Head Tilting

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lizzie_liz

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I need some tips on stopping Honey from tilting her head. She has only started doing this in the past couple of weeks on the left rein and its mainly in the canter.

This is really affecting our dressage marks at the moment. We were at BD today and we are getting 7's and the odd 8 for her trot but her canter is down to a 5 bringing our overall % right down. I really need to get this sorted for Area Festival next week.
 
In my limited experience of this (i.e. one horse who does it!) it happens when they are not truly into the outside rein and they tilt the head rather than bending and being supple. Does it still happen if you are a bit firmer with the outside rein?
 
She does need to be more supple and we have been working a lot on getting her to bend properly and be more supple, however since we have been working on this she seems to have got worse
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My lad had started to head tilt to the left,I got him physio'd last friday and he was out in his poll.And he couldent flex his head to the right at all.When i put one hand on his his nose and one hand up where his cheek meets his neck and gently try to flex him to the right he couldent and was in alot of pain (he was licking and chewing).But now i have been doing his exersises he can now flex left and right with no pain.
 
I was thinking about the physio as she is working a lot harder now and during the summer months she is competing every weekend. But it won't happen till after Area Festivals as they need a few days off afterwards and there is not enough days in the week!!
 
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I was thinking about the physio as she is working a lot harder now and during the summer months she is competing every weekend. But it won't happen till after Area Festivals as they need a few days off afterwards and there is not enough days in the week!!

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Not sure how you can balance that against the horse not working properly and possibly being in pain, especially if it is affecting your marks now. Surely one week off (and it might not come to that) now would be better than potentially compounding a problem?
 
I would rather get it down now but I am also away a couple of days this week so it is not possible to get it done this week. I don't think it is pain as her trot work is so much better now, we are now getting more 7's and started to get 8's whereas before she was getting mainly 6's and the odd 7.

She is also jumping really well and she is one of these horses that if she is discomfort will make damn sure you know all about it!
Mum is not convinced that she needs the physio. I also know that it is something I do wrong when I ride as I have ridden other horses which have done it with me but not with other riders.
 
You are 100% spot on - thats exactly why a horse tilts its head, because it isnt supple through its neck and body. The only reason i know this is because Archie does it, and in my lesson with my trainer on thursday she was telling me the reason why he does it and what i need to do to stop him doing it. However ive never been marked down for it in a test before.

Archie's is mainly in canter aswell. To stop him my trainer told me to open my outside rein and lift my inside hand up really high to bring his head on straight. Obviously this is a tempory solution - but it gets him used to carrying his head in the correct position. ive also found that holding my hands really wide when schooling will stop him.

But the main thing you need to do for the long term solution is LOTS of small circles with an open inside rein into a giving outside rein, with your inside leg on and leg yeild in and out of the circle. This will get your horse to bend his/her body around your inside leg.

When i was warming up for my petplan yesterday i did this and in the test he was 100 times better as he was more supple through his body. i think im lucky with Archie in that hes naturally supple, so all these exercises are helping him already. I also do lots of small circles and changes of rein within a circle whilst over exagerating the inside bend into outside rein. in canter i do small 10m circles and really 'pick up' with my inside leg to get him straighter in his head and soft through his body and over his back.

Hope you havent fallen asleep reading all that - hope it helps!!
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Thanks for that, we were doing something like that with Gareth and she was getting better, she just hates having to let go!! I haven't had an arena to work in all week as it got flooded in the floods, only just dried now!! Hopefully will get in there tomorrow and do some schooling but the surface is awful!!

Can I please have your judges as the judge I had today marked her down quite a bit for her head tilt and mentioned it at the bottom of my sheet
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Ithe less i talk about the judge the better as ended up in tears when I saw my mark and was so angry.
 
I guess Archie probably dosent do it that badly - my trainer said she could hardly notice it on thursday, im just really paranoid about it!

When were her teeth last done? Also i really think you should get the physio out rather than keep riding her - there are always other areas, if it was the choice between that and my horse in possible pain id choose the physio a million times over.

Archie has his teeth/tack and back done every 3months at the moment as hes constantly developing and i like to know he is 100% comfortable when im riding him.
 
Her teeth were done on Sunday so that is not an excuse and they were good beforehand.
I honestly don't think she is in pain as I have said before if something hurts she will make sure you know about it. She also has her saddle checked regularly and it was done in June.

I just need to find a physio in my area. It isn't a major head tilt just enough to notice and to annoy but I am sure it is my riding.

This year I can only get to the one area hence why I am going to Ardingly and not Patchetts or Wellington as I a field trip for uni and back to uni for them.
 
Sorry but head tilting is a symptom of not being through from behind and signifies a lack of 'carry' and therefore engagement into the outside rein.
You need to think more about half halts and shoulder-in to develope that inside to outside connection , thats why its a fault marked down in a test.
it is commonly seen as you do more in a test as you step up a level and you need more collection and therefore carrying ability of the hind legs. More so in the canter as the momentum and impulsion of the pace requires the horse to be more balanced in the outside rein. You need to make sure as this seems to be affecting you more in the canter that you probably need to pay more attension to the outside leg behind the girth so that helps hold the outside hindleg 'on' and thus will help the inside hind carry more.
Hope that makes sense to you.
You should investigate the back, i some times find that my horse may tilt if they are a little 'out' in the pelvis and this can inhibit the engagement of this inside leg.
Goodluck at the festival.
 
She has arthritis in her right hock and navicular in front feet which was diagnosed in 2002 (as a 6 year old) and she only started to be schooled properly in the summer of 2006 (as a 10 year old) and even then she is only really schooled when I am home from uni. Therefore her schooling is not as good as it should be, she used to be quite crooked in her canter, swinging her quarters in but she is now straight and since she has straightened she has started this slight head tilt.
She does need to bear more weight behind and step through more but it is improving.

Thanks for all your advice, it is much appreciated
 
Tilting as i implied in my last post is another form of 'lacking straightness',slightly more subtle but the same thing all the same.As you can see it is about that abilty to use the hindlegs and the development of the appropriate strength for the engagement required for the movements and the level at which you are riding.
When you are posting a question in future it is a good idea to include such information as it really does have a huge bearing on your horses ability to do the work you are asking.
Hope you contue on your way with your horse, she obviously tries for you.
 
My Dutch warmblood is 10 years old and I have had her from the age of 3, she has recently started to head tilt really bad and chews on her bit but only on the right side, she is worse in a striaght bar bit mullen, she won't canter or goes disunited and won't go forward and throws her head about, I have had 2 dentists and 2 vets and no one seems to know what it is.
I did ride bitless and she is happy, forward and no head tilt.
 
lizzie_liz said:
Thanks for that, we were doing something like that with Gareth and she was getting better, she just hates having to let go!! I haven't had an arena to work in all week as it got flooded in the floods, only just dried now!! Hopefully will get in there tomorrow and do some schooling but the surface is awful!!

Can I please have your judges as the judge I had today marked her down quite a bit for her head tilt and mentioned it at the bottom of my sheet
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Ithe less i talk about the judge the better as ended up in tears when I saw my mark and was so angry.
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Why where you angry ?your horse was tilting its head and was marked down because of it.
As has been said through out the thread it shows lack of throughness suppleness and submission in the training .
It might be a good idea to think of getting a Bowen trained or Equine touch person to look at her it's an excellent way to make you aware of any lack of symmetry in the way the horse is developing.
you know it's not her teeth but perhaps need to rule out if past medical history has a role in the tilt.
 
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