Training Tip: Horse is Scared of the Bit

Question: I just got a new horse and she is scared of the bit. Her old owner told me she was trained through abuse. She is also shy around her ears. I have been doing lots of the head-shy activities including, Approach and Retreat. She has gotten better but is still scared of the bit. What should I do? – M. Gustin

Answer: Good job on building your mare’s confidence. Forgetting her past and working her through the Fundamentals exercises are the best therapy you can give her. In most cases, if you practice the Fundamentals groundwork exercises, the problem disappears, because you’ve earned the horse’s trust and respect. However, some horses are truly afraid of the bridle and need to be taught that it’s nothing to fear. The most important thing to remember when confronting a horse with a bridling problem is to break the process down into steps.

Start by teaching your mare a cue to lower her head. That way, when you go to bridle her, you’ll have a way of controlling where she puts her head. To do this, teach your horse the Intermediate exercise Touch and Rub: Poll. Stand on the left side of your horse facing her head with your belly button. Hold the cheekpiece of the halter with your left hand. Put your right hand between the horse’s ears and gently touch her poll with your thumb and index finger; your fingers should be on either side of her forelock just behind the hard lump between her ears. Gradually increase the pressure by pressing with your fingers, then pushing harder and finally digging your fingers in until she responds by lowering her head. The instant she drops her head, even slightly, immediately release the pressure and rub her poll.

Initially your horse may dislike the pressure and will react by throwing her head up. If she does, keep your hand on her poll as you maintain the pressure until she finds the answer by dropping her head. The key to this exercise is to reward the slightest try. If she drops her head even slightly then reward her by releasing the pressure and rubbing her poll with the palm of your hand. Through repetition, your horse will gradually drop her head lower and lower until it eventually touches the ground.

Rubbing your horse after she has dropped her head is very important because it will stop her from becoming defensive about you touching her poll. Rub her for a few seconds, or until she raises her head again, and then repeat the exercise. After your horse is good about lowering her head to your touch, teach her to keep it there until you ask her to raise it by putting your hand under her chin and lifting her head up.

Now that you can get her to lower her head, it’s time to desensitize her to the bridle. The secret here is to be obvious in your actions and not sneak around the horse. First, work on desensitizing the airspace around the horse’s head to the bit using the Approach and Retreat Method. If she can’t accept you waving the bit in the air next to her, she’s never going to allow you to touch her with it and put it in her mouth. Then, standing on the left side of the horse, facing the same direction she is, put your right hand over her ears and reach down her face to bring the headstall of the bridle halfway up toward her ears. Hold the bit in your left hand and move it about 6 inches under and around her muzzle, making sure not to touch her muzzle. When she keeps her feet still and shows a sign of relaxing, retreat. At this stage, do not attempt to put the bit in her mouth.

Once the horse is comfortable with the bit moving around her muzzle, rub the bit all over her muzzle without actually putting the bit in her mouth. When she stands still and relaxes, retreat. Continue to Approach and Retreat until she’s comfortable with the bit moving all around her muzzle. Then stand to the side of the horse and hold onto the halter. Rub her neck with the bridle, working your way up her neck towards her head using the Approach and Retreat Method. When she keeps her feet still and relaxes, retreat the bridle back down her neck. Continue to Approach and Retreat in that fashion until you can rub the bridle over the horse’s entire head, ears, cheeks, jaw and muzzle.

Then desensitize her ears to the headstall of the bridle. Ask the horse to lower her head to your belt level and put your right hand over the horse’s ear and reach down her face to bring the headstall of the bridle halfway up her face—just as you would if you were going to bridle her. Pull the headstall up towards her ears and then retreat when she keeps her feet still and shows a sign of relaxing. Then rub her with your hand. Continue to Approach and Retreat until you can take the headstall up toward her ears and she remains relaxed. Then put the headstall over the horse’s ears, one at a time, and keep repeating any particular motion she doesn’t like until she remains standing still and relaxed.

Now that you’ve erased any defensiveness your horse might have towards the bridle, you can teach her a cue to open her mouth for the bit. Many bridling issues occur because the horse is worried about having the bit in his mouth. Most people react by trying to force the bit into the horse’s mouth. While that tactic may be successful once or twice, in the end it will cause the horse to hate and reject the bit even more. To avoid that problem, teach your horse a cue to open her mouth.

Stand on the left side of the horse, drape the lead rope over your right elbow and hold the cheekpiece of the halter with your right hand.

Then insert your left thumb into the corner of the horse’s mouth where the bit would sit. Rub the roof of her mouth with your thumb until she opens her mouth. Your horse’s sensitivity level will dictate how hard you’ll have to rub the roof of her mouth. A sensitive horse may never need to be rubbed, whereas a dull horse may need to have the roof of his mouth rubbed vigorously. As soon as she opens her mouth slightly, remove your thumb and rub her face. Repeat the lesson until your horse learns to open her mouth automatically to your thumb. You will then be able to use this cue to open her mouth whenever you go to bridle her.

Now you can put the bridle on the horse. Be sure the bridle is long enough that you don’t have to jam the horse’s ears into the headstall and make her feel uncomfortable. It’s far easier to have to tighten the bridle once it’s on her head. Ask the horse to lower her head to your belt level, if necessary. Put your right hand over the horse’s ear to pull the bridle up toward her ears while holding the bit in your left hand. Rub the bit over the horse’s muzzle and put your thumb in the corner of her mouth to ask her to open her mouth. Pull the bridle up with your right hand and use your left hand to guide the bit into her mouth. Do not push the bit into her mouth.

Then slip the horse’s ears, one at a time, through the headstall. Once the bridle is on her head, give her a treat for a job well done and rub her face. Then take the bridle off by sliding it down her face, taking care not to hit her teeth with the bit.

Practice putting the bridle on and taking it off several times until your horse no longer has a problem with it. For the best results, practice desensitizing to the bridle between sensitizing exercises and at the end of a lesson when the horse is relaxed and using the thinking side of her brain.

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