Head tossing on one rein

[Jonathan89]

Hi, my horse is head tossing and throwing his head very high when being asked to take a left hand lead. Fine on one but on the other does this, want to hack out but the tossing is putting me off at the moment.
Teeth and massage has been done a couple of months back, trying to ride it out of him but it seems to not be working. If anyone has any suggestions they’d be most appreciated.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Hi, my horse is head tossing and throwing his head very high when being asked to take a left hand lead. Fine on one but on the other does this, want to hack out but the tossing is putting me off at the moment.
Teeth and massage has been done a couple of months back, trying to ride it out of him but it seems to not be working. If anyone has any suggestions they’d be most appreciated.

It might be that your horse is sore in the neck. Get an registered physio to take a look. Other reasons may be due to an ill fitting saddle.

 

[still standing]

You might check that your contact is even in both reins. And then 'allow' your hand forward a little bit with the outside rein when on a bend or circle. It could just be something that simple, causing the resistance.

 

[AmyMay]

Has your vet looked at the horse? How is the fit of your saddle?

 

[Equi]

So many questions. Who did the teeth? What bit/bridle are you using? Is it even on each side? Is the horses head even? What saddle? Who fitted this saddle and when? Are your stirrups level? Is horse even or bigger on one side? Are you causing the issue with anxiety and pulling? Are you unbalanced and need a physio yourself? What is he fed? Whats his routine? How are his hooves?

 

[ihatework]

There are a multitude of potential reasons for this. But a noticeable behaviour on one rein only always has a reason for it.

First obvious one to discount is the saddle. Something that doesn’t fit or sits slightly asymmetric puts quite a bit of pressure on the horse and stops them moving correctly.

Next main one is lameness. This can be subtle and not easily spotted. I’d have the vet in to do a once over - trot up & lunge in the hard & soft and flexions all round.

If the teeth were done a couple of months back and the behaviour was present prior to that then that would be lower on the list.

Then, you need to be quite self critical and put your ego aside. Are you wonky and/or inexperienced - it’s quite often the rider causing such issues and over time a wonky/bad rider creates a wonky horse!

 

[teddypops]

Get teeth checked again. Anything can happen in a few months.