please help with head carriage problems!!

[lisa_lou]

my 6yr old irish sport horse mare works well in an outline in walk and canter but i cannot get her to listen to me and round up in trot. She will do it for a few strides then keeps trying to bring her head up high. I have tried being gentle with her mouth asking her to come down again, tried being heavy handed, tried wrapping my legs around as hard as i can to make the impulsion come from behind i have tried everything and nothing works!
She is well balanced so thats not the problem - we just always end up fighting each other and then i have to give up, I never get a good session from her anymore, its like she leans on the rein as i always find my outside rein arm is shaking in the top muscle after about 15 mins of trying. Have tried her in a neue schule trans angled lozenge bit (meant to help with outline problems) and also a loose ring snaffle. Would love to have flatwork lessons with someone to get me through this but really cant afford any at the mo.
any suggestions from anyone would be much appreciated as id love to get out and do some dressage competitions.

 

[TGM]

Would love to have flatwork lessons with someone to get me through this but really cant afford any at the mo.
any suggestions from anyone would be much appreciated as id love to get out and do some dressage competitions.

To be honest, you would be better off saving your entry fees for now and putting the cost towards a lesson or two, as it is much easier for someone to help you in the flesh than via an internet forum!

When you say you don't get a good session from her anymore, does that mean that she used to work correctly in trot, but doesn't anymore? If that is the case, then I would be investigating why things have changed.

If she has always been like this, then I would stop thinking about 'asking her to come down' and instead concentrate on getting her bending well in trot, working on circles, loops, serpentines etc., as this usually has the side effect of getting them softer throughout the body anyway (if done correctly). Remember to keep an elastic contact with the elbows bent, thumbs uppermost and a straight line to the bit. If you can post some photos or videos it would give people a better idea of where you are going wrong.

 

[Tickles]

Agree with the above but wd def add that if your muscles are hurting imagine what horse's mouth must feel like! Whatever is causing this you certainly need to be softer in your contact and more relaxed.

 

[Kokopelli]

If its only one rein she is leaning on she may be hurting somewhere have you had back, saddle and teeth checked?

Quite often if they are leaning on the right rein it is actually theleft rein which is more incorrect. She is taking all the weight in one rein so the rein that feels better is actually not correct because there is actually no contact on the left at all. To fix this you need to make sure you have correct bend at all times and always keep a good contact with the left rein. Yield with the right rein and always remain 'playfull' in it, make it comfortable for her to get a good contact and don't pull whatever you do.

Perhaps she is lacking muscle and finding it difficult to carry herself so is relying on you to carry her, if this is the case you need to persist on getting her in a correct contact so she builds up the muscle so she can then carry herself.

I would definatly recommend getting a good instructor, where are you based?

 

[ossy]

I would stop worrying about your horses head carriage and more how the horse is actually going and working. I think this is a very common mistake people make when think about getting their horse going nicely, they want their horses to look like they are in an “outline” when actually the outline only comes from asking the horse to work correctly. It sounds like your horse is just struggling with the way you asking him to work. He does not yet have the ability to self carriage and therefore sticks his head out to balance himself. To rectify this your horse needs to work more with the hind legs underneath, bringing himself together in a balanced manor and raising his shoulders up off the forehand and therefore carrying is head and neck himself, only then will he be in what looks like an “outline”. Also how are you asking him to bring his head down? Are you see sawing on his mouth, or forcing it now with your hands as he may be throwing his head up in protest of this.

You really need to forget about the head carriage for a while and think about how he is going, getting straightness, getting him moving of the aids, getting him a bit more subtle, doing lots of transitions, circles, bit of shoulder in and leg yield all help to get his back legs working a bit more and that in turn will help with the head carriage.

If you stuck in this cycle then I would really suggest trying to put some money aside for some lessons at least to get you going. If want to do some dressage then I wouldn’t bother for now and use the entry fee money you would need for them to get lessons.

 

[teddyt]

Getting heavy handed never works. And if your arm is shaking think of the discomfort in the horses mouth. as mentioned, have you checked the obvious (teeth, saddle, etc?)? Could you afford just one or two lessons or find a friend as your eyes on the ground to help you. A horse will never work correctly through force, they need to go correctly and if you are tense and its become an issue then maybe go back a few steps and with help yu may find what you are doing wrong or could be doing better.