My horse won't take a bit. Dose anyone know what to do?

I have a horse who just will NOT take a bit. He used to but now he won't even let you take a bit towards him. We called a vet to see if there is something wrong with his teeth but nothing was wrong.

My horse won't take a bit. Dose anyone know what to do?
Horses can become bit shy if someone has put the bit on improperly in the past.





Never hit a bit against a horses teeth or put the bit in backwards. Both of these things make horses bit shy.





If he is so powerful that you can only work him in a bit then you need to work on your body mechanics as well as his. If your body is working in the correct ways when you are on his back then he will be happier and easier to handle. Also if you body is working correctly you should be able to successfully transfer him to a bitless situation.





http://marvwalker.com/bridling.htm
Reply:Have you tried putting something sweet on the bit, like corn syrup? He might come around to that.


Maybe you should try a hackamore if all else fails.
Reply:He's become stubborn and is learning that every time he moves away he doesnt have to take the bit. My horses did the sme thing, WOULD NOT open his mouth and would toss his head all aroun dlike crazy-- until my instructor stepped up, gave him a slap on the neck and showed him who was boss-- It's just a little swat to tell him to stop acting up. Ones the head tossing has stopped, bunch the browband up and hold it in one hand, brining your arm under his nead. Take the bit in the other hand and bring it towards his mouth, this time, sticking your thumb in the corner of his mouth and 'tickling' his tounge. This way you arent just pushing the bit into his barred teeth that wont budge!! Dont worry they have no teeth in the corners of their mouth and it makes them open there mouth safely and nicely. Then put the rest of the bridle on, making sure the bit stays in an wah lah! Make sure you tell him what a good boy he is when he does it nicely!





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Reply:Based on some of the behavior you mentioned, I would start working on his ground manners again. It sounds like he has little respect for you and some good time in a round pen could really help change that. As far as getting the bit in, I would cross tie him until he is bored silly. He may be more willing to work with you. I would then get someone he knows to help you, each standing on either side of him, talk gently, make sure your bit is warm, and squeeze his jaw so his mouth opens. Since you also said that he takes control, I would try a tougher bit, something he would have a little more respect for. I hope this works for you, Good Luck!
Reply:Is there a particular reason you must have a bit?





Place the bridle over your shoulder so that it looks like part of your clothes. Put the leadrope over his neck, slide the halter off and over his neck. Now, remove the bridle, open it so it will go over his face/ears. Place your thumb behind his mouth, in the space between his teeth where the bit would sit and press in. His mouth will open, allowing you to slip the bit in.





I ask if you MUST have a bit because I recently switched my mare over to a hackamore and she is SOOOOOO much happier. I used to ride w/a tie down because she would toss her head so much. I haven't had need of one since switching her. A light hackamore with good flexibility over the nose, medium shank will be a good one to start or try. I always wanted to try one, but was afraid to because I didn't know how much control they can offer. I had a mustang that acted awful each time I rode her w/her bit. Once I noticed it was pinching her mouth. I put a hackamore on her and she acted great. I put one on my other mare after that and she took to it like she had been trained and ridden since the beginning with it. She loves it and I'm happier, too. I know she's comfortable and I'm not causing her any pain w/the bit.





There may not be anything visible or obvious, but his mouth is probably hurting to a degree. His teeth may need floating or you may need to pull his wolf teeth. If his back teeth have spurs, you'll want to remove them in the floating process.





cs...whispering, "TRY THE HACKAMORE!"
Reply:Try a bittles bridle
Reply:press the top of his head were the beginning of the forelock(having bridle in hand)press hard he will automatically drop his head then with the other hand rub your thumb around his gums until he starts licking then put the bit at his teeth(do not bang it on his teeth)


and put your thumb in his mouth again then slide it up.


