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Discussion on Throws Head While Removing Bridle
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Member:
Lhenning
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005 - 4:32 pm:
My four year old quarter horse has started to throw his head up while I am trying to remove his bridle. I am not doing anything differently than I have for the past two years, and we are using the same snaffle bit I've always used. His is not head shy normally and doesn't mind me touching his ears. He just seems in a hurry to get the thing off. I notice he sometimes does the same thing when I remove his halter. What can I do to nip this habit before it gets out of hand?
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005 - 4:48 pm:
Have you had his teeth checked by an equine dentist? How do his ears look? any inflammation?
If so...I'm the carrot lady. As your hand goes up to his poll, have a carrot ready, if he doesn't flip he gets the carrot...start by rewarding little tries first ( )
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005 - 5:29 pm:
Linda,
my gelding started this habit last year and I couldn't figure out what his problem was.
Whenever I went to take off the bridle, he would raise his head as soon as the headstall was off his ears, clanking his teeth on the bit in the process (which made the problem worse).
I took some John Lyons advice and started asking him to lower his head by putting pressure on his poll. It took a while, but he finally kept his head down while I removed the bridle, which now doesn't clank on his teeth. I think he appreciates that. So now when I ask him to lower his head, I can tell he is thinking about it and knows that it will be better for him if he does it.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005 - 7:43 pm:
Teeth is my first thought, too, as this is a young horse . . .
Always make sure you allow the horse to spit the bit out as you slowly hold the headstall in front of his forehead . . . and THEN lower the entire bridle . . . Also, I always keep my left hand lightly across the bridge of my horse's nose when I unbridle . . . not to HOLD his head in position, but to give him a signal to keep it down should he start to raise his nose.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 24, 2005 - 7:39 am:
Assuming no disease, the carrot method can be very effective if done properly as Aileen hints. For a complete discussion on shaping horse behavior using positive reinforcement see, Training Horses » Behavioral Problems » Behavior Modification, Conditioning, Desensitization, and Counterconditioning.
DrO
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Member:
Lhenning
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 24, 2005 - 11:57 am:
Lisa - I used the John Lyons method to teach him to lower his head while I bridled him, but never thought to try it on the reverse (duh!). I will give that a try.
Aileen - Last night I noticed he had a sore spot on the back of his right ear, where another horse must have grabbed him and tore some fur off. It is scabbed over and nearly healed so it must have been there for awhile and I never noticed until I rode him (I'm too short to see them while standing). I'm being extra careful now to not touch the sore spot while removing his bridle and that seemed to help.
Holly, Dr. O - Thanks for your ideas and good advice. It's so nice to have a place to go for fast, reliable information.
Happy trails,
Linda
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