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Bridling

Bridling a horse can be tricky if you don’t know the proper steps to follow. Here I will give you some tips on how to bridle a horse if you have never done so, have only done it a few times, or if your horse has a problem with bridling.

How to Put on the Bridle

Initially, you want to start with your horse in a small space such as in a stall or round pen, so you can easily catch him if he gets away.  Outfit your horse in a halter and lead rope. Have your bridle ready over your left shoulder and start taking off the halter from your horse’s left side. Once it is off, buckle it around your horse’s neck. Put the lead rope in the bend of your right arm. Then put the reins over his head, and gently apply pressure on his poll, which is right behind his ears, by pressing down on his neck with your right hand. This pressure will get him to lower his head making it easier for you to put the bridle on.

Once his head is down, place the bridle in front of his face, holding the top of the bridle, the crown piece, in your left hand. Bring your right hand over his neck and between his ears, grabbing the crown piece and holding it up to his forehead.  From that position place your left hand in front of his mouth underneath the bit. Your left hand should be under the bit with four fingers in front of his mouth and your thumb at the corner of his mouth. Your horse should open his mouth and you will gently bring your right arm back toward his ears, guiding the bit in with your left hand. Be careful not to hit his teeth with the bit, that doesn’t feel good to him and you want bridling to be a pleasant experience for him. When the bit is in his mouth take your left hand off the bit, bringing it up to hold the crown piece. Take your right hand off the crown piece and push your horse’s right ear forward under the crown piece, then his left ear. Now you have the bridle on his head.

Next you want to fasten the throat latch first, which is the strap that goes under his jaw to hold the bridle on. Be sure not to make the throat latch too tight. You should be able to fit at least three fingers between the throat latch and the horse. If you have a bridle with a nose band, make sure you don’t fasten it too tightly as well. You should be able to fit at least one finger between the nose band and the horse. Now that you have the bridle on, take off his halter and you’re done.

Help for Horses That Won’t Open Their Mouth

If during the bridling process your horse refuses to open his mouth, stick your thumb in the corner of his mouth to suggest that he open it. As soon as he opens it, click, take your finger away, and feed. If he still won’t open up, start moving your thumb around tickling the roof of his mouth. If he is being very resistant press hard with your nail on the roof of his mouth until he opens it. When he opens his mouth, click, remove your thumb, and feed, don’t put the bit in right away. The horse is resistant is because he doesn’t want the bit in his mouth for whatever reason. Ask the horse to open his mouth multiple times, rewarding each time, by clicking and feeding. When the horse readily opens his mouth whenever you ask, go ahead and slide the bit in.

Help for Horses That Raise Their Head When Bridling

Teaching your horse a head down cue will make bridling easier. To do this, place your thumb on the side of your horse’s mane closest to you at the poll, which is right behind his ears, and place your first finger on the other side of his mane, on the right side of the horse. Apply a little bit of pressure slowly getting stronger about every seven seconds. When he lowers his head even a little bit, release and click at the same time, feed, and rub him at the poll to desensitize him to touch there. You want to start with the least amount of pressure possible, which would be just touching him with your fingers at the poll. Increase the pressure to pushing down, then squeezing, wait and hold until the horse drops his head a small amount. Watch his ears to see if his head is moving down slightly. Even if he doesn’t respond to the strongest amount of pressure, keep applying it until he moves his head down, then release and start again with low pressure. If he throws his head up or tosses it around, follow him and keep the pressure on the best you can until he gives you the correct response, then immediately click, release, and feed. He may toss his head for a few minutes but if you keep the pressure on he will find the correct answer.

Help for Horses Who Avoid the Bridle

Some horses have had bad experiences with bridling and will throw their head up and/or stick out their nose to avoid it. With this kind of horse repetition, time, and jackpot rewards will be key in solving the problem. When you bridle your horse, be gentle and work slowly. When the horse willingly opens his mouth and lets you put the bit in his mouth, click, and feed the horse a jackpot. A jackpot for me is multiple handfuls of grain. You can also use treats as well. The jackpot tells the horse that what he is doing when you click is great and he will get a large reward. This encourages the horse to repeat the behavior you clicked for. Jackpots build his confidence and he will learn faster. I stop doing the jackpot once the horse is completely willing to be bridled. All of my horses like to be bridled and will reach for bridle, putting it in their mouth’s on their own. I continue to feed a small handful of grain once the horse takes the bit after he is easily bridled. Over time I will fade the treats to only giving him one occasionally.