Youngster has started to pull on the reins..why??

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Trekker

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Hi, Ive started riding a young horse (a 5 year old)..she only been backed for 7 weeks approx..for the last past few weeks she has started to pull on the reins when out hacking.

She seems to try to pull the reins out of my hands, so she can get her nose down near her front feet..we thought it maybe because she is a bit foot sore, so my friend had her shod on the front feet, but she is still doing it.

Ive tried riding her on a very long rein and she still pulls..any ideas on why she is doing it?? she didint do it before. How can i stop her from doing it??

Any advice is welcome. Thank you xx
 
Does she do it when schooling as well? This can be them trying to stretch their back muscles which could be an indication she's sore? If she's just started being schooled and is muscling up a saddle that fit 7 weeks ago may not now.

Or potentially if she's young she may be teething and the bits uncomfy or annoying, does she do anything with her mouth when she does it, like gape or chomp?
 
No she doesn't do it when schooling..but i keep the schooling sessions short!

she doesn't seem to gape or chomp..

I ride her in a happy mouth snaffle

Ive only noticed her pulling the last past few times Ive ridden her..both these times the hack was only walking for about 45mins..
 
Although at five she may look all grown up, if she has only been backed for seven weks then she is still developing the necessary muscles to carry a rider comfortably. As PonyIAmNotFood says, stretching the head down is an indication that she wants to release tension in her back. If she is doing it persistantly then I expect she is sore.

Firstly I would get her saddle checked, as newly backed horses can change shape very quickly.

How often are you riding her, and for how long? What ground work are you doing to help her build topline without the added strain of carrying a rider? Do you know who backed her, and how thorough a job they did of preparing her to carry a rider? Even though she is 5 rather than 3 or 4, in riding terms she is still a baby and needs to be treated as such.

Sorry if you have already thought of these things, just thought I'd tell oyu my first thoughts.
 
I ride her about 3 times a week...normally for about an hour at a time..mostly hacking.

I do feel like she has filled out a bit..

I have thought about getting her teeth checked..

I was advised to not really buy a saddle just yet as her shape will change.
 
Trekker said:
I ride her about 3 times a week...normally for about an hour at a time..mostly hacking.

An hour is quite a long time - even in walk - for a JUST backed horse. Particularly if only ridden 3 times a week. Far better 30 minutes 6 days a week, if at all possible.

I do feel like she has filled out a bit..

Yep -the back muscles will be developing!

I have thought about getting her teeth checked..

One would HOPE that teeth were checked before she was backed (it's the FIRST thing we do!) but sadly some trainers don't bother! Some people even think youngsters don't NEED teeth doing- whereas MANY long-term mouth problems start in 3 year olds as a result of retained caps.

I was advised to not really buy a saddle just yet as her shape will change.
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I certainly wouldn't invest in an expensive made to measure, but youngsters MUST have a well-fitted saddle from day 1. Otherwise, even if it doesn't express its dislike for saddle discomfort by bucking you off, it will develop uneven musculature, move awkwardly,etc. etc.

There are several reasons youngster will pull the reins down - the most common is that its head is being held onto! The head and neck are a horse's 'balancing pole' - it NEEDS freedom of head and neck to allow it to develop blance and self-carriage. It NEEDS to be able to stretch down - to develop its back muscles(and to relieve any discomfort). Even when ridden with the most sympathetic hand, the youngster will still occasionally duck its head down for all sorts of reasons - good AND bad!

After 7 weeks, my response would be to let my hand follow the head down- but to push on a little (to encourage the hind leg under so self-carriage develops.) Later on, the horse must learn to accept the contact and NOT try and 'take' the reins unless asked/allowed to stretch down -but in these early days, you do NOT want to give the youngster a reason to fight the bit!
 
Thank you for your responses everyone...it's much appreciated!!

At the moment I only ride the horse..it is not mine.

Im hoping to bring her home in November..for winter loan.

I will have her teeth looked at then.

Ive also contacted a very good BHS approved riding instructor, who is very good with young horses.

Do u think i wintec saddle is a good idea for a youngster?? they say you can change the gullets in them as the horse changes shape. What r your veiws on this??
 
An adjustable saddle would be a good idea while shes still growing, but you still need to get them fitted, the wintec tree shape doesnt suit a lot of horses, so no matter what gullet you put in it may still not fit. If you get in touch with a saddler though they should be able to bring a few different brands out and fit her with the best one :)
 
Just a thought - once you have gone through the advice suggested, which I totally agree with re saddles being fitted (Consider a GFS synthetic btw?), teeth etc, perhaps try doing some short lunge sessions with a fairly loose pessoa to teach to soften to the contact and work more from behind?
My youngster was very heavy in my hands when she was first backed and kinda leaned on the contact, and was very on the forehand (as most babies are...). After she had her foal, I used the pessoa in really short sessions to start bringing her back into work, and now that I have started riding her again, she is a different horse! It's like a lightbulb moment - where she suddenly dropped over and lifted her back as if to say "Ah that's what you want!" and it lets me carry my hands forward to push her into the contact, and it's lovely! ;)
But I also let her have lots of breaks and opportunity to stretch out in between, and we do all our schooling out hacking while she is learning to be more forward and enjoy this odd riding activity that us human seem to like so much!! :):)
 
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