low head carriage in canter and very strong

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hanoox

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Anyone have tips to help me get my 17hh 4 year old warm blood to stop carrying his head so low in canter ? It's hard to steer him towards jumps as his head is soo low and feel like he's not going to see the fence. He is currently in a snaffle and just gets way too strong if he locks onto a jump.
Wondering if I should change is bit, use a martingale or change his bridle from a Micklem to a grakle.
Any tips, exercises or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks!!
 
A 17 hand 4 year old is still growing and learning how to balance with a rider on, add jumps into the mix and he is probably just finding it all too much so does what he can to do what you are asking, putting a martingale on, which helps lower the head, is not going to help, a grackle is unlikely to make any difference.

I would suggest working on his balance in general, getting him gradually taking more weight on his hind leg which will take time especially if he is built a bit downhill, do lots of transitions, polework, stick to tiny fences you can trot into, gridwork so he learns to be steady and measure what he is doing and you should find in a few months he is more balanced and able to canter into small fences in a more balanced way, getting a good instructor would really help.
 
Sounds to me as though he isn't strong enough to be jumping yet - at 4, a WB has a lot of muscling up and developing balance to do. I had a Swedish WB who had been novice eventing at 7, so must have done a lot of serious schooling, both flat and jumping before then, and he was unsound by 9. Give him time, and plenty of it - WBs are late developers, quite apart from the skeletal development which has been shown to not be complete until the are at least 6. Ride him on the flat, hack him about, do plenty of transitions to get him better balanced, and forget about artificial aids like different bits or martingales. He'll come with time and patience and work to improve his balance.
 
I second the comments above; many transitions are the best basic way to get a horse to sit on his haunches and thus sit back, allowing you to go forward into transitions without running (which they will do when on the forehand). Try these first at the walk-trot. Young horses are inevitably unbalanced, so lots of transitions on a circle will help him establish his own balance, which will progress into him gaining confidence.
About the locking onto jumps scenario..you could maybe get him used to schooling around and in front of the jumps. This way he won't expect that he is going to jump whenever he is within the proximity of a fence. Rushing could again be a young/confidence factor, so trotting up to a cross and trotting after is always a good way to start off a jumping session. Its always a pleasure to see horses loving their job but the best way to allow horses to judge their fences, especially if you aspire to jump big tracks, is to maintain a constant rhythm and for the horse to be sitting up and waiting to reach the fence....which will come in time! :)
 
Ditto others - this horse is too young yet. It will be at least a year, and quite possibly 2 before he is going to be balanced enough to do what you ask. If you bring him on slowly and gently you'll have a sound and willing friend for years. If you force him you will damage both any relationship with him and long term soundness. And please don't use artificial aids at all unless you understand what they are designed to do. Neither a martingale nor a grackle will raise the head carriage. No bit can substitute for bringing on a young horse correctly. Gadgets have their place but it is important to understand what they are used for and how to fit them - otherwise they can cause harm.
 
I bought a KWPN type from Ireland as a 4 year old 16.1hh unbroken. He will be 6 this year, now 17hh, and has only just been broken. I try to keep out of the school, and hack him a lot on hilly fields when I can find them. His balance has improved enormously in the last month, as he muscles up. Please don't just ride your horse in the school. His joints won't be up the constant turns, and as somebody else said, better to take your time and have a sound horse at the end of it. You have to be awfully patient with these big horses.
 
Shay said:
Ditto others - this horse is too young yet. It will be at least a year, and quite possibly 2 before he is going to be balanced enough to do what you ask. If you bring him on slowly and gently you'll have a sound and willing friend for years. If you force him you will damage both any relationship with him and long term soundness. And please don't use artificial aids at all unless you understand what they are designed to do. Neither a martingale nor a grackle will raise the head carriage. No bit can substitute for bringing on a young horse correctly. Gadgets have their place but it is important to understand what they are used for and how to fit them - otherwise they can cause harm.
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This with bells on!

Far better to do as cundlegreen does.
 
JillA said:
Sounds to me as though he isn't strong enough to be jumping yet - at 4, a WB has a lot of
muscling up and developing balance to do. I had a Swedish WB who had been novice eventing at 7, so must have done a lot of serious schooling, both flat and jumping before then, and he was unsound by 9. Give him time, and plenty of it - WBs are late developers, quite apart from the skeletal development which has been shown to not be complete until the are at least 6. Ride him on the flat, hack him about, do plenty of transitions to get him better balanced, and forget about artificial aids like different bits or martingales. He'll come with time and patience and work to improve his balance.
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Agreed. My horse has grown 2 inches since I got him in late may/June last year when he was 6. He was backed as a 5 year old and then ignored for half a year til he was taken back on sales livery and eventually sold. He is only half warmblood too other half is connemara so you would think he would be fine but nope. They need slow training nothing fast.
 
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