Western Pleasure and Reining horses?

Question

Why do they hold their heads so low? I don't find it as often in reining, but every western pleasure AQHA horse I've seen has it's head lower then its shoulders, but why?

Isn't it more natural and correct for a horse to hold its head above its withers or am I wrong?

Answer 1

Western pleasure horses are bred and built to carry their heads lower. It is natural for them to move with their head carried level. A lot of the time you see them moving like that in the pasture or when they are lunged too. The movement and head carriage is bred into these horses. Horses that aren't bred and built to be western pleasure horses don't do well in western pleasure (at breed shows), you can tell they aren't moving naturally and are forced into frame. A good western pleasure horse will carry his head with the tips of his ears level with his withers or slightly higher. At breed shows movement comes before headset (but if the horse has his head way in the air it doesn't make for a pretty picture), if the horses are moving properly their head will be level. Western pleasure horses are supposed to really get under themselves, lift their shoulder, have impulsion from the hindquarters,  be flat up front (not much knee action), and be calm and quiet. The lope should be slow (but NOT a 4-beat and the horse should look smooth and fluid) but not overly so.

ETA: Western pleasure horses are NOT abused or forced to move and carry their heads the way they do. Anybody that says they are doesn't know much about western pleasure at all.

Answer 2

It's the standard for WP classes.  Many of the top notch WP horses are bred to want to carry their heads low.  It helps with collection and allowing them to round their backs.  AQHA however has instilled a new rule that the horse's head should not be held below the withers any farther than the tip of the ear (so if the tip of the horse's ear is below the withers, then it's too low and should be counted against).

Reining is moving towards a low headset too.  It just "looks" nicer than the head being way up high, and it allows the horse to, again, work better off of their hind ends, which is a HUGE requirement in reining.

Answer 3

AQHA trainer has a good answer there. All horses have different head sets.QH's normally have lower head sets, this is so they can work cattle better. Some of the Western Pleasure horses carry their head a little low for my taste. But if you look at a cutting horse, they normally carry their head low like a reiner.

Answer 4

It depends on the horse but ideally the western pleasure horse is supposed to have a low head set. I agree, I think it is unnatural. I don't make any of my western pleasure horses hold their heads so low they could eat hay and be ridden at the same time! But anyway, I think western pleasure show people think it makes their horse look more....western if you get what i mean.

Answer 5

A lot of horses chosen to perform in western pleasure showing are built with the neck naturally emerging more level with the ground, so I don't think it is as unnatural as it may seem.  They are encouraged to carry low in their training as well.  I don't like it either when the head is carried so low that they look like they could graze.  I think the trend is beginning to change again though, as things do every so often!

Answer 6

It depends on the horse. My AQHA is the opposite, you will never see his head lower than his withers(still in training by me though) but My APHA has his about two feet off the ground. The lower there head is, the more soft and supple they are.

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 7

In a perfect world each horse would be expected to move as ideal as possible for its natural conformation.  An Arab or a Morgan is going to be naturally upheaded, so they should be trained to ride with their head up and then their nose tucked in.  AQHA and APHA are often conformationally much lowered headed.  My yearling gelding walks around naturally all day long with his neck coming straight out of his shoulders, he naturally carries his pole/neck level right onto his withers when moving freely and without force of any sort.  That sort of horse should be expected to move with his neck remaining level with his back at all three gaits.  It would be uncomfortable and stressful for him to move with his head higher!

But in a real world, things don't always work this way.  There becomes an ideal that judges desire, and most horses are then trained to try and fit into that ideal.  The ideal for the AQHA pleasure horse is with their pole and neck running straight into their withers.  They should NOT have the tip of their ears below wither height, although you will see that often (the rule book says its not ideal that low)  The best natural WP horses can carry their necks level without stress, and they can use their backs and hind quarters very efficiently in that position.  It is not intimidating, harsh or forceful for that sort of horse to move that way.  If your horse is conformed differently, then it can become a chore and next to impossible for them to move with their necks that low.  

Watch the show pen, and when you see horses with a tense expression on their faces, bobbing their heads up and down as they lope, and you'll know those ones aren't natural at what they're doing, and are being contained in a way that's tough for them to handle.  Then look at the horses that are moving properly.  They probably don't have their necks any higher or lower than the others, but they look relaxed, quiet, calm, cheerful.  Their heads remain still instead of bobbing.  Their legs swing slowly and efficiently.  Ride one for a while, and you'll feel how pleasant and comfortable they are, and then you'll see why everyone wants to make their horse move like that.

But they can't all do it.

One tip for you when you're riding your horse and want him to level out.  Use your legs at the same time you use your hands and ask him to drop.  Squeeze your legs and gently increase pressure on the reins.  As soon as your horse drops his head, take off the rein pressure and soften your legs.  If he raises his head again, increase both pressures.  When he drops, soften.  Before long horses get the concept, and they learn to find a spot where they can move comfortably and be happy.  But if you keep the reins tight all the time, there is nothing good in dropping for them.

Only do this if your horse is comformationally able to move in such a way.  And you'll know that by watching how he moves when lunging or in the pasture without any sort of confiment.  Does he like his head level?  Then go with that.

Answer 8

Some horses naturally go with their heads low.  Most AQHA and APHA horses are taught to put their heads down.  When a horses poll is lower than its withers the horses body releases endorphins which have a calming effect.  The main reason, other than fitting in at shows, to keep a horses head lower like that is because the horse is perceived to be more enjoyable"a pleasure" to ride and quieter.  

  My 2 year old QH gelding naturally walks off with his neck level to the ground, but his nose is not lower than his knees.  I haven't taught him to do that, he just does it.

Answer 9

idk if it is natural or not but i think it looks weird when there head below the withers like this http://www.yarnellefarms.com/Images/Winn...

it is okay a little above the withers

Answer 10

the lower the head is the more relaxed they are and if you show western pleasure the judges look at that. also when they carry their head low they are stepping up underneath them selves which is very attractive.

its more common in pleasure because pleasure is based on the horse. in reining it is more of what the horse can do vs. how it looks [in pleasure]. but in reining you will see it because of how it steps up underneath itself.  

Answer 11

Ok so when the horses noses are realy low and close to the ground its more of a old fashion way of collecting there heads.

Answer 12

It is unfortunate and it all goes back to Zippo Pine Bar. He was probably the best western pleasure horse ever. He naturally carried his real low. Because of that, judges started rating horses higher simply because they carried their heads real low. This resulted in the practice of abusing horses to make them carry their heads low. That was the start in my opinion of how western pleasure has been ruined. The horse should look natural and it should be a pleasure. Instead we see this unnatural head carriage and the absurdly slow lope that makes the horse look lame.