9 year old ex racer with high head carriage.

[showqa]

Posted this in the wrong place before. I'm looking at a 9 year old ex-racer - seems ok in everyway, except carrys her head high (not trying to get above the bit though). Maybe this is through her racing history, so just wondering how realisitic it is to think about schooling her out of this now? She's ridden in a snaffle with martingale at the moment. Thanks.

[popularfurball]

I think it is realistic to school out of it - its often a sign of tension/excitement/pain - and as such in a stable, relaxed home it can improve in terms of tension and anxiety, as would ill fitting tack (hopefully!)

My little monkey paraded round with her nose on her chest before I got her - Ive now "schooled" her out of that and now gradually improving her ability to work in a contact :)

[Roxy's Mum]

Roxy used to do this when I first got her - not when I tried out her out with view to buy, but once I got home and used some different tack.

I changed saddle, bridle and bit which stopped it all together although I noticed the biggest difference when I changed her saddle - the head lifting stopped all together after that.

Could be worth getting all the tack, back and teeth checked out if not done already.

[eml]

Virtually any horse unless it has poor conformation can be trained, with an older horse working 'upside down' will develop the wrong muscles so you need lots of time to reduce the wrong ones and build up the correct.


How you go about it depends on how long the horse has been out of racing and if any attempts have been made to restart it as opposed to get on and ride. We usually have younger ex flat horses and find after correct ground work, (lunging and long reining etc) they all work straight away once rebacked in a good novice outline.

[showqa]

By the sounds of it she's been plodded around on for a few years like this, and hasn't been started on any serious schooling routine. Her neck is a bit weedy compared to the rest of her.