Re: How to teach a horse to carry his head low while riding,,,
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Posted by PH Cody on August 20, 2002 at 09:38:09:
In Reply to: How to teach a horse to carry his head low while riding,,, posted by tiska on August 19, 2002 at 22:23:30:
:Hello everyone,
:My horse is a 5 year old paint who I am teaching reining. He doesnt have a high head set but I know in Rodeo Queening competitions ( what I am using him to compete in) you get lots more points if there heads are carried low. I have tried different things but have not had any results. Do you guys have any ideas? I would like try to teach him how to do this instead of paying a trainer to do it.
:If you have any suggestions at all please post ! i need all the help I can get!!
:thanks so much!
:- tiska
Hi Tiska-
We'd be glad to help if we can! The first step is the toughest step. Not all horses are born to have a low head set and to carry their head in an unnatural set is hard on a horse. So, first, evaluate your horse. Where does his neck leave his chest/withers? Sounds like it probably has a higher set, therefore its more comfortable/natural for him to carry it a little higher. That's not to say he can't be taught to carry it differently, but he'll have to build the muscling up differently.
The best method I've seen to teach a horse to carry its head/neck level - which is what you want, don't train a peanut roller, that's old style and hard on the horse - is to start out at a walk. Set your hands on your legs (I'll tell you why in a sec) and have enough pressure on the reins that it is vaguely uncomfortable for the horse. As SOON as the horse gives (and you'll know he gives because your hands are set on your legs, so aren't continually coming back more) release the pressure and praise. Do this over and over, and slowly extend the length of time you hold have him give. Once he's got the giving down, you'll increase the amount of give over time to reach the headset you want - which really shouldn't be that far from where you started. This takes LOTS of time and patience. Go to fast, you'll teach him to resist, not give. Once he has it down at the walk, you start over again at the trot, conquer that and go to a lope. The keys here are LOTS of patience, LOTS if praise and plenty of time.
Some other things too, don't sit and do this over and over. He'll get bored, you'll get bored and either he'll tune you out or you'll rush him - both have bad consequences. So do this a few moments, then work him on something else, do this a few moments more, work on something else.
Good luck! And remember too, having a professional trainer give you a hand is not bad thing! That's what they do for a living.
PH Cody
HorseHobbyist Community Director
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