Nose to Mars

[LiLmAyBs]

My horse is wonderful.
Her only vise is she stick her nose way out and it ruins the outline.
i've been trying various things to make her bring it in,
and it seems as if nothing works.
i am presently working with draw reins which seems to be helping.
does anyone else have any tips?
Thanks,
Page

[LongShot]

draw reins work great from what I've seen. What have you tried so far to bring her head down and how high does she bring her head? Is she throwing her head or just carrying it high?

[Brychen]

Most people think draw reins are a big no no and they can do a lot of damage. it is posisble to end up with a horse with a great head carriage and absolutly no power coming from the back end. You can often spot them at shows as they look great at first glance then you realsie thy are not tracking up.

I used them a few years back to retrian my horse. the trick was to ride with them knoted over the neck so they were quite loose. if the horses head starts to point skyward use them, the monet it drops down relax them as a reward and the hrose elarns that is what is wanted and still goes forward. DO NOT USE THEM TO KEEP IN AN ARTIFICIAL OUTLINE ALL THE TIME - it ruins horses backs.

[LongShot]

Yeah with the Draw Reins that's how I see people at my barn use them, only put them on when the horse's head is up, when it drops, they're not needed anymore.

[Bay Mare]

Draw reins can cause permanent damage in less than 20 minutes.

Draw reins *may* bring the horse's head down but they can also build incorrect musculature which is pointless.

Draw reins can put the horse on the forehand and limit the movement.

It is thought by some people that draw reins and rolkur could be one of the main causes of kissing spines.

The can be used remedially by someone who knows exactly how to use them correctly and sensitively BUT in the main they shouldn't be used by *us* mere mortals as they can cause a lot more problems than they solve.

I like the old adage:


Draw reins shouldn't be used by the inexperienced rider and shouldn't need to be used by the experienced rider.


(Though I would change it to 'very rarely need to be use by the experienced rider'



You'd be much better doing tack and physical checks and then working with a trainer to get your horse moving correctly. If your horse has her head up then she's probably not working correctly from behind. You need to get her working correctly, using her back end and lifting through the back. Focussing on her head isn't going to make her work correctly in an outline.

There are tons of threads on here which will be helpful if you do a search.