Bridle Problem

Question
When I bridle my quarter/arab mare, she often raises her head so high I can reach the top of her head to place the bridle on.  I heard somewhere that there is a spot on either the top or mane that when a pressure is placed, the horse will lower their head.  A lot of time my mare is really responsive to receiving the bridle and bit and at other times, for no apparent reason, she raises her head and makes bridling very challenging.  I place my right hand under her jaw and gently bring my hand up on her right hand side face and sometimes this works well.  Other times, she just won't give in.  Eventually, I can get her bridled but with much hassle.  Please help.  Thanks.

Answer
Leonard,

OK.  Hope you have lots of patience because that's the key.  Yes, there are pressure points up on the poll area, actually acupressure points, but it takes a lot of work to get a horse to respond to them.  I don't know how you bridle your horse but it needs to be done with consideration.  No crushing or pulling ears, or otherwise rough handling but you probably know that already.  While you can teach her to respond to the pressure points and drop her head, when you take your fingers away she can raise her head again.  I rather train my horses to take the bit.  I always start with a treat in my hand along with the bit so that they learn to take the bit to get the treat.  Like I said, this can take lots of patience.  Putting some molasses or honey on the bit can help too.  Messy but makes it taste a lot better.  

You have a mare and the problem you are having is one of the reasons a lot of people, especially men, don't like to use mares.  They can be picky and difficult at times, sometimes related to their cycling and other times just because they're girls!  

So work with her, and like I said it may take a while, to get her to readily accept the bit.  Make it taste good and give her rewards when she does it correctly to let her know she's pleased you.  She'll come around but like I said, as a mare she can have her moods.  Just don't fight with her, ask her nicely, as many times as it takes.  It can be very frustrating but you just have to out-patience her!

Hope this helps.  With repetition I think in a while, maybe weeks/months, you'll conquer this problem.  Just treat her like a lady!

Lyn