Things You'll Need:
- Horse
- Bridle and bit.
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Step 1
Several years ago I bought a buckskin mare. She would do anything for me. We would get the horse trailer ready to go, and she would be at the gate waiting. I only had one problem, I had to fight her to get the bit into her mouth. I tried every trick in the book that I could think of.
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Step 2
There are several reasons that a horse will refuse to take the bit. One being, that the bit has been put on and taken off the improper way, hurting her teeth. Children and inexperience riders are good at this, until they are taught better. The proper way is being to hold the bit in your left hand and the top of the bridle in your right hand. Place the bit gently into your horses mouth and slip the bridle over the head.
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Step 3
The horse has a space between his teeth on the sides that you can slip your finger in, to get him to open his mouth. A horse will get shy after he has had his teeth bumped by the bit a few times. Children had been riding this mare before I bought her. I called our old cowboy friend, and explained to him what was going on. This guy was like my father was, there wasn't much that he didn't know about horses.
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Step 4
This is the big secret that he passed on to me. Put molasses on the bit. Molasses is a favorite treat of horses. I did, and it worked. I let her lick the bit until she got use to it. And then I slowly slipped the bit into her mouth. I did this a few times over the next couple of weeks, whether I rode her or not. I got her over the fear, by working this magical trick on her repeatedly and by taken my time.
