gadgets for holding down head

firstly have you eliminated any pain ?
I currently use a breastplate/martibngale & a pelham (nutty tb) with lots of hardwork and schooling they have solved my mares headyness (is that a word ?) issues,
Good Luck :)
 
Get some help the investment at this stage would be well worth it.

A young horse should be able to learn the best and most comfortable way of going and then they won't look back.

This can be achieved without gadgets so spend your money on knowledge, not gadgets.
 
When the head is down, the horse should be lifting their back & pushing with their bum. They can only do this correctly if they are physically strong enough to do it with a rider on and free of pain/tension in their back. If you use a gadget to pull the horse's head down but they are not lifting their back/pushing with their bum you will not have a horse that is working correctly. Depending on the situation you might actually cause damage to the horse. I had lots of lessons when my mare was 4, had her checked by a chiro to make sure she had no issues & had a saddle professionally fitted for her (and checked regularly because she kept changing shape). I would never agree with using a 'head-in' gadget on a young horse, I know lots of people use them but they are not for me.
 
What about the appropriate training, time and eliminating pain. Do not like gadgets but appreciate their usefulness in some case, but for a 4 year old you are just storing up trouble.
 
Agree with all the above. People on here v helpful - OP perhaps give us an idea of how far along your 4 year old is and they could offer advice on the next step? Eg I also have a 4 year old who I am taking things v slowly with, focused initially (after backing obv) on forwardness and stopping when asked, then basic steering, then started to thing about transitions, then straightness. At this point he started to offer to lift his back and bring his hocks underneath him and consequetly his head dropped into an 'outline' however that wasnt the aim and wasn't a focus at all. He also can't maintain this for long periods in trot yet so we do a lot of hacking and building up his muscles.... And he is a well put together half WB with a naturally strong topline relative to other breeds/types
maybe tell us a bit more about your horse/what you mean and people can offer altrnatives?
 
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