what is it i need??

[Palomino Mare]

Is it a bit??martingale??noseband??

if you take a look at this thread then that will explain what happened!http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114487

i have been looking into getting a martingale for some time as when we are jumping jerry flings his head in the air.
however, he proved himself to be very fast and he is fast when jumping - basically my problem with jerry is that he puts his head in the air fighting my contact (if you watch SJ then you often see a horses trying to speed towards the jump whilst teh rider is trying to hold it back and thus the horse looks like its galloping in the air with its front legs??) so that makes me think should i get something like a hanginmg cheek snaffle? he's not strong in teh slightest - just fast and is in a french like snaffle just now with no problems.

but i have just read this regarding grackle/mexican nosebands Some riders claim that this kind of noseband stops their horses from crossing their jaws or hanging on the bit or getting hold of the bit with the teeth. That may be so. I have used it on a horse that would gape against the regular noseband, because of it's firm restriction. This kind of noseband runs diagonally across the face, and is thus more flexible and giving, and doesn't give the horse anything to gape against. It also stays away from the teeth. In the rare occasion that you meet a horse who gapes against the noseband, try this one. If not, don't bother. It's just a noseband...

this does sound liek what he is doing (he has always been this noseband before i got him but i took it off to give more freedom as he grinds his teeth/chomps bit) Now i'm confused as this is not how i view this noseband!!

also - would a simple full cheek snaffle help??

i know this thread is a bit of a mess so i appologise for that!!

thanks for any advice in advance!!

amz x

[lor]

I know this is probably not the answer you want, but IMHO (the H stands for humble) you should work on re-schooling him. perhaps put this on training of the horse/rider and you will hopefully get some good feed back/advice.

He may be chucking his head up because he isnt comfortable in his mouth, he may anticipate pain somewhere, the possible causes are endless.

[Star_Piper]

As above, working on basic schooling should help in the longrun, and check his teeth (and maybe back?) to eliminate pain as the cause.

However, if he's throwing his head up and becoming a bit more difficult to control, a running martingale would at least keep your rein aids coming from the right direction in relation to his mouth. I've ridden a couple of ponies in the past, who tended to go like that when they got excited - they were definitely a bit easier to control with a running martingale. I'm sure there's someone on the yard who has one you could borrow to try him in, see how he reacts, before you go buying them.

Bitwise, does steering become an issue? If he's fine in the french link, maybe getting a french link with cheeks would help? There used to be somewhere you could borrow bits from, to try out, although I can't remember what it is called. Alternately, maybe someone on the yard might have one the right size you could borrow to try out? No point buying something, if it's not going to work. I do have a full cheek bit, although not french-link, and it might not be the right size for Jerry (it's either 4.5" or 5")

One of the aforementioned speedy ponies that had a running martingale, also ended up in a grakle noseband - you could see that it did stop her being able to open her mouth and tank off. If your main problem is he becomes fast and excited when jumping/doing fast work, it may help you. Again, maybe someone could lend you one to try out?

Hope this helps a bit - once any form of pain has been ruled out, I would just try each (individually at first) to see what works best while schooling him out of it, then hopefully in the future you'll be able to go back to current tack without any problems.

[Lucyad]

I saw the offending behaviour, and it did look as if jerry just set both his neck and jaw, leaving poor palominomare nothing more to do - you did look as if you were trying to turn with all of your strength, but he was just set against you. I dont know the solution, but I don't necessarily think that in that particular situation schooling would have significant effect, as he had got so fired up by the 'race' that even though he knew very well what you were asking for, he was choosing, in this instance, not to listen. I also know that he usually seems to listen to you very well, and carries his head nicely without undue contact, or any aparent discomfort (though not seen jumping). Sorry, not much help, but may give someone more knowledgeable more information as you can see a lot more when you are not riding!

[Chip]

IMHO, more schooling is exactly what he needs. he needs to be taken back to ground poles and work slowly up. Start from a trot and make sure he calms down and listens and responds, before moving up a stage.

[Lucy J]

having also seen his naughty behaviour I would say you had a tough time to do much in that circumstance (you did well staying on!)

purely and simply he was heading for the exit. my NF pony used to do this and although only 13.2hh when he set his head and neck there was nothing much you could do, apart from be very severe with your hands which is not ideal. the trick with him was to teach him to want to do what you were asking rather than for him to decide. I took the same tact with my mare too (although she napped rather than set herself against me) but it has taken me 4 years to gain her total respect and get her to want to do what i ask 110% of the time. (and 2 weeks alone in the top field after a 400 mile journey with only me for company)

still jerry got excited. better schooling to get him to ALWAYS listen would help but is a long continuing process. to have safely dealt with the situation you found yourself in the following may help: a full cheek bit may have helped steering and a running gag (or balding/cheltenham gag whatever you want to call it) perhaps even a kineton noseband would help control. i wouln't have thought a martingale would have made much difference, but a different mouthpiece may have.

however, and having seen jockeys bail out when racehorses do a similar thing, if 1/2 a tonne of horse decides to go his way, there is precious little you can do other than what you did.

at least he didn't continue over the gate which is what my former NF in that frame of mind would have done 4 years ago!!!