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My horse keep putting her head down when I'm riding her.

4K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  PunksTank 
#1 ·
My horse keeps putting her head down and pulling against the rein, any help on how to fix this.
 
#2 ·
You are not up there for decorative purposes, you have to ride the horse.

And the time to stop this is before she gets head down, which means you need to be aware of what horse is doing, AND what she is planning to do.

Watch her ears. When a horse's ears move so that one is back and one is forwards? They are thinking and that is a bad thing as they are thinking about doing something they aren't supposed to be doing, such as dropping head, or wandering "accidentally" into tree trunk.

The second you see ears like that, you need to tighten up slightly on reins, kiss to her, or bring calves onto her sides, lightly, and let her know you are wise to her tricks and are not going to tolerate it.

And you will NOT ever win a battle of strength with a horse, you have to out think them, and that means riding proactively, not reactively.

Also, you need to look at your handling mechanics as well, as usually this type of thing goes hand in hand with other problems. Horse snatching lead rope from you to graze when leading, horse fidgeting around when you are grooming, horse showing aggression at feeding.

All those are signs that you are not running the show, the horse is.
 
#4 ·
I understand that I am not up there for decorative purposes I am riding the horse not just sitting there. She pulls and throws her head around. She is only four years old and I just started riding her, was looking for suggestions on how to fix the problem.
 
#12 ·
Has she had her teeth done recently? At that age a lot of changes are occurring in her mouth.
I second this SO MUCH. My mare's singular sign that she needs her teeth to be done is evading the bit like it sounds like your, the OP's, mare is doing. She'll stick her head out and down, then pull against whatever rein is asking her to do something.
My girl is 28 and this is happening - her mouth is not doing much except loosing tooth surface. Your girl is gaining tooth surface and erupting teeth right now, I can only imagine that her mouth might be a bit sore naturally! haha

I figure, since my mare gets "worse" the longer she goes without having her teeth done, that the pulling is just a knee-jerk reaction to pain - like you would have if someone bumped a bruise on your body.

If your mare hasn't had her teeth done in the last year, I can basically guarantee to you that they probably need to be done - especially given her age.
 
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#8 ·
Shooter always checks contact. For example, when riding bitless, he will always put his head down, sometimes so low his nose is close to the ground, because he is searching for contact.

Otherwise, he still does this on loose reign, which makes me think he needs contact more so than loose reign. Your horse may just be searching for contact as she prefers it.

But... If she is tossing her head, it does seem like a bit/pain problem. What do you use?
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#10 ·
I think riding bitless may be your problem.

Horses have sensitive noses, and if she feels there is too much pressure on her nose, that may cause the headshaking. Her pulling the reigns out might also be her way of saying to get out of her face.

Why do you ride bitless?
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#11 · (Edited)
While I love riding in halters, flat halters have a tendency to twist and pinch quite a bit. if you clip the reins/leads on the square cheek holes when you pull either the halter twists and prods them in the face. At a therapy program I worked at all the horses rode in halters. The reins would twist the halter out of place, sometimes poking the horse in the eye with the cheek pieces. Even rope halters have a tendency to twist and poke them in all the wrong places. She's found that putting her head down relieves whatever pressure the halter is putting on her face.

What I do when I encounter issues like this is video myself and look at exactly what the horse is trying to fix/avoid. Then alter accordingly.

Which is why if you really want to ride bitless, you need hands as soft as if you were riding in a strong bit, and you need a tool designed to be ridden in. So a cross under, a sidepull or a hackamore of some variety, depending on your riding style and preferences.


ETA:Also, remember, even if you're riding without a bit a halter can rub on their face and push against their teeth, which if they're sharp can really hurt!! So even if you don't ride with a bit this could very well be a tooth problem
 
#14 ·
I ride bitless because I have a nonprofit youth ranch that works with disadvantaged children. I have taught all my horses to ride with a halter so the children will not hurt their mouth with a bit. I do ride with a bit at times on trails ect.. but I let the children ride in the arena with just a halter. My web site is hhhryr.com we are also on facebook under Healing Hearts Horse Rescue and Youth Ranch
 
#15 ·
Let's put it this way, I never ride my horses in a rope halter. What may be happening is that halter is rotating and pulling sensitive hairs away from her eyes. I've seen it happen a lot with rope halters. A four year old isn't going to be ridden by children anytime soon. So get her in a snaffle bit and get her trained right, get her understanding collection, use a lot of leg and never let her get her head away from you, but dont haul on her mouth either. After she is finished right, she will ride in anything. In my experience, Most horses that are trained correctly will ride in whatever you have handy..
 
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#17 ·
Some horses will be fine, some won't. Depends on how the hair lays around their eyes, time of year, etc. "All of my other horses do this" is something that drives me nuts. Horses are even more unique than humans.
 
#18 ·
hhhryr, I work for a therapy program too, and we also have all the horses working in flat halters for the students. I found often times the buckles of the halters get twisted back and pinch the horse's face, or rub their cheeks where their teeth are. Which is why, those sensitive horses that don't like that (putting their head down is the easiest way to avoid the pressure) I switch them to either Dr. Cook's bitless bridle or sidepulls or Indian Hackamores, which are better designed for riding. Sidepulls and Indian Hackamores are very inexpensive if that's a concern.
I completely understand your situation and even if the horse isn't being bothered by the halter/bridle anymore, the horse could be anticipating it to hurt and avoiding it just in case.
 
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