ewe kneck

H

horseandshoes77

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 March 2010
Messages
578
Location
county durham
Visit site
is there any exercises i can do when hacking to improve this and get her to round and come onto the bit, i dnt have any where to school at min, iv had her 4mnths and just building weight and muscle up at min, she has very high head carriage and its difficuilt to get her on the bit, a few people have suggested lunging with draw reins? any advice much appreciated.

cheers:)
 
Had the same prob with you with my mare as she far prefered going along with her head in the air, or poked out far infront. Teeth first, turns out she had a few sharp edges at the back. She was also in a single jointed bit, so lost that and then tried loads!! Fortunatly no back or saddle issues. A hanging cheek is working v well for her now as it is gentle for her, has some stillness in her mouth so she can feel confident to take the contact, and it releases any pressure on the tongue when she drops to it. We use this one as it is nicely shaped for her large tongue http://cotswoldsport.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_88&products_id=502 We didn't use draw reins etc as she would just lean on them and go along v v on the forehand, also I had concerns that they worked more on a pretty shape on the front end rather than really getting them working from the back properly. It helped alot to really get her working forwards, with lots of circles, serpentines and turns. Always keeping her going forwards with this with a soft contact. It did take a while to work on both her muscles and her v stubborn brain but we are really getting there! Loads of turns, particularly in a nice forwards trot helped as it makes what you are after the easier option - it is very hard to keep up a good trot for long with your nose in the air!!
 
:)i have her in a hanging cheek french link and she goes nice in that its just every time we go into trot her head flies up in the air, teeth were done a 2 month ago and back etc all checked 3 months ago, saddle is fine, this mare was left out of work for a long time and hasnt dne very much since she was 6 she was used as a hunter, when we hack alone shes nt too bad in walk its just trot and canter.

thks
 
I think you have my mare!!! It's just going to take a fair while to get her muscles growing correctly and teaching her an improved way of going. Keep at it! If her head goes up then just get her on a circle, always turning one way or another, and really keep your leg on to keep her going forwards and not loosing steam while turning. She will drop her head after a bit, although I know it can be so tiring keeping her going too! At first it just seems to be a game to see who gives first, just has to be you each time! Stick at it, you WILL get there. No need for a school to do it in, just a nice wide track or edge of a field - anything wide enough for a serpentine is fab, she might be a little more forwards on a hack too. A book I find useful is http://www.amazon.co.uk/101-Schooling-Exercises-Horse-Rider/dp/0715319507 In the front it has a list of common problems and then suggests which exercises would help for them - really fab! If you have some flat bits on your hack then lack of a school shouldn't hold you back. Good luck!
(P.S. I've had my mare a bit over a year and it took over 6 months to start getting a slightly more consistent outline, sadly there don't seem to be any quick fixes)
 
Have you done the essensital back, tack and teeth check? Many horses work hollow because their saddle isn't a great fit. And many saddles BECOME a poor fit when the horse lifts it's back up to work properly, meaning they try and avoid it.

Couple of ground management things can help - feeding from a haynet causes incorrect muscling - try feding from a haybar/on the ground.

Carrot stretches are good for releasing the back - I've got one horse who 'bows', with her head tucked right between her front legs (it's amazing what they'll do for carrots ;)) and you can really see her back muscles stretch.

After that it's all schooling. Draw reins used correctly and breifly can show her what you're wanting but they cannot be used to winch her head in - yes the head goes down, but the back won't lift and you'll just damage her. And most certainly not on the lunge!!!! Try a pessoa if you're wanting sometime to lunge in.
 
firstly everything has been checked i nw for sure its nt pain discomfort etc, also previous owner said when they broke her she hasnt had a lot of training etc and they could nt get on bit, secondly i havnt tried draw reins dnt own any as nt needed anything like that i was advised by a few these mite help, be assured im nt after a quick fix hence me asking for advice, if i can do exercises with her to help this then i will no matter how long it takes, i dont want her to be perfect just i would like to lower the head carriage, i nw she will take time as at min she has ewe neck, iv nt come across this before all of my horses have been sent away to be broken and all came back without any issues, im just nt familiar with exercises that correct this as everytime i try to circle and do serpentines etc she is ok for few mins then just fights me.
my saddle fits fine and she was checked by back specialist and vet n teeth have been dne as said in my previous post.
Any advice on how to corect this tho is much apreciated:)
 
also forgot to mention all of mine eat from floor i dnt use haynets etc, and we do the carrot tests (as back man calls them) she is fine in hand and in walk and to be honest when shes worked for a while and shes tiring a little she rounds when shes fired up and ready to go she doesnt, head rises and she doesnt respond.:) shes tb also (some people have said they cn have tendancy to have higher head carriage)
 
Last edited:
Lots of good advice here - I would also say as long as everything physical is ruled out, lots of walk/trot, trot/walk transitions. Every time you transition, her balance and cadence improves and it's a great way to build the proper muscles.

And of course, some horses just have conformational issues that limit how much you can fix the problem.
 
can i be doing something wrong thats making her nt come on the bit, i keep a light contact and push her thru the leg but most of the time it makes little difference, when shes fired up any leg action just makes her want to run and then when i hold a contact she fights and puts head in air and wants to go faster. as soon as she feels any leg on her she wants to run. sorry if i sound like a right numpty just never had this prob before :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top