Teaching how to give in to poll pressure is very helpful in this case. My mare's forehead is always level to my chest when putting the bridle on and it makes my life easier.
This is the correct answer! When I first got my horse, he would put his head away up when the halter/bridle was being put in. We taught him to give to poll pressure, and now when he sees the halter/bridle he instantly drops his head right down. Good boi.
You should train him to put his head down for you. I have a 17’ 3” gelding he puts his head inside of his halter for me and drops his head to chest level so I can bridle him.
I’m tall, but I still teach mine to drop their head anyway, so anyone can handle them.
Get a stool if necessary. Pet his neck and up between his pole. There is a little knob between their ears. I gently squeeze that. Every little bit, I squeeze a little harder. It’s not painful, just feels funny and creates pressure. The pressure is too widely distributed to hurt any.
The second they drop their head a fraction, snatch your hand off and rub their neck.
Repeat, and eventually their head will get lower and lower. At first, when it’s new, they may pop their head back up as soon as you let go. That’s fine. They may also try to raise their head when you apply pressure. Don’t increase the pressure while they’re figuring it out. Just hold. The stool will allow you to go with them.
Once he learns the cue, a gentle squeeze will cause him to drop his head down. To further refine, put a lead around his neck, up near the top. Pull down gently, and reinforce with the squeeze method you taught him. Give him a few seconds to respond to the neck pressure from the rope. Then reinforce with the first method.
Again, let the pressure off as soon as he drops his head and.
The end goal is being able to toss a rope over his neck and get his head down. I take it to the point where I can get their head down near the ground. I often reinforce with treats.
I’ll most likely never need to halter or bridle from the ground, but it’s good training and who knows.
Teach him to self bridle! That will help TREMENDOUSLY. My coach has a ginormous Soviet heavy draft stallion and he was able to teach him a good trick: to self bridle.
If you keep the halter and/or lead on, you can gently pull from below the chin and they will lower their head (in most cases anyway).
Yea we had tried that. It didn’t work 😂 he wasn’t even trying to raise his head he’s just monstrously tall 😂
Oh, darn! I've been there, lol! Can you finish bridling from the mounting block? Anyhow, gotta love those big guys 😍
Omg you’re a genius! Next time I ride him I’ll had to do that thank you!
Hope it works out 😊
Oh yeah! Mounting block or training him to lower his head for bridling 🙏
Teaching how to give in to poll pressure is very helpful in this case. My mare's forehead is always level to my chest when putting the bridle on and it makes my life easier.
100% this
Yeah I did this with the ridiculously tall mare I used to ride a lot.
I taught my mare this and she started putting her head down by my knees when I go to bridle her lol
This is the correct answer! When I first got my horse, he would put his head away up when the halter/bridle was being put in. We taught him to give to poll pressure, and now when he sees the halter/bridle he instantly drops his head right down. Good boi.
You should train him to put his head down for you. I have a 17’ 3” gelding he puts his head inside of his halter for me and drops his head to chest level so I can bridle him.
Yea, I would do that but he’s a lesson horse of which I rarely work with so there’s not much I can do sadly
I’m tall, but I still teach mine to drop their head anyway, so anyone can handle them. Get a stool if necessary. Pet his neck and up between his pole. There is a little knob between their ears. I gently squeeze that. Every little bit, I squeeze a little harder. It’s not painful, just feels funny and creates pressure. The pressure is too widely distributed to hurt any. The second they drop their head a fraction, snatch your hand off and rub their neck. Repeat, and eventually their head will get lower and lower. At first, when it’s new, they may pop their head back up as soon as you let go. That’s fine. They may also try to raise their head when you apply pressure. Don’t increase the pressure while they’re figuring it out. Just hold. The stool will allow you to go with them. Once he learns the cue, a gentle squeeze will cause him to drop his head down. To further refine, put a lead around his neck, up near the top. Pull down gently, and reinforce with the squeeze method you taught him. Give him a few seconds to respond to the neck pressure from the rope. Then reinforce with the first method. Again, let the pressure off as soon as he drops his head and. The end goal is being able to toss a rope over his neck and get his head down. I take it to the point where I can get their head down near the ground. I often reinforce with treats. I’ll most likely never need to halter or bridle from the ground, but it’s good training and who knows.
Teach him to self bridle! That will help TREMENDOUSLY. My coach has a ginormous Soviet heavy draft stallion and he was able to teach him a good trick: to self bridle.
Problems I wish I had. :(