Unsteady in the head - dressage

[Hurtle]

I have recently done a dressage test and one of the remarks was unsteady in the head. I have also noticed this when I look back at videos of us that he isn't consistent to the contact.

What I'm not sure about is why. My assumptions are that either/and/or he is not forward enough into the hand or my contact is not steady enough.

What else could cause this, what have i missed?

 

[TiaPony]

Have you had the usual checks - teeth, back and saddle?

 

[Hurtle]

Yes he is regularly MOT'd!

 

[TiaPony]

Mine gets like this when she is poll tight or her teeth need doing so was just a thought

 

[RachelB]

It can quite often stem from the rider's hands. I used to be an awful "fiddler", until one old schoolmaster horse decided to ignore me and I got a feel for keeping a steady contact. I'm still not brilliant but am much better, and it shows when I ride my share horse - he's a sensitive Anglo Arab and would quite happily swing his head side to side to complement the up-and-down he does because he dislikes his bit (he's always had bitting issues apparently). Luckily my hands are now well-trained enough to give him a steady enough contact to work into!
What exactly is your horse doing when you say he "isn't consistent to the contact"? Is he backing off/poking his nose out/wafting his head up and down/side to side?

 

[Partoow]

Unsteadiness in the head/ mouth is commonly a symptom of a lack of connection with the hind leg. through the body.
Not being forward enough is what people commonly refer to but this has nothing to do with 'speed' but again the desire for the horse to accept the hind leg forward under the body to the hand.
Lots of things may cause this.
I would start with the real basics of reaction to the leg/ hand. So concentrate on walk halt, halt walk transitions.
Make sure the reaction to the halt is on the hind leg; dont let him 'dribble' in to halt but actually halt by carrying in to the halt . Then relax a little the contact [ he should stay in the halt without moving forward] then a light quick leg to move off to the walk, again concentrating that it is the hind leg that he reacts first, not the from pulling the body forward inthe foreleg.
try and make sure that the contact is even and straight between the two reins so at first do this on a square rather than a circle, most horses naturally place more weight in one rein , often the right rein, gently sponge the fingers on the side you feel the 'dead' feeling in. Try not to involve the arm in this, make this the result of the fingers 'tickling' the palm of the hand rather than miking the reins with the arms. Hold your body square to his shouulders and make sure you have a good bend in the elbow so that you have a straight line from the bit rings up the forearm to the elbow [ remember that the reins are only there because the arms are'nt long enough to hold the bit so really think of what is is like to have fingers that extend to hold the rings hand what that would feel like.
Security in the seat by having a good core muscles, so take the belly button to the spine , reach up through the spine , keep the bent elbow heavey and the hand light so that you dont push the hand down to trap the contact but open the thigh enclose with the leg so the seat becomes like a bridge letting the energy from behind flow forward to the rein and then let the hand be the limit of the connection so that, like the fizz in a bottle of pop you contain the 'gas' then you may start to see how and why that connection needs to develope.
It is a fundimental of dressage [ and in that i mean any training that we do with the horse] or anythng we do that involves picking up the rein, that we have compromised the horses balance by taking its neck away we therefore have to provide and alternative method of balance and this is in the hind leg and the use of our leg and the dirrecting with the hand is the way we help them understand this.
I hope that this my help. it is actually a huge topic and something i work on endlessly with many of my pupils so you are not alone and the first step was recognising it!!

 

[Hurtle]

Thank you all for your responses they are all really useful and thought provoking.

I might get his teeth checked again to be on the safe side and actually from what you guys are saying it's probably a combination of my fiddly hands. (They are I looked at the video again) and his lack of forward.

I will have a go at your exercises too Partoow.

 

[stencilface]

I think all the above comments are good, but just as an extra.

My horse used to do this whenever his headpiece or browband was pinching him. With a looser browband and no tightness around his head now he is much improved (also have done more schooling which should have helped me too!)

I used to wear a flash or mexican noseband and whenever I tightened these they seemed to make him unhappy due to more pressure acorss the top of his head. He is now in a loose fitting cavesson and is much happier and his contact on the bridle is much better. TBH, he doesn't even need the cavesson......

 

[chesterquestgem]

my horse used to be very unsteady in his head, it was due to my hands being too strong and fiddling too much. which made him pull and made the problems much much worse, however ive recently learnt to control the horse more from my seat and leg, giving the rein as soon as he's soft and gently vibrating the rein as soon as he comes above the bit and hes going like a dream, light as a feather in my hands with a still head.