# Help! My horse just walks away when I bridle him



## aeberhardt (Mar 15, 2015)

Afternoon! I would greatly appreciate any advice. I adopted a 14 year old Hanovernian gelding about 6 months ago. His ground manners were less than excellent. We've come a long way, but I am having problems when it comes to bridling. Once I take his halter off and secure it around his neck. He walks off. My trainer suggested leaving the cross ties attached to his halter when I take it off and place it around his neck. Well, he just walks away snapping cross ties like they're rubber bands. 

Has anyone dealt wih this? Its unbelievably frustrating!!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

If you have a fully-adjustable halter, for the time being, leave the halter on completely and the cross ties in place when you bridle him. Then, remove the halter. It takes a little more effort to undo all the buckles and snaps to get it off, but once he learns that he won't be going anywhere until that bridle is securely on, he should quit.

He does it now because he's learned that he can get away with it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Tack up in a stall?


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

I'm sorry, but this made me giggle. Not sure I get the picture or I'm missing something. Yes, if you take his halter off & he knows you're about to do something he'd prefer not, of course he's going to leave the scene if he's allowed! Why do you take his halter off & let him go? Keep the halter on him(at least around his neck if you don't want to put the bridle over the top) and a lead on it, with you holding the lead.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

had a horse with similar issues. It was suggested to me to do it like this: leave halter on, ties loosed but with lead rope(you'll want to be somewhere you have space to work), put bridle on- don't slip reins over head or do buckles as you may have to take it off quickly, before horse goes to leave you- first give him a reminder that you want him to stand still 'stand' if that's your cue. If he does not and starts to head off then sent him out from you speedily as though you are lunging or round-penning. -If he wants to move then make him* move * after you feel that he is suitably chastised- ie he starts showing signs of submission bring him back to a halt cue to 'stand' then proceed to bridling again. Repeat lunging again if necessary.

note: I never had to use this method- it was explained to me after I had told someone he had broken two bridles running off bridling (issue was resolved by just leaving halter on his neck. We were being lazy and just taking the halter off entirely)


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Teach absolute obedience to 'whoa'
Should not matter if you only have the halter around the neck while you bridle him-he should stand, if he is solid on standing, until asked to move.
Break down what the real problem is. 
At the moment, it appears he has learned that he can just wander off, depending on what is on his head.


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## PSNapier (Oct 23, 2012)

I'd handle this differently than how the others recommend.

I would bring his bridle and him to the round pen with your lunging instrument of choice. I would attempt to bridle him (reins over your shoulder, not over his neck), and if he choose to walk away I'd ask for energy until he decided he wanted to come back to me and reconvene.
Wash rinse repeat, praising at any hint of tolerating or try. I'd end there for the day at the first big try- no riding until he accepts it fully. A horse that rejects the saddle, bridle or mounting is not mentally prepared for you to ride and puts you in a dangerous situation.

Now, I consider teaching the horse wanting to stay with you a horsy 101 type thing, but if you've never gotten it before, obviously you'd need to work on that first before reintroducing the bridle or it's not going to be very productive.
Good luck! <3


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

the second he started to walk away, after you'd secured the halter under his neck, I'd give him the biggest jerk on the line he's had in a long time. And, I would not have him in cross ties. you will need to be able to make him move his feet HOW YOU TELL HIM, so work on bridling him NOT in cross ties at first. if he decides to move his feet, then you make him move his darn feet pronto! you watch him, and the second he makes the mental committment to move away, you jerk the line hard, and if he still "leaves", you make him move but not away from you, but rather around you. after he's moved a bit, and is looking at you like, "ok, who are you? are you my new captain?", then you ask him to stop. and start all over with the bridling. 

but letting him just choose to "leave" is not ok. you MAKE that choice not such a good one, by making him move. cross ties are not good for this sort of treaining. so, do this outside, if possible.


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## MaximasMommy (Sep 21, 2013)

Can't you just stop him and back him back into place? I've dealt with my fair share of horses that thought it was fun to walk away from the mounting block the second I go to climb it. I just back them into place and get my mommy voice on. You have to stop them the second they start doing something wrong!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

There are times to make a horse move his feet, and there are also times where you teach a horse to stand
Since I show quite a few of my horses, They are taught not just to stand, but to square up and stand, no matter what is going on around them
I don't use cross ties. They are relatively safe, used on a horse that is first 100% solid on being tied solid, and not left alone
Thus, they all learn what a stud shank is, run under the chin. Taught proper response, with that immediate release, a stud shank does not have any negative effects. You can watch any showmanship pattern ,a t upper end, and see those horses al performing on very light cues, happy , and on a loose lead shank
Anyway, I thus start to teach them to ground tie that way. If they move, they get put back to where they were, given a slight reprimand with that shank, and told again to 'whoa'
I groom them ground tied, and once they are ready to start under saddle, they are ground tied with just a plain lead shank or the reins, while saddled and un saddled. I can bridle them with nothing on their head, and they don't move.
I ;m not going to lunge a horse in front of a trailer to load, nor am I going to drive them around the round pen, waiting for them to stand
I use the round pen, maybe once or twice, when first starting a horse, and wait for that 'join =up', but after that, I want that horse to stop, on the rail,and wait to be asked to come in, or just let me walk up to him and halter him.
A broke horse, that walks out of a 'whoa', goes where he wants, lacks respect