trust me my horse does the same thing


hope this helps ye
Reply:try a hacamore(a bit-less bit) or you can just push in the back of his lips.
Reply:Just for starters, it would help to know the age of the horse and how experienced of a rider you are. The thing that is going on here is someone has been pulling back awful hard while riding causing the horse to feel like he has to fight against the bit. He sees the bit as a source of frustration and pain. Inexperienced riders frequently do this as they use the reins for balance and haven't learned to use leg cues for turning, slowing and stopping so they use the reins only. If this is the case, some good western riding lessons would help this situation. To work on the horse, go back to ground work with a rope type halter and teach the horse to be soft in the head by flexing laterally and giving at the pole. Clinton Anderson teaches these methods the best, so you might try his DVDs. Progress to ground work with a snaffle bit, which is much eaiser on a horses mouth, and meant for direct reining--not neck reining which will help keep the softness. Practice with someone who can show you how to put the bridle on and open the horses mouth with your finger. It's best to do this in person, and hard to explain it in writing.
Reply:take him by his ear and force the bit in .. he's being stubborn and knows with you he can get away with it.. if the vet has said he's teeth okay then he honestly is testing you and knows you wouldn't force him to do it if he doesn't want to.. you need to show him your the boss. you can be nice and sweet when not riding and saddling show him the difference.. good luck... :)
Reply:my horse is EXACTLY the same he never used to be like that either, but what i do is put my finger into the corner of his mouth and wiggle it he'll open his mouth so you can quickly slide it in, but shhhh! don't tell anyone i once (when washing his bit) i put it in boiling water and really cleaned and i wondered what it'd be like to have a bar of meatl in your mouth and i wondered what was so bad about a bit and i licked it and it tasted of metal! metally taste - awful it was cold too! so what i do now is just cover it in warm honey he takes it like a treat! :-) it's really easy bridling him now he just opens his mouth!!
Reply:I would say that you have to work on his ground manners. Did anything happen to where he is now head shy? It sounds like you need to just sit and work with him until he takes it willingly. Even if it takes a whole weekend straight through, nothing is more effective than just putting time in with your horse, do not give up and let him off easy!
Reply:Just recently I have trained my horse to accept the bit. I couldn't get near him with a bridle, so I put the bit on a lead rope. Also, you shouldn't hide the bit and try to sneak it into his mouth because he will learn to distrust you and always think you are doing something sneaky. My horse hated honey on his bit, so I had to try something different. Every day I would put the bit in his mouth before I fed him and he eventually got to the point where he willingly accepted the bit even after he had finished eating. If you can't get the bit in before you feed him, then first get his attention. Make sure he knows that you are in charge, not him, but you will not hurt him. Establish yourself as the "alpha horse" and he will respect you more. You can do this by first putting a halter and lead rope on him and stepping out and to one side of him. If he wanders around, doesn't look at you, or just stands there, swing the tail end of the lead rope at his hindquarters until he moves away. If he resists, keep swinging, but tap him with it harder and harder until he moves his butt away and faces you. DO NOT LET HIM RUN YOU OVER!! If he gets too close to you, move out and swing at his butt again. He must learn to respect your space. As soon as he moves his butt away, stop swinging. Do the same for the other side and repeat on both sides until if you move out and to the side, he swings his butt and faces you without you swinging the rope. You can also test to see if he is paying attention by moving from side to side in front of his head to see if his head follows. You don't want him to move away when you are close to his side (as if you were grooming him), so don't swing the rope when you are close to him. When he is licking his lips, seems calm and understanding, and stands still in front of you, pet him and tell him he is good. Then move close to his side and rub him everywhere with the bit. If he stands still praise him and give him a treat (or his food if you are trying the method I used on my horse). If he moves, step out to the side and swing the rope, then try again. While you are doing this, make sure you maintain a posotive attitude. If you get mad or frustruated, just calm down. Do not take out your anger on him or be too agressive. Stay calm and "neutral" in attitude, but happy and friendly when he is good. Eventually, if you do this constantly, he will learn to respect you and will even allow you to put the bit in his mouth. Who knows, he may even be much more pleasurable to ride (my horse is too young for me ride- and too small; he's 40" high- ). One more suggestion... READ PAT PARELLI'S BOOK!!! It is really good and his techniques have made my horse, Trigger, a really sweet horse. I have gotten him to longe around me in the direction of my choice with just a hand signal and have jumped him over jumps. He respects me and is really responsive. I plan to train him to be a driving horse and using Parelli's techniques. By the way... it is called Natural Horse-Man-Ship. I hope my suggestions work, and good luck!!!
Reply:I have had the same problem. Before you can solve the problem, you need to know what is causing it. Your horse could have been abused at one time, and there could be something you are doing that is only making it worse, or maybe its the bit itself. If the bit hurts the horse, or if it is too harsh, then the horse will do exactly what yours is doing.





If your horse was abused, then you have to start with getting it used to having its head and mouth touched and handled. After that, put a rope in its mouth, for a few seconds, every day. After that, try a rubber bit, then progress until you have the bit you want.





If its the bit that is causing the problem, do the above, except stay with a less harsh bit, if your horse "takes control" you can either get a harder bit (but be careful its not too hard or else you'll be back to square one) or you can learn easier and better ways of controlling your horse, one amazing way that you can train your horse and do amazing things is Parelli. Try it, and you wont be disappointed.





I hope this helped you, good luck with your horse!
Reply:has any thing speical gotton toke away from him