Welcome to our "Ask Kenny" section our first question has to deal with 'head tossing/slinging'.
Our Question:
I have a 6 yr old gelding, he will be six on his papers August 2 2006,
(prior stallion) that was in training. We are having a problem with head
tossing/slinging. To give you some of his background: Legacy was orphaned
at birth and hand raised on a bottle by myself. He is very smart, (he can
be a couple/three steps ahead of you easily) knows a few tricks- smiles,
kneels, waves a flag (I hope to start more tricks this spring/summer including
using a pedestal). He is 1/2 Arabian 1/2 APHA. He was gelded October 2005,
due to family/land issues.
He was started in side reins when lunging and draw reins when riding. he
did it alot when first started working him in the round pen, before he was
saddled and bridled. When riding was started he didn't do it at the walk
and trot under saddle even without draw reins he never did it at the walk
and trot, once cantering was started, he would slinging his head under saddle
at the canter only. He didn't do it with the draw reins on at the canter
under saddle The head slinging under saddle started at the canter/lope.
Since bringing him home from being trained, I have ridden only a few times
and he has tossed his head a couple times at just the walk. I am riding
him on a loose rein, no draw reins or anything and have a three piece snaffle
bit in his mouth. I haven't been doing anything but walking with very little
trotting. I believe at the moment when walking he is just 'bored' but its
not a good feeling to have that head flying around! Otherwise he is walking
very quietly. Sometimes he does put his head to low as well.
Kenny's Answer:
First of all, thank you for your question. Head tossing
can be a very dangerous problem. Many people have been knocked unconcious
while in the saddle by a horse that throws his head up unexpectedly. And,
whether it stems from the same reasons or not, your problem is probably
shared by many other horse owners. "How the issue started" can
give you some insight and can help you learn some things you may want to
eliminate in the future with other horses. All readers/riders will have
to "look back" and evaluate the things that lead up to this issue
or caused it to escalate. However, the "past is the past", and
horse training is all about "moving forward". So, the good news
for you and others with a horse that tosses its head is that solving the
problem is the same for everyone.
Based on the information given, there are a few things that stand out in
trying to pinpoint the basis for your gelding's head tossing problem.
First, I would caution you that teaching tricks to horses can sometimes
lead to the development of undesirable issues. Not that teaching tricks
is wrong. It's just that one has to be careful which tricks he teaches to
which horse. For example, teaching a horse to rear with a hand cue can be
very dangerous if a small child or person standing in front of the horse
(and not being aware of the cue) happens to wave his hand excitedly at the
horse. The horse sees the hand waving as his cue to rear, and you can imagine
the impending danger.
In your case, when you mentioned that your horse has been trained to "wave
a flag", it caught my attention. Flag waving is actually a form of
head tossing, and if your gelding has been rewarded for this action, he
may be using it to get your attention when he is bored, to get a reward
because he is thinking he is doing something you have wanted him to do in
the past, or to relieve stress when he is aggravated in some way.
Let's break this down further....he doesn't seem
to be doing this when he has the draw reins on. I'm assuming that the draw
reins are tight enough that when he tries his "head tossing" maneuver,
he gets and instant "reprimand" from the bit. The nice thing about
the draw reins is that they are steady, they never move, their pressure
is constant, and they force the horse to find his own level of release,
and when he finds it, the release is immediate. So, with the draw reins,
when he stops the tossing and places his head in the proper position and
bends at the poll with his head quiet, he is "rewarded". In other
words, no pressure from the bit.
Let's look at when this issue first started....when
working him in the round pen. Perhaps it began out of boredom, or just trying
to get your attention. He probably got tired of going in circles and decided
to try to get your attention by "showing off" his flag waving
expertise (without the flag of course). It probably got some reaction from
you (or the handler) whether it was just verbal, a body movement, or whatever...but,
it probably got some sort of "reaction", thus, he accomplished
his mission and broke the boredom.
When you said that he originally didn't do it under
saddle at the walk and trot, but started doing it under saddle at the canter,
it also peaked my interest. I would suggest that you check your tack (saddle
fit) just to make sure that he isn't "sore backed" or there is
something pinching him when tacked. Sometimes these problems don't become
evident until cantering, when the rider's body weight places more pressure
on the horse. Once the possibility of a physical or tack fit problem is
eliminated, you can go ahead and work to correct the head tossing problem.
And, you will be happy to hear that this one shouldn't
be too hard to correct. While riding, when the head tossing begins, just
put even pressure on the reins...you don't have to pull hard and be sure
you don't jerk the reins...just keep a steady even pressure (pretend you
are the draw reins). Hold your hand position until the tossing stops. Then
release immediately. Again, the IMMEDIATE release of the reins is very important.
The more quickly you respond when he gives you the correct response (keeping
his head still), the more quickly he will learn that he gets a "reward"
(no bit pressure) for that action.
I believe your inclination to think that now his
head tossing even while walking is due to boredom is probably correct. Once
you have used the method above to show him that you want his head to be
still, make sure your riding doesn't become monotanous for him. If you are
working in a round pen, use cones or something to walk around, changing
directions often, and giving him something to look at.
The tendency of horses with his breeding is to be
quick minded, and they seem to get bored much more easily than other breeds.
Teaching tricks is good to keep their mind "stretching", but again,
I would caution you...."Be careful what you wish for...you just might
get it!"
Good luck, and thanks again for your question.
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