Bridle Sour.

  Have you ever heard of a bridle sour horse? Have you ever seen one? Well I sure have.. and let me tell ya, it isn't fun!!! I admit, a lot of Udex being bridle sour is my fault. When I first got him he wasn't as reluctant to put it on as he is now. Let me describe a typical tacking up session with Udex.
  I always have him tied up. For grooming, he is usually quiet and calm. He does get a little fresh occasionally and will pace around a bit. When he sees the saddle he remains quiet and lets me put it on him without any issues, maybe a few side steps sometimes, but most times as I said before, he's quiet. I unclip his lead rope from his halter and put the reins over his neck, then re-clip the lead rope to his halter. At this point he starts to try to dart to the left or right to avoid this. Then I take the halter and slide it onto his neck. Sometimes he runs away and either A) pulls hard at his neck and halter, B) breaks a lead rope, C) ducks his head at an angle the halter slips off his neck and he runs away, or D) paces side to side and begins to start a struggle. When it comes time to put the bit in his mouth, he gets awfully clever. He raises his head so he becomes a giraffe, making my hand slip off of his face with the bridle. He keeps his head raised until I manage to grab him at the right angle and try it again. I repeat the process and try to open his mouth up (he clamps it shut) and he goes up as a giraffe again and pulls back and runs side to side. Usually at this point he has either accomplished option A, B, or C, and is flinging me around, causing a lot of stress on both of us. There is no other way to put the bridle on him but to take him to the arena and let him run, and try it again. Fifty percent of the time I have luck after he is done running, and the other fifty I don't, causing me to run him more and test my luck again. I know letting him run doesn't help this matter in any way, but some days it is my only hope.
 While riding he is fine with the bit/bridle and doesn't seem to be in any apparent pain from it. My trainer has said he is afraid of my hands and needs a duller bit though. The one I'm using now may be a bit (no pun intended) too sharp for him. Of course his rollkur past doesn't help this any matter.
  Taking the bridle off isn't any better. I think this plays a big deal as to why he is so bridle sour. When I have to take it off he gets extremely nervous and goes up, up, up with his head the exact moment I'm sliding the bit out of his mouth. That causes me to yank hard on the bit while pulling it out, creating a terrible situation for poor Udex. Udexs' head is seven feet in the air, I'm on the grounding pulling at the bit while he is way up high, creating a lot of pressure from the bit on his gums. Maybe you can picture what I mean. Not. Pretty. I have tried getting him to drop the poll, but even when he does that he still yanks his head (and the bridle!) up at that exact moment!!!
  I know that what I'm doing doesn't make my situation any better. The bit may be too sharp, I'm not the most steady handed rider, and I totally fail at putting the bridle on and off. What other options do I have though? I'm not about to hire someone to tack Udex up because of this!! The problem is he only trusts me to handle him, with anyone else he inverts and totally looses it even more due to his trust issues. I'm really giving him my best and all. It's so hard to not become stressed with him when he acts like this though. I know it's not his fault, if anyones to blame it's his rollkur trainers and me!!
 As for a solution? I am not sure. I think I may try several things. First I think I will remove my bit from my bridle and just work on putting the bridle on without the bit. Hopefully he will start to realize the bridle isn't a bad thing, and even if he does pull up when I take it off, he won't pull on his mouth and get bit sores. The problem with this solution is I don't think it's the bridle he fears, more so just the bit and the damage the bit has on him. Once he is all right with the bridle without bit, (maybe this takes a long time, maybe just a few sessions) then I will work on putting the bridle on for a very short time, then taking it off while he is eating grain or something so he keeps his head down. After we get to the point he takes the bit like that, I will think of what to do next.
  Sunday the osteopathic comes and will hopefully fix some of the damage. His problem could also be pain in his poll from so many rollkur years. It's extremely likely that his vertebras are fused together in some places; the pole being one of them. If we can find a way to unfuse that, or lessen the pain perhaps that could remove some damage.
   GUESS WHAT!?! Udex behaves like a normal horse alone now!!!! Crazy right!? He used to freak out when he was alone, and now??? What happened to him!? He's a totally new horse! It's crazy!!! I brought him into his stall the other day and he calmly ate his rutabaga, grain, and hay. Didn't winny a once. The old Udex would run, pace, ignore his grain and hay, and keep on winnying until he went back out or one of his specific friends came in. Today I had him tied up alone and he was very calm and relaxed as well!! While in the arena with no other horses in the barn, he didn't winny!! I love it, and hope he decides to make this little change permanent!!! I remember I thought he would never get out of his crazy alone behavior, but today I stand corrected. He has once again proved me and many others wrong!!! I know he will overcome this hard time with the bridle too, and that in good time I will be looking back on this bridle adventure as something silly.  As for now, I have just got to keep trying and lots of positive reinforcement and look on the bright side! As they do say, after the storm comes sunshine!!!!

"Rollkur opponents care for horses. Rollkur proponents care more for success."