Getting Your Horse to Open its Mouth on Command

We are not going to use any treats what so ever until the lesson is done . Other wise the horse will get mouthy and we do not want that to happen. We will give treats after we are done and have stopped the lesson.

Touch and Retreat
In touch and retreat we give the horse the chance to learn in his comfort zone and not to push the horse in to a fear or dislike of what we are asking him to do. We take each step slowly and easily using plenty of praise always. In doing this we teach the horse that no matter what we ask of him we will never cause him pain with our touching.

Start out standing at the side of your horse;   start the lesson when the horse is calm and just standing, relaxed. Have you ever touched something you were not sure of and always ready to pull your finger away at the first sings of uncertainty? This is what you are going to do with the horses mouth . Take your finger, being careful always in doing this and be on your toes for the first signs of, 1. trying to bite your finger and in doing this, if the horse should try, give a sharp "No!" -  this tells him/her that is not what is wanted.  2. starting to pull its head up and away - Be quick with your touch and retreat of your finger. Tell the horse every time, in a sing song soft voice "good boy/girl" or "good for you." Each time you touch, pet the mouth, lingering a little bit longer each time. If the horse stands there and lets you do it without stepping back or raising its head you are done with the first step . The second step taking your finger and sliding it in to the side of the mouth where the bar of the jaw is. This is where the bit rests in the horse's mouth. Why there? Because there are no teeth in that area of the horse's mouth.  Slide your finger in and touch the tongue and retreat right away . Be aware that your horse is going to open his/her mouth and stick the tongue out; Like he is spitting something out of his/her mouth. The second he does this say "Open. Good for you or good boy/girl."  Work on this every time you are around the horse and with in a week, depending on some horses, you will be able to touch your horse's mouth and give the verbal cue of "Open" and he will open his mouth on Command. Once you have your horse opening his mouth this way then you can take the steps further by teaching the teeth for showing their teeth or their tongue. You can also teach a young horse, instead of biting at your hand, to lick your hand by a simple Command of no teeth ,Lick. Or no bite ,Lick. When I say young they are around 8-15 months old. If you make this a game the horse will love it .


Article by Connie Beckner of Lafayette, IN

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