How can you get a hunter horse to lift its head up high?

Question

I asked a similar question before but this is easier to answer

Answer 1

You can't exactly make them lift their head up high.. if you relax the reins abit and keep your leg on, he/she should relax thier neck/head into a natural self carriage..forcing their head up high makes them dip/arch their back and that can cause pain and problems.

Answer 2

why do u want to lift there head up??  

Answer 3

If he is a hunter why would you want him to hold his head high?

Answer 4

I'm going to assume that you have your horse who has been trained with a very low "hunter" show ring headset. I've seen this headset many times, and though it's not the correct way for the horses to carry their heads, judges like it. If that's the case, hopefully I can help. If I'm incorrect in my assumption, and your horse already has a natural collected frame, you shouldn't try to get him to carry his head any higher than that. As everyone else has said, it's unnatural for a horse to carry his head way above his withers and it will cause him to arch and possibly hurt his back.

The reason we collect our horses at all is to get them to round their backs and get them to use their hindquarters effectively. It also allows us to control the whole horse- we ask for energy from behind and then catch it in our hands, so to speak.

If you already have a good bit of contact in your hands, and your horse listens to your collection signals, it shouldn't be too hard to get him to raise his head back to where it naturally needs to go. A horse that's correctly taught to be "on the bit" will follow the contact of your hands. Correctly performed, you should be able to place your horse in any headset you choose with no problem. When I'm walking around I can ask my dressage horse to drop his head as low as I want, until he has the carriage of a western pleasure horse. Then, I "pick him up" with my hands and he comes right back to the correct position.

If not, you'll need to start over from the beginning, reteaching your horse the correct way to collect. If that's the case, you really need to see a trainer, because reading about it probably wont be enough.

Sorry if I didn't really help, I wasn't quite sure if I even got the question right...

Answer 5

You shouldnt want them to lift their head high. it hurts their back. you are ment to work the on the bit.  

Answer 6

If your only making your horse lift it's head up high for saddle seat i wouldn't do it. It'll hurt the horse's back. If you really want to then change the bit but make sure that your horse is comfy at all times.