Horse throws head down

[mewest]

I am a 50yr old and only been riding a year. I started at a new riding school and the horse I have been given to ride suddenly throws it head down when I am in riding trot. At this point the reins slip through my hands as I am afraid I will be thrown over its head. The instructor said yanks the outside rein hard when it happens to let the horse know it is unacceptable.

Does anyone have the same thing happen? and how do you stop a horse doing it.:mad:

[Grace O'Malley]

Yes, I've ridden horses that do this. One QH mare in particular: every time I'd cue for canter she'd throw her head down, pulling me forward out of balace...and she'd get to stop :( Things that help: squeeze with your legs for a "go faster" cue. They have to bring their head up to go faster. Better yet, try to find a way to anticipate the moment *before* the head-down thing happens and squeeze the horse on *before* they actually do it. It may seem impossible, but there are clues...maybe every time you go near the gate, or at some other point in the arena. The punishing use of the outside rein can work, but it's better (imo) if that's only a last resort.

The other thing is not to let them stop working. ie if she wouldn't canter, she had to keep trotting nicely in a circle. Eventually she stopped doing this with me, and we've had some nice canters, but I've seen her do it with other people just at the trot...

Hope that helps :)
Grace

[maya-m]

Yes, I've been on school horses that do this, and been told to yank the reins to stop it. :( Well, I know your instructor is supposed to know how to prevent these things, but, actually, I usually find that you end up in a battle with the poor horse, and it doesn't cure it, probably makes her crosser!

The longer I have ridden, the less this seems to happen to me. So I THINK that the horse is usually doing it as a protest over the amount of contact that some riders have - we hang on to the reins too hard, cos we know that's supposed to stop them going off at speed! ;) She will know that yanking her head down destabilises you a bit and sometimes makes you let go the reins. She's probably trying to tell you to relax you contact a bit, or even it up - it's amazing how often I find I have uneven reins.

If you can, as already mentioned, use your leg (don't kick, but strong squeeze) when she does it, or is about to do it, it tends to keep the horse working better, she has to raise her head.

Really it's about all the elements coming together. When the horse is listening to you, and you are better co-ordinated: seat, legs, hands, etc, she's going to have less to argue about!

So keep practicing, Good luck, and wear gloves!

[mewest]

I had another lesson this morning, tried a gentle half halt then gave leg on as suggested when I felt the horse about to pull his head down and managed to stop it happening so never had the reins pulled through my hands. My instructor said that as I was concentrating more on the horses head, my legs were in the right position and I was doing perfect rising trots and on the right diagonal. So that made me feel better. I also tried to soften my hold of the reins incase that was annoying the horses mouth.

Guess it is just gaining confidence and then being able to enjoy my riding and not get into a battle with the horse. I so wish I had learnt to ride when I was a kid, but better late than never and I do feel such satisfaction when I have had a good lesson.

Can't wait until I am ready to try cantering (know I have been riding for a year but a slow learner)

:)

[maya-m]

Try not to put yourself down - :)

As adults, riding tuition seems to be one thing that reduces normally confident articulate adults to anxious jellies! It did me.

I went to a riding school for 7 months, that was the one with the (really lovely) horse that threw her head down, where I was told to yank, to smack the horses with crops, without ever being told anything about 'diagonals', or having my position commented upon. I was nowhere near cantering standard there. They tried to get me to canter once or twice, and it was useless. I KNEW they weren't teaching me right. I didn't know what was wrong, but I knew it wasn't right.

They were difficult to speak to, and had no ideas for things to read, or anything that would contribute to better riding.

I've been riding at my current school now since January, and progress has been immeasurably faster and of better quality, and the encouragement and positive feedback I get from them bears no comparison. Also the horses are happy, and well trained, as opposed to just being left to get on with their job day in, day out.

I felt like I was practically starting again from scratch. Now I am beginning to get canter in the school, working towards a simple dressage test. I go on hacks where I do a little bit of faster canter too (at another more local yard - fab too). I can pop over small jumps, am beginning to manage no-stirrups work on some horses. Everything about my work in the school has improved, I'm starting to feel that I have a more 'independent / secure seat'.

What I'm trying to say is, it isn't necessarily you. I can't really make a comment on your instructor or your school, and I'm not saying you should give up on them....

But DO keep trying out others, just in case. I've tried out loads before finding the ones I liked, sometimes more than once. You may discover that there are things that they are just not telling you, that they could have helped you deal with ages ago, that will make the world of difference to your riding. And if you don't have any way of making a comparison, you won't know.

Whatever you do, enjoy it, and good luck!

[laura jeanne]

Mewest,

Hey I've had the same problems and also started riding at age 52! I spent too long at a stable where I was allowed to ride in a horrible position and had to start from scratch basically at my new stable.

One thing that might help is to make sure you keep your abs firm and think of keeping the front of you in a straight line (so you are not slouching). The horse I ride now is always trying to pull her head down and pull the reins out of my hands. It actually helped me to keep the reins shorter (and keep a firm grip on them) and make sure that I keep muscle tone in my abs so that when she does try to pull her head down, she meets some resistance and it's not me pulling back but her pulling on her own mouth by trying to put her head down.

It has taken me a while to remember to do all that, but it is working, so try it and good luck!

[kyanya]

It may sound like a small thing, but if you aren't wearing riding gloves, they might help. I imagine part of the problem is a lack of grip, which means the reins do slide if the horse yanks at them. With gloves (pimply, grippy ones) you would have a better grip.