keeping his head down

[H & Bailey]

Didnt know what to put for this thread.....
I will try and keep it short but i do tend to ramble so forgive me..
I have been out today on a hack on bailey with donna on rose.
We decided to canter on a field and it was fine till bailey who was in front decided to buck,then he set off quite fast.I tried to check him back so i could keep an eye on donna but he stuck his head straight up and went faster!I had nearly no steering and no brakes:eek:
The more i checked him he just stuck his head right up and we ended up going faster.Donna came along side to see if that helped........no.
so she ended up heading me off and stopping at the top of the field,where we did stop.He was ok till we got on the lane nearly home then he did the 'sticky head up 'again.
was quite funny I suppose.But its a bit annoying when I seem to have gone 50 paces backwards.When i bought him he always stuck his head up opened his mouth and bombed off to avoid contact.A little trick he learnt.I was pleased i managed to school him out of this and work properly.I normally would push him on with my legs and use only a light contact to get his head down but he was going too fast to push onwards!
I used to have to ride in a standing martingale so i could have the control of how high he did put his head and a flash noseband with a fulmer bit.
At the moment he is in his fulmer bit,normal noseband and a running martingale.
He has always been a bit strong but am reluctant to change his bit ,but would if it meant I could stop!
Do i stick him back into his standing martingale?Try a different bit?
any help.He is very quick on the uptake so fear now he has done this today he will do it next time.
I dont mind him messing about but not when he is on the road!:)

[Shiny McShine]

This is always a difficult problem to work with because there can be some many complicating factors. If I had this problem however I would look to do more schooling. The more subtle aids are horse is schooled to understand the easier it becomes when problems arise. Usually horses who stick their head up in the air and brace against you can be improved by doing alot of bending and flexing (especially of the neck), and lateral work. Sometimes with horses who get tense and stiff like this a simple flex of the nose to the left or right can help to calm them down... but, it is probably something that needs a bit of practice. I think the more work you can do to make a horse like that supple and encourage him to relax the better.

Of course this all depends on having a schooling area. If not it makes life difficult but you can still school while out on a ride... you may have to arrange to only go out on quite hacks for a while though... as excitement never helps any training program.

I wouldn't look to change the tack unless you really can't avoid the situation where you have to be in an exciting environment or you suspect that the tack is causing the problems. With most tense horses however I believe that a bit of schooling to encourage them to relax and respond to the rider are always the best bet. When a horse gets tense, stiff and excited he is likely to have problems in whatever tack you use. But if you really can't avoid going for a canter out on your rides then I guess you will have to consider it.

[tasha]

As this is a sudden outburst, could it be his teeth? Might be worth a try.

[H & Bailey]

shiney macshiney.....Bailey has a gypsy background where when I went to see him he had just been ridden by kids bareback but with a headcollar with a rope through his mouth to act like a bit.
So he has learned that if he doesnt want to do something he will stick his head right up in the air open his mouth and go ,also dipping his shoulder is a good trick too.It usually worked as the kids fell off!I felt i had been doing well getting him to work properly and he was probably more just showing off to rose but was more worried now he has reverted to his sticking his head up he will do this more ,as he knows it works.
I will have a good feel of baileys teeth to see if they need doing!
I going to try and take him out tomorrow and see if he is fine alone....if so I'll blame rose and will know to put him back into his standing martingale whilst in company.
Just thinking...is a standing martingale less severe than a running as it only acts when the head is too high by using nose pressure.
A running acts on the reins so if he is fighting the rein contact would it not make him lift his head even more?:rolleyes:

[tasha]

I wouldnt have said less severe, I dont think severe is the word. But I cant for the life of me think of the right one (dangers of wine I suppose!!;) ) But I agree with what you are saying.

A lady in the PC once told me that if the horse raises the head so much so that the line of the reins is made into an angle rather than a straight line then they should be in a standing. This is because the horse will then just start raising his head to get away from the pressure of the reins (which will actually increase, so he raises his head more etc etc) so a standing will actually teach a horse to lower his head as he will move down from the nose pressure.

[H & Bailey]

Thanks Tasha....just what i was thinking.
The fact hat he sticks his head so high that the act of the running martingale pulling down on his mouth could be making him fight the martingale rather than my aids?So a standing would be the better option whilst he is feeling a bit go- oey as then if he is being a pain he is fighting me and not his tack?
any other opinions.
I still havent been out as the smithy was due today but was rained off....the downfalls of 24/7 turnout....