SOS I am getting desperate dealing with this issue. Horse is 17hands, likely pushing 17.2. He’s a good egg in most other aspects but is a huge PITA to bridle. It is not his ears, his ears can be handled just fine including putting a bridle (with no bit attached) over. It is the act of putting a bit into his mouth that is the issue. I have him in a nathe and have tried a “jointed” plastic type bit (instead of true joints it’s 3 pieces with a steel cord core) and am ensuring not to hit his teeth with the bit going in or out. I’ve tried wrapping the bit in a fruit roll up every ride for about 2 weeks with absolutely no change. I’ve tried breaking it down like Warwick Schiller demonstrates, no change. Please help! What else can I do??
What exactly is happening?
Does he lower his head, let you put the bit up to his mouth, and then put his head up when you ask for him to open his mouth? Raises his head the minute he sees the bridle?
I think a really nuanced explanation of what goes wrong and whether it is a consistent precise moment or a general negative response would be helpful.
I teach all of mine that the weight of my hand on the side of the poll is a nose to their knees cue. With that rock solid I can put anything around or near their face and work on comfort holding a relaxed down cue. Every time they get haltered it’s a gentle drop and then I treat through the nose opening until they learn to push into the haltering process.
Once that’s rock solid I remove anything and introduce a finger to the corner of the mouth means open up and cookie goes in. No shoving a finger in or poking, just the weight of a finger. Then I can string the three together pretty seamlessly. It’s way easier when there isn’t a prior negative pattern but I’ve had success there as well.
When the reins go over their head any horse I’ve had wants to drop nose to knees and will start to gently open their mouth as the bit is approaching, pick up the bit, and stay in that same relaxed positioned until buckles are done up and they get a neck pat.
If the haltering and bit pick up isn’t seamless I wouldn’t expect bridling to be seamless.
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Have you checked the inside of his mouth to ensure that there’s nothing showing irritation from the bit (corners of the mouth, tongue, etc.)? When were his teeth last floated? My mare could get sensitive about the sides of her face being touched if she had sharp points.
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I just read about someone (Dressage or Eventing forum) putting a fruit roll up on the bit to help the horse accept the bit more easily IIRC.
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I made a comment about using a fruit roll up, without remembering that you already had done that 
#mombrain
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A full veterinary examination of his mouth is in order.
It could also be a learned response from pain that is no longer happening. If that’s where you are, I’d try using a clicker to see if you can get him past the unpleasant memory, but a bit, that’s hard to feed treats through too. The nathe is the best bit I think; maybe you might try a leather bit, since that is even softer, to help get him through whatever has distressed him.
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I’d have a vet check for any sharp or weird tooth or sinus issues to start with.
Maybe fruit roll ups aren’t his thing.
How is he for rubbing his gums, handling his tongue, rubbing where his bit sits? Any soreness or good with it?
He might be sore somewhere in his mouth or that bit might not be her preferred bit.
Cake frosting is another good thing to put on bit to make it taste decent.
Horses……
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Take it how you may but a few of my young horses I started did not like the fruit roll up.
Have you tried a different bit? N=1 but your situation made me think of my gelding, who is not hard to bridle per se, but very fussy about his face. I did a lot of ground work with him. At one point I tried him in a nathe and he hated it. Spent the entire ride trying to get it out of his mouth.
In addition to all the excellent comments, I don’t know how much you’ve done so far but here’s what I do for all my young horses:
- Teach them to yield their poll - use the reins or a lead rope over the poll and put pressure on their poll until their eye is level with your elbows. Rinse/repeat. Treat if necessary. This is a life skill - for haltering, to bridling, to unexpectedly getting tangled up in something.
- When bridling, put a grain bucket under their nose or a treat. Once they take the bit, give them grain and/or treat.
- Don’t do up the noseband etc right away. Let them get comfortable (I wait until they stop chewing). Put the noseband on the loosest hole until you get on.
- They are not allowed to lift their head above yours - this is where poll exercise from #1 comes into play. The second they lift, use the reins/rope to put them back down. Don’t rush this step, and don’t put the bit in while their head is raised.
- I always give a gingersnap or gumdrop when they take the bit - and I keep my hand low so they have to reach for it.
