My horses neck goes hollow when i put contact on his mouth?

Question

well when i bought my horse he was one of those horse where slight contact on reins goes on the bit, he is a 4 year old stock horse. and that how they train him at where he was. he was at silverthorn stock horse stud. this is highly irrelivant but his registered name is BARSHAM SUNTRACK. anyway now when i put contact on the reins he thinks we are asking him to go on the bit and puts his head up in the air and goes all hollow in the neck. he holds his head up in there air i should say. my trainer says they might have trained him in polo cross because thats where the big bucks are. he is a different horse to the one i bought. he also did have bad worms when we bought him so he might have more energy and stuff but we are very confused. the dentist said there was nothing wrong with his teeth either. i odnt believe him but thats wat he said

was he broken in badly? needs re-training?

he is a VERY bossy horse very determinded to when every fight we have while riding. i sometimes think i have reuined this horse and if we didnt buy him he might have been a great horse.

what do u think?

luv. VERY confused

Answer 1

I would work on Natural Horsemanship with this horse.  When riding him, I would use a ring snaffle bit and a very loose rein, and drive him forward with my legs and seat.  He may move very differently or be inconsistent for a while, but if you keep doing this, eventually he will get his body and your cues sorted out and move forward for you.  Until he does this, I think bit/rein contact will continue to confuse him.  Just give him plenty of rein and ask him to go forward.  Make wide, easy turns.  If you need to slow or turn him, squeeze your rein and release it immediately; if he doesn't respond, repeat this and be sure to use your legs and seat as well.  

If you are riding western, you should not need any more contact than this.  If you're riding English, my solution would be the same and I would work him as described for about a year before I changed anything.  This horse is still young, you definitely have not ruined him, he just isn't sure what you want and may still be sorting out his own balance too.  

Contact is not something you take on the reins, its something the horse does when he extends forward and down on his own to take the bit.  This is achieved when he has found his balance at the walk, trot and canter (or lope) and is responsive to subtle cues, especially your weight and seat cues.  If he does not go forward freely first, he will either be working behind the bit with a hollow neck, or above the bit with an over-flexed neck.  

Take things one step at a time. You can try Natural Horsemanship on groundwork and ride him when you feel confident.  Start at a walk and get him moving forward on a loose rein.  Once he is confident at this, do the same at a trot, then a canter.  Don't rush him to go faster; go to the next gait when he's relaxed and going forward at the gait you've been working in.  He's lucky to have a thinking rider and you've asked a great question!  

Answer 2

If he was a highly trained horse, he may be reacting to your hands being heavy.  I would contact the prior owner and find out how he was trained....how fast, and to what level, and go from there.  I can't believe that he is doing this out of habit....it sounds more like the bit is causing him pain.  The fact that he was infested with worms means it doesn't sound like he came from a reputable place.  Yes, he needs retraining, if only to respond to your cues without flipping out. And why don't you believe the dentist?  I'd stay off his mouth altogether and work on seat and leg cues for awhile.

Answer 3

Start with basic ground work with a rope halter, try parelli if you want. good ground manners and respect are the foundation to having a really good relationship with your horse! once you get those down, start riding by having contact on the reins at all times, even when he hollows his neck and back. once he figures out that the contact doesnt go away after he hollows, start inching your hands forward but keeping the contact, so that gradually his head will start to relax. It's really tedious but after you work hard, he should start relaxing his neck and back, which is not only more comfortable for you its better for your horse. good luck!

Answer 4

Hmm hard to determine the cause/problem with horses without seeing them.

Some basics to look at though - make sure you're riding in a gentle bit and his teeth aren't overdue for a floating, his head coming up may be a reaction to discomfort in his mouth.

Other than that, energy could certainly play a part, his head going down with contact might have been him relaxing and taking things easy, but now he's got more energy and is more alert.  

At 4 years old I'm SURE you haven't ruined him!  It's probably because he is 4 that he's trying to figure out what you want and how to do what he feels like!  Some people do a horrible job starting horses, but the damage can often be undone.  

If there is no physical problem such as bitting or his teeth, its just training.  I don't know what you're intending to use him for, but a reputable trainer for western pleasure, dressage, or hunters would be able to help you with keeping contact and encouraging your horse to reach for it instead of coming up.  Just remember to stay relaxed, keep your hands steady, and push him into the bit with your legs and seat (as opposed to just making contact on the reins).  Think about using your inside leg to push him over while you take up contact, too.  Just some suggestions that might help, if all else fails look for a dressage trainer who has experience with young horses!

Answer 5

Dear VERY confused,

well we have a lot of horses that come in and just need basic retraining. you definitely didnt 'ruin' the horse. I might say you need to start from the ground up if the horse doesn't respect you on the ground he definitely won't respect you in the saddle. so try natural horsemanship training. and establish some ground manners. what it sounds like to me is the horse isn't trusting your hands so when you apply pressure to the reins he assumes it will hurt or he's just evading the pressure to avoid it for he doesn't trust your hands. they can evade the pressure by inverting (what your horse is doing) or overflexing (bending their necks too much so they are flexed at the 2nd vertebre rather then the poll.) what you need to do is some lateral flexon as well as some streching so that the horse begins to get more supply and is able and trusting to flex vertically into the poll. for lateral flextion is the key to vertical flextion. Also, somebody on here said hold light contact and drive him forward with your seat and legs. This gets very useful when your horse actually understands how to flex vertically (at the poll.) because it cause them to engage their hindquarters and be driven up into the bridle rather then forcing them into collect, it's a more understandable way for the horse, but if not you will just have a fight on your hands because your horse doesn't quite understand what your asking of him.

Answer 6

if he hollows when you pick up the reins, then push him foreward with your seat and legs, he can't be hollow and foreward at the same time!

And, you didn't ruin him! any horse will do this at any point in time to test a rider, you just need to regain control by putting him on YOUR agenda, if you want contact then take contact, add rein and make him LISTEN!

Good luck!