Horse stretching head down ALOT - good or not?

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SCG

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I've noticed that my horse is stretching his head down ALOT when I'm hacking out. I'm not doing any schooling at the mo as we don't have a school and the fields are boggy and slippery. I first noticed it on the way back from a hack (we'd been out about an hour) and I thought it was good and that he was just having a stretch. But recently he seems to be doing it even when I haven't been in the saddle very long, today he did it 15 mins into our hack. He does it both in walk and trot and also when we go up hills. He's a 15hh connie gelding, 7 yrs and at the moment only being ridden about 4 times a week, hacked for about an hour each time in the week and about 1.5-2 hours on Sat and Sun. I had a Saddle Company saddle fitted to him back in June and he had his back sorted at the same time.

I'm not sure if he's just stretching his back out or whether he is sore/stiff in some way. I always thought it was good for horses to be stretching their head and necks down but my friend had a mare who did this and turned out her shoulder was sore. I wondered about getting saddle fitter out to check his saddle (it was completely re-flocked 6 months ago and may need tweaking) or get his back checked, if so who should I get out first ?

Sorry for long post, thanks for reading
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Sounds like he could be a bit sore/u comfortable in his back or just getting tired. My horse can be prone to doing this but then he his built quite on the forehand generally so I think he finds it physically easier to carry his head downwards.

It may be he prefers to carry his head this way though and nothing to do with discomfort just generally he is more comfy like this. You may have to get a little tough if, when he does this he is also pulling the reins from you. A bit of a kick to get him to carry himself may not go amiss.

Still, I would maybe check his back and teeth before ruling out soreness.
 
Thanks for reply, yes I wondered if he was just getting tired but then shouldn't be when we first set off on a ride? His teeth have just been done so they are fine, he's very polite when he stretches his head down, doesn't snatch or pull the reins and doesn't lean, just stretches head right down for a few seconds and then brings it back up again. I did wonder if he was just on the forehand and not using himself properly but did it again today on the way home when his head is up and ears pricked and he's really striding out - we always get a fabulous power walk on the way home - but still he was doing it every few minutes. Should I get back or saddle checked first?
 
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