Horse Behavior How To: When Your Horse Refuses the Bit

Upon arriving at the farm, I stepped out to find the mare tied to a hitching post, with her current owner standing beside her. I was looking for another trail horse, and had come out to see her. Usually I would take the candidates from their stall, tack them up myself, and ride them in the arena to access their behavior. But the seller had done that for me. Well, buyer beware; I thought nothing of it.

In the arena, the Anglo-Arab was rusty. She didn't quite respond to reigning signals, and seemed confused by leg cues. Other than that, the mare was an angel. Satisfied that she had no major vices, I took down the tack, and didn't pay attention to how eagerly she spit out the bridle. After working with her on the ground I came to the conclusion that she was a relatively untrained, but sweet horse.

After a week of settling in, I took Angel out to the hitching post, and dragged out the tack. The saddle went on first, and after a lot of fidgeting, the cinch was fastened. The bridle was suppose to come next, but it didn't. Angel refused to accept the bit. Thinking this was merely a lack of training, I spread a little molasses on the metal, assuming this type of temptation would suffice.

While her nostrils danced, Angel's mouth clamped down even tighter. I checked her teeth thinking they were causing her discomfort, but they had been floated, so no sharp protrusions were found. It may have been mishandling in the past which caused her to refuse the bit. Regardless, we had some work ahead of us.

The first step to teaching a reluctant horse to accept the bridle is to eliminate any physical causes which may be creating discomfort. Many horses who hesitate due so because of pain. Check the canines, and see if there are any wolf teeth whose bony protrusions may be causing distress. If it's been a while since the horse's last float, it may due for a dental.