Bridling Your Horse

Equipment:  A bridle with the leather in good repair and that is adjustable 
                    A full cheek snaffle bit, continuous reins
                          (I prefer rope reins 5/8 inch diameter; they are
                           easier to work with)
                    Dressage whip or an aid for encouraging forward movement
                              14 foot lead rope

     Bridling your horse is like anything else you teach; you need to teach it in a step by step process.  The first step to bridling is getting your horse to drop his head.
     First, you will put your hand on his poll, or top of his head, and let your hand rest there.  More than likely, your horse will raise his head up and to the side.  Make sure you follow his action with your hand in place.  Once his head drops, even if it is a fraction of an inch, remove your hand. Pressure and release.  It is a good idea to work on this little exercise every time you are with your horse.
     The thing to think about next is that your horse must keep his jaw placed toward you and definitely not pulling away.  You can teach him to stand properly by standing at your horse’s neck, between his head and shoulder. Place your right hand under his jaw and your left hand over his nose.  Gently, apply pressure on your horse’s head by pulling it toward you.  Give your horse the chance to bring his head to you with light pressure before you pull on it.  Hold his head in that position for a second.  When you let go, your horse will move his head back to the straight, forward position.  All you have to do is ask again.  When your horse turns his head in your direction, go ahead and love on him.  Then, put your hand on his head and ask him to drop it down again.  Rub his forehead, over his ears, and around his mouth so he gets used to being handled.
     Now, in order to be able to slide a cold, hard metal thing into your horse’s mouth, you need his mouth to be open!  If you try to force the bit into his mouth, it is equivalent to hitting your own teeth with a fork or spoon, and that hurts.  No matter how mild or severe, you do not want to use pain to train.  Refer back to an early step in bridling and ask your horse to hold his head to the side, at a height you can work with.  Horses have teeth in the front of their mouths then there is a space with no teeth, before you get to their molars, in the back of their mouth.  This space without teeth is where the bit sits and where you will place your finger.  Go ahead and put your finger into the side of your horse’s mouth.  When you place pressure on his gums, your horse will open his mouth. You might have to move your finger around on your horse’s gum the first time or two, before he will open his mouth.  Immediately, remove your finger and praise your horse.  Pressure and release.   
     Work on this skill until you barely have to put your finger into your horse’s lips and he opens his mouth.  At this point in the bridling training, you can let the bit slide into your horse’s mouth, without hitting his teeth. Now you can let the bit slide into his mouth without hitting the teeth.  It is important that your horse learns to be polite during the bridling process for other reasons in addition to putting a bit in his mouth.  For instance, you will also be able to inspect his mouth and his teeth whenever you need to, and give him wormer without a fight.
     At this point, I will assume that your horse has his head down, is turned toward you, and open his mouth for you.  It is time to slide the bit into his mouth and the headstall over his ears.  Let the bit lay in your left hand, resting over your thumb and ring finger. Hold the top of the bridle in your right hand, with your arm lying between your horse’s ears, over his head.  You will want to make sure your right elbow is pointing toward his body and your left hand pointing toward his face.  Put your thumb in the corner of your horse’s mouth and when he opens it, lift the bit into his mouth with your right hand.     This places the top of the bridle at his ears and ready to slip over the far ear, first, and then the nearest ear.  So, if you are standing on the left side of your horse, slip the headstall over your horse’s right ear, first, then the left.

     If your horse begins to show resistance at any point, be sure to stop.  Go back to a step in the process that your horse was comfortable with.  Practice that step until your horse is comfortable again.  You do not want to force the bridle onto your horse.