YOUR HORSE’S TRAINING
No one wants a battle with their horse when putting on a headcollar or a bridle. Mel Beale finds out how to make this simple procedure go like a dream
THE TIME HAS come to tack up your horse, and off you go to track down the tallest person on the yard because even on tiptoes you won’t be able to reach when your trusty steed sees the bridle and, giraffe-like, thrusts his head skyward. Sometimes the only way to tack him up is to deconstruct the bridle and reconstruct it once it is on his head. This may avoid the inevitable head throwing battle, but time clocks on and before you know it five or 10 minutes have elapsed. What a faff!
Whatever way, though, riders find to deal with bridling a horse, head shyness is no laughing matter, no matter what jokes they might be the butt of on the yard.
Equine behaviourist and qualified bit and bridle fitter Olivia Turner finds that, as with any behaviour, head shyness sits on a sliding scale from mild to extreme.
“More mild behaviours include the horse turning his head away when he’s approached in the field, throwing or reaching his head into the air, or moving away from his owner in the stable,” says Olivia. “At the extreme end, there are horses who will violently throw their head away, rear up, or become so aggressive that they force their handler to back away. When behaviour is this extreme, owners should seek advice from professionals — it isn’t as simple as the horse not wanting to wear a headcollar or a bridle.”
What causes head shyness?
“There is a difference between horses who are frightened and those who have learned to avoid being bridled,” according to Olivia. “They might still have an element of anxiety, but they are confident with it, possibly because they have found a successful tactic to evade the handler.”
Some causes of evasion include:
■ Ears — These might have aural plaques, which can be painful, so the horse doesn’t want his ears to be touched.
■ Eyes — He might have a medical problem with his eyes, such as uveitis or an ulcer.
■ Mouth — This could be a source of pain or contain sores caused by his bit, or perhaps he has tooth pain possibly caused by an abscess.
■ If the horse is suffering from any of the above, he will usually be happy with the owner touching over the rest of his body, but will be reluctant to let his human near his face. This can be from pain, or following treatment for a condition.
“Even if an experience happened a long time ago it can continue to make the horse fearful or try to avoid being touched,” says Olivia. “Certain movements around his face can make him defensive — even simply raising a hand towards him in a particular way can be a trigger, so he might withdraw or become aggressive in an attempt to protect himself from a perceived threat
