Ex-Racer holds head up in air

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Graciedanny

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I have just got a new horse, he's a 5 year old ex-racer tb. He's lovely but tends to do a great giraffe impression where he puts his head up in the air, sometimes even when I don't have a contact! I'm a bit worried about jumping him because he sticks his head up and then can't see the jump so crashes through them. Has any one had a horse that has done this or has any tips? (He is fully sound and has had back checked , teeth checked and 5 star vetting so its defo not pain related!)
 
See the thread below, he probably needs more work on the basics before you start jumping him, he is an ex racehorse so most of his life has been spent with his head wherever he wants it, even if he has had some retraining he is still a young horse with plenty to learn.
 
I would get him schooling better on the flat before attempting to jump, it takes an awful lot of time to build the correct muscle for a horse to go in any sort of outline his been used to carrying himself in a hollow frame for most of his life, so it's just slow careful training to get him to use his back properly and build the strengh for him to change his way of going, get a good instructor and have lessons it's not something that can be changed in a few weeks but with consistent correct riding he will improve.
 
it would be worth sending him away to a dressage rider for a few weeks, just to get him established and then follow it up with a few lessons with them. It would save you a lot of time, heartache, money on gadgets etc and will give the horse a good start to its new career.

Tb are sensitive little souls who try to please, but there's only so long they accept being crashed through jumps and being sore from being ridden incorrectly before they start to act up, and you could end up with a nappy, sore horse who won't go near a jump cause it hurts.

If you are not sure how to fix the problem, send him to someone who does, and learn how they did it. It will be a great experience for you both and you'l have a lot more fun on him.
 
Ground work, ground work, ground work. It sounds like he would benefit from regular lunging sessions with a chambon, but you need to do some in-hand work first concentrating on yield to poll pressure and some flex work to prepare him for that.

You need a fair bit of experience to know how to use a chambon properly, so if you've not used one before, get help from someone who knows what they're doing.
 
Thank you...my instructor basically said LOTS of flatwork and the days you aren't riding him ground work and lunging. Even on the lunge he finds it difficult to canter!
 
be positive said:
See the thread below, he probably needs more work on the basics before you start jumping him, he is an ex racehorse so most of his life has been spent with his head wherever he wants it, even if he has had some retraining he is still a young horse with plenty to learn.
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Not all racehorses get to spend their days in training with their heads where they want them. No they won't be in an outline as such but galloping with their heads high will result in a horse that is jarred up in front and can't stretch out its legs properly because it's not got the right muscles to drop down and lengthen. Most yards prefer long and low to high in the sky. Plus riding on the gallops with ears in your eyes is bloomin annoying!

All of 'my' horses at work can work in a correct outline when asked, canter and gallop in what most would call a loose outline whilst actually pulling like trains and can hack away (both the walking and cantering version of hack) on a loose contact with their heads in respectable places. One tries to go real long and pokey nosed so I always have him gathered up, when he is so on the forehand he trips like a moron.
 
EKW said:
Not all racehorses get to spend their days in training with their heads where they want them. No they won't be in an outline as such but galloping with their heads high will result in a horse that is jarred up in front and can't stretch out its legs properly because it's not got the right muscles to drop down and lengthen. Most yards prefer long and low to high in the sky. Plus riding on the gallops with ears in your eyes is bloomin annoying!

All of 'my' horses at work can work in a correct outline when asked, canter and gallop in what most would call a loose outline whilst actually pulling like trains and can hack away (both the walking and cantering version of hack) on a loose contact with their heads in respectable places. One tries to go real long and pokey nosed so I always have him gathered up, when he is so on the forehand he trips like a moron.
Click to expand...

I did not say they all go with their heads in the air but that this has probably been allowed to go along with it where he wants it, which is the case with many racehorses, it was a poorly written brief reply, to a rather poorly worded OP, which suggested putting some work in before expecting a green 5 year old to jump successfully, I am normally more generous in replying but sometimes I wonder why people take on young horses, not just ex racehorses, when they have so little knowledge of the basics.
 
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