Tips on how to keep a horse riding on the bit?

Question

I need help my horse is 6 years old and I mean shes still young but her head is always up I want her to relax and pu her head down but I can stilll have a feel on the bit, any tips?

Answer 1

Okay, before you do ANYTHING - make sure she is not in pain.  Horses will throw their heads or keep them up if they are in pain.  Make sure her tack fits and she has no health problems.  I'd suggest getting a vet out to check her. It's extremely important you do this first.  If you try to force that head down when she's actually in pain, you're going to make matters worse.

Once you're positive that pain is not the problem, then start thinking about how you ride her.  Six years old is pretty young for a horse; she still needs a confident rider to make her feel comfortable.  So think about how you act around her - Are you one of those people who let the horse push you around a bit and are scared to slap them if they misbehave? These kind of people lose respect from their horse and are usually the ones that end up getting hurt.  You need to be confident and firm around her.  This includes in the saddle.  Also make sure you're not nervous when you're riding her.  If you're gripping with your lower legs or tugging on her mouth, she's going to raise her head.  

However, you could be the other kind of people who get frustrated with their horses.  Does it make you frustrated when she throws her head up? Are you fighting with the rains to constantly keep her head down?  If you are, then you should think about that famous saying, "You can't win a fight with a 1000 lb animal by force."  There are other ways to come to a solution that will make both you and the horse feel better.

Once you kind of know where the problem is coming from, you can work to fix it.  If the problem isn't pain, then the problem is the rider.  Even if she's a naturally scared or nervous horse, you should be able to find a way to help her feel more comfortable.  She shouldn't be worried about things going on outside the arena - all her focus should be on you.  Make sure you are sitting deep in the saddle, yet balanced.  Lowering your hands will help a lot with this particular problem.  Just relax and breathe deeply, and you might already see a difference.  

I noticed that you said you want her to relax, put her head down, but still have a feel on the bit.  This is perfectly fine, and should be your goal, but you're going to have to work with her a little before you achieve this.  I'm guessing  you're an English rider (since most english riders feel like they need to have a feel on the bit at all times). This isn't necessarily bad, but in a case like this you're going to have to learn to trust your seat.  You shouldn't be balancing yourself with the reins.  So seriously just practice riding on a totally loose rein.  If the problem is your seat, this will help somewhat.  If the problem is her - this will help her relax.  If you're not taking lessons with her already, I highly suggest it.  There's no other way to learn about riding.  

So go ahead and ride her aorund the arena on a loose rein.  They don't have to be like swinging below her neck, and you can still hold them with both hands, but try to make it so that you don't have contact with her mouth.  Just walk around like that for awhile, and make sure you keep her attention with yielding, sidepassing, disengaging the hindquarters, whatever.  Once you have her focus, she should calm down and lower her head.   Once she's calm with you (this may take days or weeks) I would try collecting her up. Tighten the rains just enough so that you have that "feel" on the bit.  If she raises her head, keep that contact until she lowers it.  Eventually she'll learn to give to the bit.  Practice putting her in a frame and walking, trotting, and eventually cantering like that.  

With lots of work and patience, she'll come around.  Just build up her back and abdominal muscles so that it's easier for her to carry her head down.  It's kind of hard to answer these questions online, so I hope i helped somewhat.  I'd suggest getting a professional to help you.  Good luck!  

Answer 2

Young horses don't always know the proper way to carry themselves, and just asking them for a headset won't get results if they don't understand the question. I always teach frame on the lunge first, with side-reins and surcingle.

On the lunge, I first hook the side reins up to their loosest setting on one of the lowest D-rings. I lunge the horse at the walk and trot both directions for a good 5-10 minutes depending on their stamina. Then I shorten the side reins so the slack is gone and resume lunging, again just at the walk and trot for 5 minutes each direction. This is a very basic set-up to help the horse learn where its head should go. The problem with just riding is that most riders' hands aren't perfect, and with young, unpredictable horses you risk bobbing your hands or creating imperfect contact. The side-reins are stable, and the horse pulls against itself, not you. Most young horses figure this out very quickly, and they start to relax their jaw and soften.

I usually do this for a week or two before I get on. If the horse has a habit of star-gazing, I usually use a standing martingale. I ride immediately after lunging with the sidereins, and then I let my hands be as soft and low as possible. With a young horse, the easiest frame to establish is a long, low one. This encourages them to start using their hindend, but isn't so advanced as to make them sore or overwhelm them. Most horses are more accepting of the contact with the reins after being lunged in the side-reins. Occasionally, I might ride with side-reins connected still if the horse is very tentative about its contact. the side-reins are familiar, and the horse tends to relax soon, so I can remove them after five minutes or so.

When you ride, it's important to be as giving and soft with the reins as possible. Most horses get too slow when they first learn how to establish contact with a rider's hands, so you'll probably need to keep an active leg and encourage your horse to continue going forward. Every time she gives to the bit, reward her by softening and patting her neck. She may only hold the frame a step or two before falling out of it. This is fine, she needs to build muscle and balance.

If you're unfamiliar with starting youngsters or doing this type of training, I highly recommend you work with a professional. I've ridden so many horses that didn't have a correct start, and it affected them for the rest of their lives. They can get hard mouths, or might perpetually suck behind the motion. Worse, if they're stubborn or high-strung, they might resist your hands by rearing. The best thing you can do is take it slow, don't rush the horse, and listen to her. She'll let you know when she's ready to move forward.  

Answer 3

Do you ride english? If so, keep your hands very low, sit deep, and give gentle massaging actions withs your inside index finger, while maintaining an elasticy connection with your outside hand. This will encourage the horse to reach towards the bit and learn to accept it. Before you try this though, you need to make sure that your own seat is independant of your hands, and that you don't inadvertantly interfere with your horse's mouth. Don't forget, keep at, but keep the horse on the bit only for short sessions at first until the horse becomes more comfortable. Then, you can gradually increase the speed intensity and duration of bit contact. Good luck!