All about horses

Part Two

You can begin to work with your horse when the horse is calm around you .

You must be able to provide the correct environment for the animal by making sure that your horse doesn’t feel insecure .

Sometimes this means that you cannot take the the horse too far away or out of sight of the other horses on the farm or ranch .

Horses are herd animals and their instinct to be with other equines is strong .

So make sure that you are keeping your project horse close to others and only move them slowly away for short periods when you begin your sessions.

When the horse is used to you working around him and is calm with grooming and touching you can then start to introduce the bridle .

In the very beginning it’s ok to keep the halter on and put the bridle with the bit in his mouth for short periods .

Again ,if you are not experienced with a bridle and the bit ask for professional help and please practice on a horse that is used to it first .

Before placing the bit in his mouth with the bridle make sure that you have done all your work on patting and rubbing his neck and working up to his head and ears .

Use a hugging type pressure on the bridge of the nose to steady his head for the bridle .

In the beginning you might have to use your forefinger in the corner of his mouth to get him to relax the jaw and open it .

Offer the bit with the same hand using the flat palm of your hand .

Place the thumb in the corner of the lip and pull up .

The horse will automatically open the mouth .

I’m stressing here again that your horse should not be head shy or nervous around you first .

Wear a hard hat or riding helmet to protect your head when working around green or rank horses that need retraining.

Once you get the bit and bridle on you can then proceed to work in hand and do more training and leading .

See my other blogs on these subjects .

Keep your sessions short in the beginning and make sure to put your hand on the bridge of his nose when taking the bridle off .

See my blog on ground work and bridling .