I have a horse that pulls his head down when I ask him to stop, any ideas to make him stop this?

Question

He is a large ASH gelding who stops fine but at the end of the stop he reefs his head downward which unbalances the rider and pulls her forward. I have tried putting feet forward and bracing myself but he shouldn't be doing this in the first place! Any ideas?

Answer 1

try attachingstrings from the top of the bridle to the rings on the saddle it might help and buy a tail peice which ataches from the tail to the saddle and when it pulls it pulls its tail and it wont do it.

Answer 2

You could give grass reins a try untill he learns to stop putting his head down. They attach to the saddle, through the head piece of the bridle and attatch to the bit, making it impossible for him to pull his head down.

These are one type of grass rein, there are different types:

http://www.saddlerywarehouse.co.nz/afawc...

Good luck

Answer 3

I have a mare who does this sometimes especially after the kids have been riding her and are still unbalaced with their reins.  I do not ride with a bridle just a rope halter so the kids do not hurt her mouth, when I do ride her ans she pulls I do not release the pressure I increase the pressure into a back up until she relaxes her head and the moment she does I release.  Sometimes it takes 5-6 times before she doesn't pull any more but I find it works well.  She used to be so bad that I tried side reins and everything but she always found a way around it to tug on us, I have found this to be the most effective way of dealing with it.  Most important is not to give to his pull pressure for he needs to find the end of the rope that it will not give until he relaxs his head at a stop without pulling.

Another thing to try is not to use both reins to halt use the disengagment of the hind quarters with one rein and the other just to support so the halt will get lighter and lighter.  Both these methods will help lighten the halt and increase the collection.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 4

try using a running martingale even though they dont help with your horses head going down they may offer more support when controlling your horse, Yes i have an ASH aswell they are spirited but a running martingale worked on him :)

Answer 5

well that is your problem...my horse used to do tht to me when i would HOLD the pressure its because she/he is telling u that ur holding the reins just try squeezing and releasing...im confidant it will work it did for me lol but also to keep your horse from just falling out on the down transistion keeping ur leg on in the right moments that u can determine with ur feel will keep the down transistions active.

good luck!

Answer 6

I rode a Welsh Pony/Arabian Cross Pony who is 22 at the moment. He did the same thing! I just gave him a good hardy jerk on the reigns and yelled, "STOP!" I'd back him up, spin him in circles, just to calm him down. Don't be afraid to be hard on him. He needs to be able to know who's boss!  

Answer 7

Well if you keep your hands low when asking him to stop, you're just giving him more room to bring his head down. It may not be pretty, but you need to pull your hands up when asking to stop so you bring his head up. Once you stop, release the pressure (but not enough so he can yank the reins down again.) Just try preventing this from happening in the first place by not giving him any chances to put his head down from the start.

Answer 8

Ive ridden horses who have done this before. First try holding your hand firmly so he pulls against himself. By far easier said than done. If he is pulling DOWN try a check. You can buy it at most tack shops. It will stop him from putting his head downward but not out. Make sure you know how to properly use it before hand though.