Bridle experts help!

[as sweet as hunni]

So Hunni is alot better now! But she still has her daily tantrum but not /as/ bad but still bad if that makes sense? So there are a few questions now! How do I make her submissive(main reason for her tantrum!) she is so dominant I fight with her the whole ride and she never backs down until the last moment and then she starts again the next ride :/ being boss mare in the field doesn't help
With that though haha, also when she has her strops opens her mouth(she has got a flash on aswell) and chucks her head forward and up,how can I get her to stop this? Someone recommended getting a grackle bridle but idk? 0.0 I'm not so much bothered about her rear/buck as I get her through that it's the head chucking to rip the reins out of my hand I HATE urrr!

 

[as sweet as hunni]

Any help would be great?

 

[Auslander]

No noseband is going to help stop her snatching the reins. That's bad manners and needs to be nipped in the bud sharpish. If you aren't able to stop her doing it, then as a short term preventative measure, I'd be very tempted to stick a daisy rein on her- so that she can't do the down and forwards snatch.

Schooling needed to get her more respectful of your right to be in charge while you are riding/handling her - and if she has that much attitude, you may find that it's quite a task. If you're confident that you have the skill/knowledge to outsmart her, that's great, but it may be worth getting a pro to ride her a few times, figure out how to sort out the issue, then show you how to work through the tantrums and insist she toes the line.

 

[as sweet as hunni]

Thank you

 

[Andiamo]

it's not the bridle that is to blame, it would be an easy fix if that were the case. How old is your horse?

I've gone through this with my horse, 6 yrs old, I've had him over a year now.
Months 1-3
- he'd throw his head up and bugger off at top speed, unstoppable. Very resistant in the contact, hated it, even with a professional rider on top. He'd open his mouth despite the flash being on tight. Couldn't be mounted without someone holding him to keep him in one place.

Months 4-6
- changed to a hanging cheek mullen, on advice from someone with a similar problem. He was happier and more settled to ride. He'd still bugger off at top speed, and bronc.

Months 7-8
Had a second opinion by a Master Saddler on the brand new saddle I'd bought for him in month 1, it didn't fit him properly. Tried a saddle (a Wow) owned by someone else on the yard with a similar horse, and he was much easier to ride all round. No more broncing or bucking. Immediately easier in the contact. Got a Wow saddler out, had him fitted and at end of Dec had a new Wow saddle for him.

Months 9-12
Quite a lot better behaved now. Still resists the contact, but the amount of time he stays on it is getting longer each time. That's progress. Had an advanced dressage rider ride him 2 times per week to help sort it out, and it did improve some behavioural issues. Still some head tossing though, and wanting to bugger off, but this strong rider didn't let him get away with it.
Using the Pessoa with bridle on him twice per week, to help him stretch down onto a contact, and move forward from behind. This is helping him develop balance, and his acceptance of the contact is good on the Pessoa.

Months 13-15 (present time)
Contact is pretty good at home now, unless he spooks, then it goes out the window, but can get it back fairly quickly. Am riding very proactively to prevent spooks before they happen (doesn't always work!, he's quick!) - to keep his focus on me and his work, not on what is going on outside the school. Have taken him to several dressage shows, but when he's anxious, the contact issues are bad again and he is resistant and throws his head up - which is reflected in the marks and comments from judges.
Still using a Pessoa twice per week to help him with contact, balance and impulsion. I will keep working on it at home, and find it helpful to have lots going on next to the school - tractors, other horses, bonfires, barking dogs, etc - so that I can really work hard on focussing his attention on me, and keeping the contact despite lots of distractions. A loss of attention (gawking around) leads to a loss of contact.

Final comments:
- it is a gradual process but there will be progress
- it will get better with consistent and correct schooling
- get lots of lessons from someone who is very good with "contact" - to develop your own skills at providing an elastic giving contact
- a Pessoa helps the horse
- a change of bit might help, and saddle should be checked, re-fitted.
- Read the book "The Simplicity of Dressage" by Jo Hinneman / Coby van Baalen - it's brilliant - it's all about the German scales of training - there is so much to this topic, but start with this book, it has lots of helpful warm up exercises etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Simplic...8916/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346399705&sr=8-1