Getting ex racer to bring his head down

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VoyPor

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Hi again - as some of you will know - i got an ex racer the other week.

He does have quite a high head carriage when being ridden - how can i get him to bring this down.

I have tried the 'turning his head right, then left, then right, then left' but that doesn't seem to have an effect - he just seems to turn his head without actually lowering it.

Any advice would be very helpful thank you.
 
Ooh, ex-racer? Thought you were going for something totally different. Will stalk your album later for pics (Ever hopeful!)

I found using a bungee very helpful when lunging and riding and now I get it without really asking: it took a while, but with persistence, it has worked ruddy wonders.
 
Are the obvious all covered? ie tack, back and teeth? if all OK, might be worth playing with the bits for comfort as well. I had an ex racer - 17 hands of ex NH horse who had such a small jaw that a normal loose ring would actually catch behind his jaw - he ended up wearing the snaffle part of a double (for want of a clearer description) to make him more comfortable. If your boy is used to going with his head up, then I would assume he would also have muscled up under his neck? lunging in a pessoa/bungee would help but obviously I would keep the sessions really short and build up. I found with my ex racers (only 2 so can't quote widely) but neither was happy to accept a contact and putting my leg on simply meant "go faster but still not into the bridle". Lunging really helped but it did take a long time!
 
The bungee that my friend has (and I have tried to buy one, but never been able to find one) is made of thick orange rubber, and you attach it to the girth, it goes inbetween the front legs and up to the bit, where you attach it to the bit rings. Its length can be adjusted.

You can also get bungee reins. These are like side reins but made of rubber.
 
Are you lungin in side reins? I would be trying this before attempting to 'bring his head down' ridden.

I have an elastic bungee that helped with my polo pony. It is a length of strong elastic with a clip at each end. It clips to the girth strap, though the bit rings and over the poll, and length can be adjusted.

Depends very much on the horse, but obv check bit and tack etc first.
 
Like any other horse! Is he going correctly, has he got suffient muscle? Tying his head in while just upset him. If he going correctly and ridden properly his head carriage will lower when he works over his back.
 
Abandon all gadets (side reins, bungees, the lot) then find a bit he's happy in - assuming teeth have been done since you've had him - mine always seem to like a big loose ring snaffle of an appropriate thickness, and start to ride!

Long and low is your first objective - stretch over the back by encouraging him to take a light contact (ie to go looking for it). Legs, lots of leg, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

Only once that is easy to obtain can you start to school them and ask them to come up into the bridle, shorten the gait etc etc etc.

With my last (and current) boy, it took a good year + until he was reasonably balanced in a school. Only in the last two months has he been able to canter a short side, corner and go on across the diagonal in a 20x40 grass area without breaking, slipping or having some other issue! He's 17.2hh and I've had him for nearly two years now.

Don't expect miracles straight away, it's a lot to ask and a huge change to the way he's been going all his life. Praise every little attempt, each time he tries to strech and look for your contact, some days will be a write off and those are the days that aren't worth worrying about (how ever frustrating it might be, and I know!).

Good luck and enjoy - ex racers have a huge amount of talent, ability and common sense (well, most of the time), they're well worth the time and effort to produce yourself an excellent horse to have tonnes of fun with.
 
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