Horse leaning on the bit

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Hi,
I have a 14.2hh Connemara cross. Once you take up a light contact when riding him, he starts leaning on the bit and gets really heavy.
He’d naturally go around like a giraffe when he’s not being ridden so I’m pretty sure he’s using me to try balance himself. I want to try do lots of transitions to get him to work his back end and to support himself better but the problem is that he becomes so heavy that he’s ignoring any half halts and I have to put a lot more pressure on the reins than I’d like to get him to slow down or walk. He’s currently being ridden in a loose ring snaffle with a lozenge. Any advice?
 
Hows his saddle fit? Hows his teeth? Is he pulling his head down or is it more forward? Is he curling his head in and evading?
 
It sounds like he doesn't yet have the musculature to do what you are asking? Possibly also (and no offense please if not!) might you not quite have the experience to school him into that way of going?

You don't say how old he is or what his stage of training. If he naturally carries himself head high he may have not develeoped the musculature in the right places to carry himself more classically. How are you asking for contact? Are you just trying to hold his head in place or is he really working through from behind? Can you half halt with your seat alone rather than relying on the reins?

Start with the obvious - tack / back / teeth. Does everything fit. Is there pain or stiffness anywhere that could make it difficult. Then you - if lockdown restrictions permit - get a good instructor to have a look. Are you balanced and independant? Are you able to control him with your seat and body rather than the reins? Is he moving through from behind. Has he the self carriage to do what you ask?

It sounds like a long essay - and is abolutely not intended to be anyhting but helpful! We can't see you and him - we can't even make a guess from previous posts since this is your first. So any reply has to be a bit "back to basics".
 
You say that you have to put more pressure on the reins that you would like to half halt or make transitions. This to me means that the stop signal doesn’t work how it should, the horse has been taught to ignore it.
I think you need to be very aware of two things, the first is to reward with releasing the pressure of the reins as soon as you get the right reaction so that you dont end up in a tug of war and the second is to be very accurate with seperating your aids. By that I mean that you never use opposite aids at the same time. In the simplest form, legs mean “go”, reins mean “stop” and if you tell the horse both at the same time it will have to ignore one and that signal will be dull. I would start out in walk or even from the ground and just work on a very light stop signal.
 
Thanks for all the advice. He’s 15 this year so he’s not a youngster. He only came back into work at the start of April after having the winter off - we don’t have a sand arena and the ground is too soft in the winter to ride on. Back checked, tack checkEd, and teeth done every year before coming back into work. To get him into an outline I half halt and then squeeze with my hands, the moment he drops onto the vertical I soften my hands but when I soften he goes forward and it just feels like he’s leaning on the bit pulling against me.
I definitely think you’re right an instructor would certainly help. I have a mare with a much better top line who is totally different to ride. The slightest adjustment to your hands, legs or seat and she responds.
I’ll look into getting an instructor when the lockdown passes.
 
In horses where there is no obvious issue (so teeth etc fine) then where I have seen this, it is either lack of strength behind (as young horses muscle up or older horses come back into work) or a physical issue in the hind end e.g. arthritis or a soft tissue injury.
 
He probably doesn't have the musculature yet to balance himself but I usually find that if you don't give the horse anything to lean on, they give up trying to lean on you. I would do as much work as possible to help him develop his hind quarters, hillwork, polework, transitions from your seat. If you can give him turnout on a hill that really helps, ime.
 
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