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Head up or down when riding downhill?

8K views 24 replies 20 participants last post by  Lily of the Valley 
#1 ·
I've received conflicting advice in this area...when you are riding downhill and the terrain is steep (like a ravine) and muddy, what is your best and safest bet for your horse? Should you have him keep his head up, or let him do whatever he wants with his head to get down the hill? Here are the two sets of advice I've been given so far...

1. Head up -- if you let your horse put his head all the way down, he could stumble and end up flipping over.

2. Head down/whatever horse wants -- if you force his head to stay up, it disrupts his balance...he needs to be able to put his head down to stay centered and to be able to tuck his hindquarters underneath him to "slide" downhill if necessary.

As you can see, both bits of advice contradict each other...can anyone back up either of the above, or offer their own advice?? I have a hunter pace coming up next weekend and we encountered big steep hills at the last one. I want to be 100% sure that I'm doing whatever I need to in order to keep my horse and myself safe. THANKS!
 
#2 ·
when i go downhill i let my horses put their head down, not sure if thats correct or not but IMO if your horse asks to put his head down to go downhill and you arent rushing him down it you should be ok, i mean most horses will do what they feel is safest, they dont want to hurt themselves or you, how they hold their head is pretty much instinct i think
 
#4 ·
Hello all,
I am new to this forum(just found it) but, I have been riding horses 35 years. If you watch a horse climbing a hill or comming down a hill, where does he keep his head? I do not pull up on his reins to encourage his head to come up, I want his head down, but not on the ground-- The horse will put his head in a natural position so that he can see the ground- the only thing I controll when going down the hill is the speed in which we will descend safely.
 
#20 ·
Hello all,
I am new to this forum(just found it) but, I have been riding horses 35 years. If you watch a horse climbing a hill or comming down a hill, where does he keep his head? I do not pull up on his reins to encourage his head to come up, I want his head down, but not on the ground-- The horse will put his head in a natural position so that he can see the ground- the only thing I controll when going down the hill is the speed in which we will descend safely.
I agree, where I live it is very steep with rocks, stumps, etc. I doubt your horse would flip over, when i take my horse down a hill I look straight forward, and lean back, and let him choose the correct place to step.
 
#5 ·
I want my horse collected and in control. If I have that he's not going to flip over. That's a little silly in my opinion.
 
#6 ·
I have to agree with #2. I give my horses their head so that they can balance themselves and pick the best way down for them. The only time I pick up the reins is if they start to go faster than I like. IMHO, if you keep their head pulled up, it is more likely that they will flip over backward on a muddy slope; I don't know how, but that is just what I would be afraid of. My horses are funny and it may not be the best way to do it but if we are going down a VERY steep slope where their butts are dragging the ground, most of mine will turn sideways and sidepass down the hill. It feels much more in control and balanced to me and I have yet to have one fall doing it. :D
 
#24 ·
. My horses are funny and it may not be the best way to do it but if we are going down a VERY steep slope where their butts are dragging the ground, most of mine will turn sideways and sidepass down the hill. :D
No way I would want my horse sideways on a very steep slope. You are asking for the horse to slip sideways and land on your leg.
Keep the horse striaght, leave the head alone so he can balance himself and I sit forward, putting my weight on his front end.
Horses are not great on going downhill since the steep slope puts their hind legs almost parallel to the hill and they have no traction behind.
I sit forward so my weight is on his braced front legs, the legs with the most traction and leave his hindend to sort of ski down the hill.
If you sit back he might just have his hind end skate out from under him and he sits down.
I negotiate very steep muddy slopes down into a swamp alot and sometimes they look unpassable but by sitting forward, keeping my weight forward, leaving his head alone and keeping him pointed straight down we traverse the hills without incident.
My down hills are steep washouts , steep sided and I keep him in the Vee. I do encounter small 3 foot waterfalls sometimes cut into the washout by a recent rain and then he has to negotiate this drop at the same time as he is going down. Like a big cat he drops his hindend until it is sitting on the bank and his front legs drop over the waterfall. Really neat to be watching.
 
#7 ·
I have picked up this habit of holding my horses head up - this is something I've learnt from Eventing.

I remember back in my pony club days, we were working on drops, off of this sorta slant thing made out of the ground, and rail road ties. So that people could back it up to load up stock into their trailers.

Anyways, my friend and her horse Dot *funny how I remember the horses name and not my friends* were cantering to the drop. They were on the top and coming down of course - and when they landed, her horse almost went over in a bad fall, but she picked up her reins and pulled her horses head up and that prevented the tragity that was about to occur.

The 1 star eventer who was there coaching us, shouted out "bravo, you just picked your horse up and did exactly what you were supposed to do"

I know, drops are not compareable to climbing down a hill. And I know that when you go off a drop, you're supposed to allow the reins to completely slack through your hands so your horse can have their head - it's a retarded issue that I need to correct.
 
#9 ·
I don't always just let my horse have it's head. I keep them collected so that thier hindquarters stay under them. Horses don't instictivly know how to travel with a rider so it is our responsibility to help them travel safely by keeping them collected.
 
#14 ·
Horses have been walking down hills, for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

I really don't think we should be telling them how to do it.

I believe you should let the horse have its head at all times unless you are doing something that requires contact (such as dressage/jumping etc). Otherwise there is no reason to.
 
#16 ·
Horses have been walking down hills, for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

I really don't think we should be telling them how to do it.
True, but they weren't really meant to do it with us on their backs! ;-)

My horse is still pretty green, especially to hills on trail...and she wants to see what the mud is so if I let her, she'd go down the hill with her nose IN the mud! I'm just concerned that if I let her do it, and she loses her footing or trips, that her head dragging the ground + me on her back going downhill would make her lose her balance and possibly end up with her flipping over.

Has anyone had any experiences like that?
 
#17 ·
The only thing I do is to control speed and direction. I've not had a horse that didn't know how to keep balanced with a rider while going down hill - why would I want to interfere with that?
 
#19 ·
My mare's an experienced trail horse... I let her do what she wants most of the time... but if it's a really, really steep hill, I'll keep her head at a medium.

My gelding isn't as esperienced, and he keeps his head at a medium naturally.
 
#21 ·
well i was riding downhill today and I let him have his head. I feel i shouldnt try to be in his mouth or disturbing his natural headset when he needs his balance to help him be safe. I find that most horses go downhill at a slow speed and lower their head to a bit lower than shoulder level.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for all the advice everyone!!

I did a hunter pace this afternoon and when we went downhill I kind of took a "middle ground" on the advice, I let her have her head but didn't let her lower it to the ground, and we went downhill nicely :)

She did tend to get quick but I just sat back and made sure I didn't let her go TOO fast! She did a couple sideways steps and I just let her -- figured she knew where her feet were better than I...and it worked nicely for us!
 
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