How happy is your horse with the bridle he’s wearing?

Something I see regularly is a horse who is not happy with the bridle he is wearing. This fact is often missed by the people working with the horse.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

I was sitting in the stands watching a jumping lesson that a friend was riding her horse in. There were 7 horses in the lesson. A big dapple-gray gelding caught my eye. He was a nice looking horse and had a certain carriage about him.

What I noticed next wasn’t so appealing.

At every stride this fine looking horse was wringing his tail. When he cantered by the rail I could hear his breath whistling hoarsely. His rider was holding him in tightly; he tossed his head and was not doing well with the lesson.

When he cantered by the next time I saw that he was wearing a figure-eight caveson that was buckled tight.

Two things were immediately apparent. Because of the placement of the caveson the front strap was restricting his nasal passage making it hard for him to breathe. The back strap of the caveson was buckled tightly down over his front upper molars pushing the soft cheek tissue into the teeth.

I was willing to bet that there were some sharp points on those molars by the way he was acting. This was one unhappy horse!

The unfortunate part was no one was getting the message! The instructor gave the rider instructions to hold her hands differently, sit in the saddle different and even use her spurs to correct the horse when he didn’t respond properly.

By the time the lesson was over the horse was sweating and irritable, and the rider was frustrated.

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon situation. Virtually every discipline of riding is guilty of inflicting pain and unhappiness on the horses they work with out of ignorance of how tack on the horse’s head effects his teeth and his movement.

Let’s take a closer look at the example I just mentioned. A whole series of events had compounded this geldings troubles.

The bit being used on him was an egg-butt snaffle that turned out to be too large for his mouth space. As a result he tended to gape his mouth open and mouth the bit.

A caveson was put on to stop him from opening his mouth. This pushed soft cheek tissue into his upper front molars. The molars did have prominent cusps with sharp points on them. This hurt.

The bit was still too big and with the caveson on it was putting pressure on the bars of his mouth. As a result he pushed the bit incessantly with his tongue trying to shove it further forward to get some relief.

To stop him from doing this a figure-eight caveson was put on the bridle. This ingenious piece of equipment holds the horse’s mouth closed both in front and behind the bit. Now he couldn’t get any relief from the bit pressing into his bars – the back strap was forcing his cheeks into the sharp points of his upper molars and the front strap of the caveson was set too low and was restricting his air flow.

I wonder why he was having trouble with his lesson?!

Here’s how this beautiful gray horse’s life was changed – in a big way – for the better.

Ø A straight-shafted bit was put on his bridle that was thin enough to be comfortable between the bars of his mouth.

Ø His teeth were floated and balanced, with special attention paid to the front upper molars insuring they were smooth along the outer edge so there was no painful points pushing into the cheek tissue.

Ø His teeth are maintained regularly now, so the sharp points that develop from normal tooth wear don’t come back to cause him trouble.

With spring comes renewed horse activity. You should take the time right now to review your tack and how it fits your horse.

First be sure your horse’s teeth are properly floated and that the front molars are smooth and not interfering with the bit in any way.

Check the width of the bit you are using to make sure there is a little space between the shanks or rings of the bit and your horse’s mouth. Be sure that the diameter of the bit itself is slim enough to be comfortable in your horse’s mouth when it is closed.

Pay special attention to any part of the tack you use on your horse that puts pressure on his face. Cavesons, halters, tie downs or drop nosebands need to be carefully adjusted.

Notice how far up the bridge of your horse’s nose the soft tissue goes before the bone of the skull actually starts. All parts of any tack on your horse’s head should be above this point.

It’s a good idea to have your equine dentist look at the tack you use. He can often point out little changes or improvements that will make your horse’s life better.

The big bonus to you is the knowing that your horse is comfortable. He will reward you with cheerful and willing responses to the work you are doing together.

Teach yourself to be observant of your horse’s responses and look for anything that may be making it hard for him to focus on what you are asking him to do with you.

Enjoy your spring and your horse!

Take good care until we meet again at your horse’s mouth!