# I'm seeking advice on Headstrong/forward horses.



## skystirrups (Mar 7, 2010)

I recently went to try out a horse for share and decided to take him on.
Although he is only 6, still very green and VERY forward/headstrong.
It can be quite hard for me to pull him up even in trot, but not impossible.
He isnt a nasty horse, just a horse that needs guidance, which is why ive decided to take him on.

He is a 16hh trotter x thoroughbreed x irish draught. The trotter part really doesnt help, when he goes into canter its just a mad blur before he bolts into a scary running gallop.
Could anyone give me any advice on how to make it easyer to pull him up?
I keep a very tight rein contact as having it loose is not a option.
He is snaffle mouthed, but I cant change his bit seeing as im not his owner.
He also has a martingale.
Im not very confident with turning circles, as im terrified the horse will fall and he goes to fast to make time for a circle in 'canter' anyway. So any advice appreciated, I check him every 3 times in trot but its still very hard.
Im 14 btw, so this is quite a challange for me.
Any tips please get back to me.


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## sharon_gurney (Jan 27, 2010)

hi

im presuming that you have a school to work in.. start at the very begining. making sure that the horse is quiet, relaxed and responsive to your aids in walk before moving up to trot, then the same in trot before moving up to canter. Transition work eg walk, trot, walk, trot should help the horse to listen.

Work on circles and avoid cantering down the long sides until the horse is relaxed. I know this bit may be difficult but dont be tempted to over shorten your reins as there is no way to win in a pulling contest. 

Sit deep in the saddle with your shoulders back and dont allow ther horse to pull you forward, try not to set your hand but keep them soft. Above all dont loose your cool, keep calm and be patient. You cant change the world overnight so take your time...and if the pennies allow try to find a good instructor.

hope this is of some help


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## skystirrups (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi Sharon,
thanks for the tips, i'll take into mind to keep my hands soft, ive been told im a very soft rider but on him its very hard to remain soft when trying to pull back a half ton animal.
I have a school and a lovely instructor, im gonna have my first lesson with him on the 23rd of this month. So hopefully all will go to plan.


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## sharon_gurney (Jan 27, 2010)

Good luck and enjoy, seeing yourself and your horse improve is so rewarding so keep up with the hard work and keep everyone posted how you get along


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## alexomahony (May 7, 2010)

Hiya, 
I have a horse who was very headstrong when we first got him. 
I took him right back down to ground work...training him to work with my voice rather than to the hand...when we began riding him again, at first he didnt respond, but evetually realised what i meant. Try riding in a western style (not the tack) but they style...long and low, and however tempting it is, dont tug on your reins. Circles will be the best thing for this horse, and you will get better, after all, if he does fall it is in an arena, and will not get hurt. It may even slow him down! Remeber to sit up straight and sit deep...try keep your rising overly slow, so the horse eventually has to gell to your rise. And speak to him, eventually, he will understand 'wooah'!!
Remember, a horse who pulls, is only pulling against the rider...if you give him nothing to pull against, he cant do it.


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## Melx (Dec 23, 2009)

I always find that with a headstrong horse the first thing I will try is loosening the reins and losing the martingale.
In my experience some horse fight against it which makes then go faster! My mare hates having a martingale on and she pays more attention to trying to snap that than listening to me so we get in a right huff!! I now dont ride her in one at all and it has helped.
Just try going from the basics and doing transitiong from walk to tro, trot to walk, trot to canter, walk to standstill until you say otherwise etc etc. This will help him to start listening to your rein.

Good luck!! :thumbup:


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## Mastiff_lass (May 22, 2010)

I too would go back to basics, ground work especially and get him balanced without a rider!

I wouldn't ask for canter too much until you feel he has his balance either, start at walk and progress through the paces one step at a time but remember youngsters get bored easily lol


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## bigmuddy11 (Jul 7, 2010)