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Ditto above. I too don't agree with making a horse 'work' in punishment for this. For one, I disagree that to teach a horse to stand, driving it away whenever it moves is the most effective tactic. Secondly, I want my horses to learn that what I ask of them, be that in a pen, online, wherever, is not bad for them, not that it's unpleasant punishment, or that they will be 'worked' until they are forced to 'submit'.


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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

It sounds like he doesn't respect the halter at all on his neck. Does he by chance try and pull away when you turn him out? 

I'd go into a stall, bring his head slightly to the inside and go to unlatch the halter. If he went to even look away, i'd firmly bump his head back toward me while holding the buckle and crown piece of the halter. When I had his attention, i'd go to put it around his neck. If he went to pull away, i'd firmly bump his head back to me and disengage his hindquarters to get him facing me. The reason i'd do this in a stall, is so he wouldn't be able to drag me off. I'd repeat until he realized he needs to respect the pressure on his neck just as much as pressure on his nose. Your goal is to get him leading my his neck. 

Now if he's so resistant to give to pressure, even in a stall, use a second halter on him. Ask him to give with the halter around his neck, then bump him pretty firmly with the halter on his head. 

Then i'd go ahead and bridle him. When bridling, make sure you catch his nose so so speak so if he goes to move away, you can use the bridle to get his nose back toward you.


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## aeberhardt (Mar 15, 2015)

*Thank you!*

Thank you all so much for your input! I do work with him in the round pen, standing, etc. He's great being bridled in there, won't move a muscle. In response to just a few of your questions, 


I wish I could just pull him back! haha but he's 17 hands and I weigh like 140 on a good day. 
I don't just take his halter off. I secure it around his neck. I always grab it when he walks off but he acts like its a tree pulling contest once that happens.

I am going to combine a few of your suggestions into my new "training tool" for Pico. I'll let you know how it goes!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The round pen thing is pointless - the horse has no clue why he's in there being made to run round and round until he's too tired to want to move
At worse he's going to start hating going in a manege or round pen because he'll start to associate it with being worked inconsiderately and as far as he's concerned no reason, consistency or structure.
Break the cycle of the habit by tacking him up in his stall where he has no where to walk forwards too and you can teach him 'halt' in a confined space


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## BreezylBeezyl (Mar 25, 2014)

I would recommend teaching the horse to tie outside of cross ties. Do you have somewhere in or outside of the barn to tie him to? A post, a hitching rail, a stall door (vertical bars ONLY!)?

When I put my horse's halter around her neck to bridle, I undo the knot on the lead but leave it wrapped around the pole. That way if she pulls back or moves she won't injure herself, but the rope is still 'there'. This way I can also grab the lead and pull her back in an instant if she moves. 

It sounds like you just aren't correcting your horse, so when the horse moves you need to ask it to stand. I bet if you give a firm tug or two on the lead when he goes to walk off, he will soon get the idea that you want him to stand still. Sounds like he's just being a bit naughty and has learned you will not correct him, so he gets away with it!

I'd also say that if he walks off from you in other aspects, that the horse needs a refresher in his ground manners and general respect... But I also think that I would address the tying FIRST and respect SECOND depending on how he is in regards to other areas.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

aeberhardt said:


> I wish I could just pull him back! haha but he's 17 hands and I weigh like 140 on a good day.


Even a small pony is stronger than the average man. That's why we use brain over brawn, and use tools that give us a bit of leverage.:wink: Forget trying to get into pulling competitions, because you'll never win. Have you got any help??


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## aeberhardt (Mar 15, 2015)

loosie said:


> Even a small pony is stronger than the average man. That's why we use brain over brawn, and use tools that give us a bit of leverage.:wink: Forget trying to get into pulling competitions, because you'll never win. Have you got any help??



I have help sometimes. A lot of the time it's just me. If you haven't guessed, he's my first project horse. I'm going to work on ground tieing and go from there. I can totally understand those who are saying don't run him into submission, but rather teach him to stand by correcting his undesired steps or movement. He's good in a round pen but probably because he knows if he leaves me or becomes unfocused he has to move. I haven't taught him that in larger spaces so that's another area for me to think about.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

aeberhardt said:


> I'm going to work on ground tieing and go from there. ... I haven't taught him that in larger spaces so that's another area for me to think about.


