BRISTER’S BRIEF
Bridling your horse If you find yourself reaching for a stepladder every time you try to bridle your horse, CHARLIE BRISTER has some advice to help make bridling blissful … for both of you.
M
ost people who ride use a bridle. So it’s fair to say that there’s likely to be some
of you who might need a little help making bridling a better experience. It’s easy to think that the horse is at fault if they’re difficult to bridle, when in reality we need to realise it’s up to us to make it easy for the horse, not for the horse to make it easy for us. Like most things with horses there are a couple different ways to approach it. Sometimes what works for one horse doesn’t always work for another. Even before you put the bridle on, notice what your horse does when you put a halter over their head. If that’s hard to do, then you are most likely going to have even more issues when it comes to bridling. Horses are generally trying to protect themselves from things that cause them discomfort, or things they are uncertain about. So make sure that any gear you’re going to use will fit correctly and cause as little discomfort as possible. Two common problems are either the horse putting their head up in the air or not opening their mouth easily for the bit. Let’s focus on these two issues. This can occur with young horses, but also older horses who have been competing successfully for years. Some people don’t see it as a problem or don’t address it, but it’s probably one of the easier things to work on with your horse, requiring only patience and good timing. Sounds easy, right! Start with your horse (or pony) in an area
Sometimes bridling your horse doesn’t go quite as planned.
where they feel comfortable. That could be the stable or a paddock. If the horse is anxious and fidgety it’s probably not worth dealing with the bridling issue until you’ve looked at what’s causing them to fidget.
Relaxing the poll While your horse is wearing their halter, stand on their near side with the lead rope in your left hand. Run your right
