My horse won't put her head down

[HorseAngel31]

Hi there. I have a beautiful little '06 QH filly that was trained using natural horsemanship last summer. I brought her home only knowing the commands walk, jog, whoa. That was it. She just recently stopped fighting me on the backup, and she lopes beautifully and is just learning lead changes. She's a little lazy so her gaits are perfect for western pleasure and she's going in a junior horse western pleasure class. Its just for fun though. She drops her head awesome-ly when she's on the ground and at a walk and at a jog after going for a long ride, but she is too tired by then to lope, and when we first start she lopes with her head up in the air like a chicken! When I round pen her she'll lope fine with her head down, and she has done it once or twice in the mountains, but at home in a straight line or circles or anything her head is just straight up in the air. I still have no problems with her fighting with the bit with her head up and she still has a good even gait. She doesn't really have her nose up its just her neck is stuck up. I don't want to use a martingale but I'm not sure what else to do? HELP!

[twofatponies]

If she goes head-down in the round pen but not with a rider, the difference could be either:

a) the saddle
b) the rider's hands

Ditto that she only drops her head at the trot when she is tired. At a walk sometimes a pinching or rocking saddle doesn't bother a horse much, but at the trot and canter it makes a big difference. It really makes a difference to have an experienced/professional saddle fitter look - I recently had a saddle fitter come out and show me two fit problems with a saddle that I thought, and several other experienced people though was fitting great. Just a couple of days in a new better saddle and my older mare is really moving out so much better, stretching down and striding forward. I feel bad I couldn't identify the problem myself.

Sometimes it can be lack of conditioning, too - with my younger mare she has really learned to drop her head (and use her body, which is what helps her stretch her head down) with hacking out on hills, trot pole exercises, work on circles, etc. It's hard to know without seeing the horse and knowing more about your training sessions, but perhaps that is a factor, too. In other words, to carry itself with the head down, a horse needs to have strong abs and a flexible, strong back, and strong hindquarters - the whole package comes from conditioning and flexibility built up over time.

But if the saddle hurts, or the rider is too heavy on the reins (or a bouncing beginner) that will prevent or interfere with the proper conditioning.

[Kate66]

She's very young still.

I agree with the poster that says if her natural movement is with her head down but she sticks it up when ridden, it could be that she is hollowing out her back to try to move away from your weight, a poorly fitting saddle or some other discomfort. It could also be that she is not moving forward properly into the bridle, you say she is quite lazy, but forward movement will help her to move into the bridle - i.e. ride from your seat to your hands. Also agree with the poster that asks about your hands. Where are they when she is taking her head up, are the low, just above her withers or are your elbows at 90 degrees and therefore your hands a bit higher?

[HorseAngel31]

Well, I have tried my hands just about everywhere, and I don't think her saddle is a problem, because an equine chiropracter let me know that the saddle fit before I bought it. I'll try getting her more into the bit and watch my hands a little more and let you know how it works. Thanks so much!

[twofatponies]

I was thinking on this last night, and also wondered - are you trying to work her in a very slow trot/canter? It helps a younger horse especially to work quite forward and brisk at first, and then introduce slower gaits when they are stronger. Even with a more experienced horse, I warm up with brisk trot and forward canter, then do more collected work for a short part at the end of the session, then cool down with forward work again. As they get older and more experienced, you can do more and more slow work, but if you start with that, they don't learn to use their bodies as well and have a hard time collecting up and balancing in a good frame.

[wingedmare]

I am in agreement here. And it is very likely a combination of hands and lack of fitness. It really takes alot of strength for a horse to carry themself in that frame all while keep you balanced up on their back. I agree with hill work. And really be honest to yourself; are you as quiet with your hands as you think?

[Timex]

And keep in mind that as a horse grows, builds muscle and their body shapes change, a saddle that fit then, might not fit now.

[HorseAngel31]

Yes I have been working her quite slowly, not quite top western pleasure jog/lope but the jog is almost there and her lope is a little slower than average as she is really lazy. I will try her more brisk tomorrow! Today I worked on my hands at keeping them perfect and it helped a little. Thanks very much!

[jetsmom]

Your horse is still a baby and growing. Horses that are going through growth spurts often are unbalanced. They also require muscling/fitness in order to balance and move properly. Stop worrying about the head so much. As the horse matures and learns to work off the back end the head will get better.

As someone else stated, get your saddle checked again for fit, as growing horses change shape.

[Huntertwo]

She sounds unbalanced and not rounding up and using her hind end. People should worry about head set last. When she becomes balanced, the head will come down naturally. If she has the conformation for it.

There are plenty of exercises out there to teach her balance.

Here is a good site: www.pleasurehorse.com (http://www.pleasurehorse.com)

Just another thing: Just because she is slow doesn't necessarily going to make her a good Wester pleasure horse. There is much more to it than that. ;).