Taking the bit

Question
Hi, I have a 16 year old Quarter Pony mare. She has a major problem taking the bit. It takes her maybe three to five minutes just to have her open her mouth. On some says, she'll take it without hesitation, and on others, she won't take it at all. She has pretty much been that way ever since we got her five years ago. She used to throw her head up when we took the bit out, but she doesn't do that anymore. And we just got her teeth floated a little while ago, so I don't think that is the problem.

Thanks for you answer! :)

~Maddison

Answer
Dear Maddison

Gee, I wish I could see a film of this. Of course it may be that your bit doesn't taste good or is cold.  Do you ALWAYS wash off your bit before you put is away?  (When training colts, I often smear a bit of honey or jam on the bit to make taking it a pleasant experience.) Do you ALWAYS warm it on a cold day before you ask her to take it?  Now we come to technique.  The best way I have found to bridle a horse looks like this:

If you hear the clank of bit agains teeth, either putting the bridle on or removing it, you need to work on technique. Ideally, the bit should NEVER clank against your horse's teeth.

Standing on the left side of the horse, lay the the bit against the middle three fingers of your left hand leaving your thumb free to use in the corner of your horse's lips to encourage her to open her mouth.  DON'T push the bit against her teeth, it should be just clear of touching her. While you are doing this, your right hand is holding the headstall about midway of the length between the bit and the browband.  The right hand  goes UNDER the horse's head and depending upon how tall you and your horse are, it may be resting on her nose, well above her nostrils, or just a bit of to the right side of her face.

As she opens his mouth because of the thumb in the corner of her lips...your RIGHT hand pulls the bit gently into her mouth and slips the headstall over her ears.  The idea is that you don't shove the bit into the horse's mouth with your left hand.  You get her to open her mouth with the thumb of your left hand and pull it into place with your right hand.  If you haven't tried this technique, you will need to experiment with exactly where on the headstall you need to hold it it your right hand.  If you hold it too close to the brow band, you won't be able to smoothly pull it up when she opens her mouth.

I realize this is much easier to show you than to attempt to describe.  If you aren't familiar with this method and have trouble picturing it from my description, let me know and I will get my husband to take a video of me doing it for you.

Good Luck.

Lynne Curtis Gudes
"Common sense isn't."