Training exercises to lower head

[TinkyMole123]

What are everyones best exercises to get a young horse to lower her head in trot and canter shes quite aggy in her mouth even tho she has had all her checks teeth back (full MOT done ) she foams with her bit and seems happy, loosering neue schule lozenge snaffle. she would naturally carry her head high if she was allowed its formed slight muscle to build up under her neck

just tips and any methods people use to get a horse to lower the head and neck and be less tense?

please no negative comments just looking for tips and excercises to add in to my daily schooling

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Ride from your seat and legs, to encourage the horse to engage the hindquarters, polework, hillwork, especially strong trotting, with the power coming from behind. When we have bought horses with 'upside-down' necks we have ridden on a very loose contact, so that there is nothing for the horse to react against.

 

[milliepops]

I expect this is going to be one of those threads where everyone has a different answer.
Firstly i'd say have you got a good instructor to help you because they would be best placed to help you with your horse, really all we can do is come up with suggestions but they might not be the right ones, given that none of us can see your horse and her way of going.
What are you currently doing?

I'd come from a bit the opposite perspective to PAS and say if you have a horse that hollows then I would ride with a consistent soft contact to encourage her to take it forward and down rather than back and up. On a loose rein I don't think she would find that an easy step to take, IMO there needs to be a contact there in the first place for the horse to learn to seek it.
Then I would use a variety of school exercises to encourage greater suppleness and acceptance through her whole body which when combined with a good elastic contact should lead her to a softer frame.

Things like circles, spiralling in and out/different sizes and different places rather than getting stuck on one endless circle changes of rein incl serpentines, lateral work especially when combined with bending lines. Polework if she can relax into it, maybe not at the start if it makes her more tense. And transitions within the pace as well as between paces, as you say she is tense then I would say she needs to relax, let you take up the contact and put your leg on etc. So varying the trot between a smaller trot and a bigger trot, for instance, might challenge her to start with, but if she can accept the difference in pace she should start to relax.

 

[Red-1]

I agree with both of the above, even though they suggest the opposite!

I don't think of bringing the head down, instead I think of raising the back and engaging the core, by engaging the back end. The head dropping down is just a sign that the other bits have all come together, it is not the bit that you set out to do.

So for some horses a soft contact would work, others a loose rein, others a firm contact. That would depend on how educated they are to soften in the jaw. I do sometimes start om the ground with teaching them to accept a contact by standing beside them and helping them realise that I will release when they soften. but after that it is all about riding them for balance rather than a specific head set.

 

[vhf]

It depends a bit on WHY they do it. If they're the sharp, looky type, I do lots of calming work, gentle bend changes, soft contact, using poles on the ground (to bend round if poles themselves are too exciting!) Not too many transitions, just trying to get them to "chill" in their work. Lots of walk work too, long rein, normal, bend change, repeat... until it's more natural to go long than high, then add in the other paces.

If it's conformational, you may also have to do things like banning all haynets, all feed on the floor from flat buckets, teach them to stand with a low head carriage, low carrot stretches and so on so that they start to reduce the overdeveloped muscle and build the new desirable ones as well as learn the new habit.

I'm not a fan of gimmicks/gadgets, but I'm an amateur with only so much time, money and energy, so I don't rule them out. I have occasionally used them, but when dealing with a developed bad habit rather than starting a baby. I had a mare who came with a very upside-down neck, and she just didn't seem to "get" that she could carry herself any other way. I worked her 2-3 times a week in a pessoa-type thing that encourages them long and low (long-rein and lunge) and within a week she "got" it, in less than a month I stopped as she was pretty much the right way round (and I hate their action!). It was just the training issue from then on. I also hacked her with a loose Harbridge training aid for a few months. It did nothing if she was where I wanted her, but it meant that if I had a lapse in concentration (as happens hacking!) then she didn't accidentally remind herself of old habits.

Every horse is different, so really you need to find an experienced person (or two) on the ground, and then work to find what makes her tick.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Lateral work can help if she is tense gives them something to think about, try leg yield first it's probably the first side way move you teach a young horse.

Just a thought how is the saddle fit could she have filled out making it a bit tight that would cause tense and hollowing.

 

[Mule]

This is what I did with my giraffe:
I'd do spiraI circles first, just holding a steady rein contact and he'll learn to stretch over his back. The spiral out gets his inside hind leg under him. That's the important bit. Leg yield is great for this.

When he has that I'd teach him to loosen and flex at the poll so when you use your legs he doesn't just run forward. You can do it in halt by taking a very light contact and just hold it without increasing pressure until he flexes, then you soften the rein. (this will take patience). When he's consistently soft you can ask him to flex to each side so you can see the muscle in his neck flip over. You release when you feel him relax in the contact. (then rein will feel lighter)

Then continue in a walk, trot and canter. When you're in gaits other than halt ask him to flex with your rein contact and using light leg pressure at the same time. Also do this before transitions. The key is to teach him to flex from a very light touch so you don't need to get strong with your aids. The way to do this is to give him lots of time to figure it out. If he's having trouble understanding then go down a gait and ask again.

It's very important to ride him forward to get his hind activated. Otherwise he will just soften at his pole without taking the contact forward and using his hind quarters. He'll look pretty but won't be using his body athletically.

Do lots of shoulder in, spiral circles and teardrop shapes to get bend and suppleness and the inside hind under him. When he takes the contact himself you can feel his back lift because he body becomes rounded as he reaches out to your hand. Then he'll become very manoeuvrable and easy to ride. It also feels lovely

 

[Wheels]

Some great ideas already on this thread, lots for you to try.

From a biomechanics point of view, it is very difficult for a horse to keep a high head and neck position whilst his neck and body are bent. That is why these spiralling, circling and lateral movements work.

One I like that hasn't been mentioned is to walk straight along the long side of the arena but with a pronounced inside bend (the old masters call this fleschi droit), just a few steps at first, and then come on to a 10m circle keeping the same bend and slowly let the reins out to extend the neck. Repeat a few times each rein in walk and then try trot. It is a very gentle way of encouraging the horse to extend his neck and take the reins