I would definately work on getting him very soft and responsive with the slowing down and stopping firstly from the walk, then from a trot, when you can do it at the trot, keeping a nice steady pace without having to keep constant pressure on his reins or having to heave to pull him up then start at the canter, but only canter a short distance at first, like just 5 or 6 paces then down to the trot when he does that calmly then up the distance, but remember if you can't get him to be soft stopping or slowing at a walk trot you won't be able to at the canter, he is possibly just really excited to be cantering and not happy about stopping, also some horses like my arab, you have to be a very polite rider, what i mean by this is a small warning of what you want before you want it, 
imagine if you were enjoying playing or watching a movie, and mum suddenly bellows out to do the dishes or else, you would be quite annoyed right? but if she asks you to do the dishes soon please and then asks again a few minutes later you wouldn't be as upset with her, when going down in transitions like from a canter to a trot sit deeper and back a bit, start saying whoa or slow or trot whatever voice aids you use as the warning, then use gentle pulsing pulls with the reins not hard yanks, just gentle pulls with a release he won't be " cranky" because of a hurting mouth, a lot of the time being more gentle gets better results as a lot of horses will play up with head shaking or cloud sniffing ( head straight up) and they are not trying to be bad, they are just trying to get you to realise OUCH ! you are hurting them and they are happier and more responsive with less pain, i had to change to a softer more gentle bit with 2 joins in the middle so my thoroughbred wasn't getting dug into the top of her mouth like with the single join snaffle she really hated that one and was much better with the softer bit, easier to stop, and turn etc.
when you ride with a tight rein you actually push all the energy of the horse into the hind quarters and they can feel like they are waiting to explode forward i would try riding him in a small area with a loose rein with very gentle hands and gentle commands at a walk first so he can get used to you not holding him back, then at the trot with loose rein, by loose i don't mean hanging down on the ground loose exactly although i can and do ride my arab with reins that hang down in a big loop, just with basically no pressure on his mouth, he just may be trying to out run the pressure if you can understand what i mean? i definately wouldn't practise this outside an enclosed area at first as you may be nervous and tight yourself which will just tell the horse there is something to be worried about so he will be edgy waiting for the "thing" it is amazing how much the mood of the rider can affect the horse, but think of it this way, he is trusting you to keep him safe, so he is going to reflect what ever energy you are giving off, if you are relaxed and calm he most likely will be too but if you are sitting tight on his back, possibly gripping with your legs ( which is just telling him to go faster) but at the same time pulling with the reins, telling him to go slower that is confusing to him, only do what you feel safe and comfy doing you will get a much better ride that way. sorry this is so long but i feel very strongly about being gentle with horses lol a perfect example is a friend of mine she is only 17 and has done pony club for 3 years on the same pony, she was always holding her back hard and tight with the reins especially at the trot and canter, having the mare jig jogging ( prancing sorta) always throwing the head and basically didn't have much control of her mare, she even used a hard dutch gag bit thinking she had to get harder to get more control. 
i got her during one ride to hop on my nice calm sleep walker mare and made her take note of how relaxed she was and how very loose the reins were they were hanging way down on her neck, then told her to get back on her mare and to stay exactly the same, loose rein and very relaxed instead of tight and waiting for the explosion, well you should have seen the difference in both rider and mare, brought tears to my eyes, her mare didn't prance or try to bolt or shake her head once, it was like she was saying thank you this is how i want you to ride me, her head was nice and low and relaxed instead of high and tight. we rode about 40 kms that day, the first 6 were hell for her, then with the different riding style we showed her the rest were so very relaxed and calm, even with big cattle truck going past i just told her to trust her mare not to play up,( we already knew the mare was fine with trucks ) to stay calm loose rein and yep her mare was just fine. we didn't try trotting that day as i wanted them both to get used to the new riding style but she did trot the following day with loose reins, then even surprised me by actually letting go of the reins totally riding with no hands, ! it was beautiful to see. basically horses are happier and more willing to do as we ask the more gentle we are and the less we hurt them, just makes sense really.
best of luck, as for the change in bit issues, maybe your mum can buy you a softer different bit and or bridle for you to use with him, or maybe you can borrow one to try him with, then if he goes well show the other person or owner the difference and they would most likely want to change to what is working better.


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## cherry.chops (Jan 1, 2011)

you may find that he is leaning on the bit which is why you may find that you cant feel like you cant give a softer rein. Try a bit that he cant lean on such as a kimblewick or soft mouth pelham, maybe with a french link. This wont necessarily apply more force on the tongue and bars- so wont give him a hard mouth, but will make unpleasant for him to lean due to the poll and groove pressure. 

Good luck


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## packhorse (Aug 23, 2010)

hi Here is a quick suggestion (but rather long text). I think you may be using this already to some degree because you say you 'check him every 3 times in trot'

Try working in walk and trot and practising *half halts* first. If you haven't been taught half halts properly then now is the time to learn them. They work wonders. Often people cannot see that you are using them so it seems to them that you are using magic (a bit like horse whispering in fact)

If you use half halts in walk and trot and get the horse listening to them in those paces he will understand more about what you are asking of him when you use them in canter.

Here is a very basic explanation of what a half halt is for and how to do it.

You can use a half halt to tell your horse to listen to you. It can tell the horse that you are about to do something different. It can tell the horse to be aware that 'we are about to slow down' or 'speed up' or 'change direction' or 'ride a circle' - in fact anything at all really.

The aids for halt are used but only to a very slight degree and then are released again after about 3-4 seconds (this depends on standard of training etc)

Basically - the halt aids are 
1. Sit tall - but not stiffly
Loosen your kneee and thigh if they are tight
2. Close your lower leg onto the horses side
3. Close your fingers into your hand to form a little fist - especially using your little and ring finger. 
Do not allow your lower or upper arm to tighten as you do this.
That is all a halt aid is.

Now to do a *half halt * Hardly use any leg and 
Hold the gently squash in the finger/hand to a fist while you count 3 or 4 and smooothly allow the hand to soften again.

That is all there is to it.

If he is busy in trot as well as canter the work on walk first. Do several of these whilst walking and changing direction. Do faster and slower walks - make him think a bit more and wonder what you are going to do next. Change direction a lot and do lots of circles and loops and different school movements. Look on the net for school exerecises. Use half halts especialy before a full halt. Reward each time by loosening the leg and hand when the horse does halt.

Then when you are sure he is listening in walk, do the same sort of thing in trot - lots of changes of direction - make him think of other things excpet going fast. Always initially use your voice at the same time - steeeeady steeeeeady each time you use the half halt aid. Do changes of pace from trot to walk etc. You might have to do several before slowing to a walk.

When he is listening to the half halts in walk and trot. YOu could try them in canter - keep relaxed and deep in the saddle as Sharon said (try letting your seat muscles spread over the saddle, that will make it deep) and soft reins as cherry chops said too.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. It is always good to know if it helps - or not !


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