Might be helpful to lower the bit a hole or two, if you think it’s the added discomfort of the bridle itself.
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When was his last dental? I have a big guy too who I trained to be better about bridling (he wasn’t ever bad, just very tall with no awareness) by a) finding the right bit and b) just dunking the whole thing in peppermint oil.
But that said, the two times he’s been totally unwilling and downright difficult to get a bit in his mouth, he’s had tooth/mouth pain. First time it was a cracked tooth. Next time he was just super sensitive one side of his mouth after floating. NSAIDs took care of it.
There’s a reason. My guy normally is very good about putting on his muzzle but started lifting his head high as a “no”. Sure enough he had a rub and a small open wound. Solved that and he’s back to a willing sweetheart.
Is your guy good about putting on the halter? If so, explore his mouth. Pain is somewhere mostly likely.
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Start with basics. Feed bucket on the ground with carrots and apples… Sliding halter on and off while he snacks. Then bridle’s headstall without bit. Once that gets no notice… carrot in back pocket… bridle with bit over shoulder… pick head up out of bucket, pull out carrot so they know they’re getting a treat… slide in bridle with bit and let them eat carrot. Let them eat with bit in… the idea is to make it not so scary.
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I had one of these. She thought every intrusion into her mouth was paste wormer which loathes to this day. I put molasses on the bit. It was really messy but it worked. Then I graduated to a peppermint treat after she took the bit. Now she is fine. Except not for paste wormers.
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A thorough vet examination of the mouth would be the first step, with sedation.
After that has found no injury or issue with the mouth, then the next step would be to pair the bridling with a treat… a cookie, once the bit is in the mouth. If you can’t get the bridle over the ears with his determination to not have the bridle on, then just work with clips on the bit, to snap it to the rings on the side of the halter (might be easier if he’s big and “negative” about the issue). Once the bit is in his mouth, he gets a cookie. The “cookie” can be anything that he likes… you choose. Once he “pairs” the bridling with the cookie, he will take the bit willingly, if you find the right offering of cookie. I offer a few bits of extruded kibble that they like as a cookie. It doesn’t matter if they drop some of it, if they have not yet figured out how to get it past the bit, they get the taste, and they get better at it. They do understand payment for a job done right.
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How long has this been going on? Is it new behavior or has he always been like this?
I agree with looking for issues in his mouth and then treating it as a training issue as the obvious places to start, especially if this is consistent behavior for him, but my horse (who is usually fine to bridle) will also start refusing the bit when anything is bothering him in general. It’s his way of communicating that he’s unhappy being ridden. Once it was actually the bit and he went back to normal after some trial and error to find one he liked, once it was saddle fit, and once it turned out to be a sign his hocks were bothering him. So definitely start with the obvious, but consider that it could also be a sign of something totally unrelated.
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And I’ll add having just started a mustang who’d never had a bit in his mouth, that if you are thoughtful and soft and waiting for them to open their mouth, then there is some reason for this behavior.
My guy opens his mouth and is calm and willing and it’s easy.
There is always a reason for poor behavior.
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Do you put a bridle on correctly? Client and I once went around on this, I had no trouble with green horse, they had trouble. They were experienced, so I was shocked when I asked them to show me what was going on. Turned out they only knew how to put a bridle on the old packer and were just standing there holding it vaguely in front of the nose until the horse stuck its head in the air.
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Sugar cube is my go-to for this! My horse threw her head up once while bridling, got her teeth hit with the bit, and there we went. I used sugar cubes to overcome the issue. Very handy. Just the right size and easy for the horse to eat with the bit in the mouth.
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Had a horse who did this, when she was normally VERY good. Turns out the Lick-it I had put in the stall for enrichment had caused a sore in a really bizarre spot on her lip. Once the sore was healed, problem solved.
I’d be taking an in-depth look at his mouth for sure.
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I use sugar cubes and follow the path that Beowulf posted.
Does he do the same thing to others? How old is he? I have a horse who will not take the bit if the person does not follow HER protocol LOL.
Did someone else already mention the fit of the bridle? We know so much more these days about
buckles pinching and all the nerves just under the skin on the head.
I bought as draft sized browband because my guys head is larger and I don’t want the crown piece pulled forward.
Also, is it possible the bit is pinching anywhere?
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