arms but their head is heavier than a bridle and very soon he would drop his head and let you bridle him without a fuss.
Now he rarely puts his head up and if he does providing your only response is just to raise the bridle and wait he drops his head straight away and opens his mouth for the bit.
He is the only horse I have tried this on but it worked a treat in a very short space of time  |
| Claire |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 3:59:31 PM
my horse used to be very difficult about having the bit put in- I suspect that previous owner may have smacked him in the teeth with it but I put honey on it to start with and was really gentle and now he opens his mouth before the bit is anywhere near! - obviously not good for teeth as a long term solution though and you and bridle and horse do tend to get a bit sticky! |
| NatH |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 1:09:28 PM
Patience and perseverance I'm afraid.
Just don't let the 'little monkey' get away with it!
Keep calm, try & leave his head collar on underneath the bridle at least your sharer will have something to get hold of.
Huge rewards when he takes his bit |
| geegee |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 11:57:12 AM
Just to add to Rozy and Zan, if you are running out of polos  you can teach a horse "pressure and release"
Start off with very, very light touch at the poll. Any movement down or attempt to move down = hand taken away.
If nothing happens, increase touch a bit etc, etc
The key is to increase the pressure slightly until you get movement away from your hand and the timing of the release is most important, so that the horse is being rewarded correctly and understands what is being asked of him.
I also use the same technique when my horses have a halter and lead rope on. I hold the clip underneath and gently hold and increase the pressure in the same way. I only have to simulate pulling (without even touching the rope) and my horse will lower her head.
(When I say pull, I am not using my weight in any way. It's about holding the pressure for as long as it takes - could be a couple of minutes, could be twenty minutes or more!)
Treat it like a game. Use it on all body parts to get your horse to move away/towards you from pressure. It's interesting how your movements become less and less and the horses' become more.
Hope this makes sense as rushing a reply....
Good luck |
| honey |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 11:55:36 AM
umm ros does this lol, used to spend ages trying to get him bitted in the end now i just fire the reigns ove rhe walks a bit more while i gather the reigns in a loop and hold him long enough for me to get my hand round his nose he still puts his head up in the air but he brings it down evenetually. This is also a way of me knowing if ros is happy to be ridden or not when hes enjoying the work or enjoyed the ride the day before he stands and lets me if hes not enjoyed the work or the day before hes a pig with his head held over the stable wall in the corner so i can;t get near him. They don't take long to learn how to evade getting the bridle on., and take the **** lol. |
| Zan |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 11:27:13 AM
Yes Gerri,that does sound truly awful, and also a sure fire way to make any horse never want to have a bridle on again.
It sounds like the horse is testing the sharer in a good natured sort of way so the response should be good natured in return, not heavy handed and forceful.
Rozy rider's method with the polo mints sounds more to my liking.If possible it would be good if the sharer could spend some time working on getting him to lower his head on command (for a polo initially) without a bridle.
It probably isn't the case here, but as a general point, if any horse is reluctant to have a bridle put on, as well as checking teeth, check for aural plaques in the ears---small whitish warty looking things. These make the ears very sensitive, especially when a head piece is pushed over them, and sometimes it is necessary to work out a different system by putting the bridle on in stages.
With Gerri's method--bad enough in my book to twist the ear of any horse, but if it had aural plaques it would be absolute agony |
| Gerri |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 07:38:12 AM
This sounds awful but it does work, if you can get hold of there ear and twist it, not hard but firm enough and hold it for a few minutes and all the time talk soothingly they start to nod off then you can ease the bridle on....... sounds awful I know but had to do that with my O/H 17.2 as he would not let you put a bridle on after a while did not need to do it at all as just put his head down for you, bless him R>I>P Ben x |
| Rozy Rider |
Posted - 05 Jun 2009 : 12:44:38 AM
Try him with mints...my mare does it all the time and takes the pi....., I just have to talk her down and not get to stroppy with her, more or less treat it as a joke and stroke her and talk silly to her, till I can get my hand over her nose. Only seem to have the problem at home in the stable. When were out she's as nice as pie, tack up at the side of the trailer, I think she forgets it them...Tell her not to get angre and buy some mints...Very cleaver horse...no bridle ..no ride
Sue |
| Moira |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 11:27:49 PM
My 17hh ISH used to do this All I did was hold her bridle half way down the cheekpieces and hooked the headpiece over her nose to pull it down to a height I could reach. Once I had hold of her nose it was easy to keep hold of her and put her bridle on. |
| joanna_piana |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 11:15:30 PM
They are cheeky aren't they. My friends anglo does this, the girl she bought him off couldn't get near his head and I often had to go in an catch him in the stable and tack him up for her. Imagine my mortification last weekend when I went to tack him up and he did it to me!! I had to get the YO to catch him for me |
| Mrs Vlacq |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 10:33:30 PM
mounting block at the ready so she can step up and bridle him - he'll probably just as soon figure out it's not worth the effort! |
| katherineepea |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 10:09:02 PM
might suggest that one-good idea
also, its def not his teeth as i spent £100 on those end of december! |
| rosie |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 9:32:52 PM
how about undoing the bridle at the cheekpiece & putting it on like a headcollar once the bit is in the mouth? |
| katherineepea |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 9:18:34 PM
she tried it with bits of swede which he loves but once he knew he'd gotten away with and she felt defeated that was it.
i could do it fine, im just worried that she will feel even more defeated and it will spoil her confidence |
| Mrs Vlacq |
Posted - 04 Jun 2009 : 9:02:36 PM
Get her to wrap a slice of bread around the bit and offer it low down so when he takes it she can niftily slide headpiece over ears. |