I'd start with basic yielding & get that happening before worrying about 'ground tying'. He needs to be controllable to begin with. And yes, horses don't generalise well, so that he may only have been taught in a round pen means he may just not have been taught the same rules apply outside it.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

iT's quite funny, that before NH became so popular, people managed to train horses quite well, with no round pen in sight.
I'm not saying that it is not handy to have a roundpen, for that first few rides or so, but the round pen is way, way over used. Heck, we even have a verb now-round penning!
I started horses for years without a roundpen, and even after we built one at our current location, I always got a colt out of that roundpen Asp, so he truly learned to guide.
There are many horses now that are ridden and worked so long in a round pen, that they actually learn to rely on those walls to guide them
I horse can certainly learn to stand and not move, to lead with respect, even before you work on suppleness and bend, which is best done riding
Even our colts learned to stand , and not leave when saddled and un saddled.
For me, that is a basic, same as having a horse learn to accept being tied solid
Whoa, is akey basic every one of my horses learns early in life,a nd it is an absolute. It does not mean easy, slow down, but stand , until asked to move


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## Cindyg (Jan 12, 2009)

I know this one! Because my horse did something equally annoying. I would take his halter off, and his head would go straight to the ground! Every time!

Get a tie collar or a grooming collar. This particular one only has one ring, and you'll need two for the cross tie; but you can easily add a second one. With this on, he's still tied as you bridle him. 

After a few tries, my horse's habit was broken. One less thing to argue about.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Cindy, contrary to my first impression of the OP, she keeps the headpiece done up around the horse's neck but doesn't have any control like that. So another neck strap is not going to make any difference.


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## PSNapier (Oct 23, 2012)

> The round pen thing is pointless - the horse has no clue why he's in there being made to run round and round until he's too tired to want to move
> At worse he's going to start hating going in a manege or round pen because he'll start to associate it with being worked inconsiderately and as far as he's concerned no reason, consistency or structure.


It's only pointless if you do it incorrectly. Nor did I say to work him inconsiderately. I said with energy, as letting him walk around calling to his friends and chasing him at a gallop around the ring are equally pointless. I'm surprised someone like you with the fancy star by your name felt free to call another member's methods 'pointless.'



> Thank you all so much for your input! I do work with him in the round pen, standing, etc. He's great being bridled in there, won't move a muscle. In response to just a few of your questions,
> I wish I could just pull him back! Haha but he's 17 hands and I weigh like 140 on a good day.
> I don't just take his halter off. I secure it around his neck. I always grab it when he walks off but he acts like its a tree pulling contest once that happens.
> 
> I am going to combine a few of your suggestions into my new "training tool" for Pico. I'll let you know how it goes!


LOL, oh dear- pulling contest with a horse, that never works out in our favor does it? xD
IMO this tells us: his problem is not with the bridle, only that he has learned that he is stronger than you in this situation and is taking advantage of it.
In this case I would leave the halter done up properly (for more control), and attempt to put the bridle on- when he walked off I would move his feet and regain control of him. Pulling in this situation is going to both tiring and unproductive, especially since it is an ongoing issue (it's one thing when someone new can step in and nip it in the bud immediately, another when the horse knows he can get away with it with one person).
Alternatively, I would have the halter done up and the reins over his neck, and when he walked away I would follow him with the bridle held up, and then remove it when he stopped.
I cannot agree with Smilie on the stud chain. At the end of the day I've found that any time you decide to stop forward motion with pain you run the risk of rearing or a major blowup.
I do agree with her on the ground tying though- a great skill for every horse!

Also, his name's Pico? That's adorable! Goodness gracious...
Good luck! <3


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## aeberhardt (Mar 15, 2015)

I think everyone has very valid suggestions. I do like natural horsemanship however I also think some things about it aren't natural. Either way, I truly appreciate everyone's feedback and I know what works for one horse and person may not work for another pair. Just like with humans, I think horses may have different learning styles. I'm going to try a combination of everyone's suggestions. 

My game plan is to first have him in a wide open space (probably our large arena). Then, with just his halter on we'll work on him standing, regardless of what I do. Should he move, I'll place him back in his spot. If he moves again I'll put him back in his spot with a firmer hand and stronger body language. Should he happen to need a friendly yank on his lead, so be it. If he still doesn't get the picture, his lead will just happen to be a lunge rope, where he will then move until he is refocused. I'll go from there testing his understanding with luscious grass nearby. When I feel confident of his new found knowledge we'll test out cross ties for the grand finale (this is all over time, of course)!! Wish me luck,


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## greenhaven (Jun 7, 2014)

I think you have a good planned course of action. When you are finished can you come do my colt? lol!


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

I would do it in the barn aisle, if there was not too much other commotion. Use a rope halter, so you have a little bit of purchase on the brute. Put him in a spot, say " Stand! ", and go about your grooming with the lead loosely over your arm, or loosely held in one hand. Every, and I mean every, movement of his feet, PUT HIM BACK exactly where he was, give a snap, and say stand. Forcefully. Like you MEAN it. Be patient.....do not allow an un corrected movement. 

Before long, you will be dropping the halter, putting on the bridle, getting a drink, and he will still be there when you get back.


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