Horse people... how can I get my horse to bend at the neck/poll?

Question

My horse is extremely stubborn and doesn't like to bend... any suggestions???

Answer 1

What you are actually trying to do is get your horse "on the bit". This is the action of the horse engaging its hind end and bending its neck/poll.
Describing how to do this is very long and the best way is to send you to a book or a website with good descriptions. Try these:
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/bielikov/dressage/D-06.htm
http://www.classicaldressage.co.uk/html/getting_a_horse__on_the_bit_.html

Answer 2

I'm assuming you mean for the horse to flex at the poll by turning his head from side to side. This is a great exercise that just takes a little time and patience to teach the horse. First make sure he isn't sore in his neck or back, or is having any kind of pain. Never hurt to check :)

To start off, teach this to your horse on the ground. Stand at his shoulder and put steady yet gentle pressure on the lead rope to encourage him to turn his head to you. At first he may fight against the pressure, as you've experienced. Don't get frustrated, for this is a natural response nearly all horses do to pressure. Horses pull away from pressure, but we want them to give to it. Keep holding steady pressure until he gives you the slightest bit of effort. If he turns flexes his head an inch or even a half an inch, release all pressure. Praise him and let him stand.

Do this until he'll willingly gives you that inch without a fight. Now ask for more. When he gives you the inch, hold the pressure still. What he's just learned is still fresh in his mind, so it won't take long for him to get that when he turns his head towards you then the pressure goes away. Keep working at this until you've perfected it. He should bring his head around and almost touch his girth (or maybe if he's flexible he will touch it) with just the slightest pressure on the lead rope.

And now for the fun part - the other side! Horses can't comprehend something on one side if they learned it on the other. You'll have to start from scratch on the right side if you just taught him to the left side, and vise versa. In the end you'll have a much softer horse that will be more likely to the give to the bit. Practice flexing him at the poll while riding, too.

I hope you didn't mean "bend at the poll" by your horse tucking his head in while riding. If you did, then it's not that your horse is stubborn. Most likely he doesn't have the neck muscles to do it with, which makes it very uncomfortable. Martingales or any other device like that will NOT "teach" him to bend at the poll. Instead they build up the opposite neck muscles you want to build up because he pulls against the pressure, which is up. You also may just be having communication problems. Ask your trainer how you efficiently communicate to the horse to do this. You may be in the wrong body position, doing something wrong with your hands, looking down, etc. It's not that your horse is STUBBORN...it's that he does not UNDERSTAND.

I hope I covered everything. Good luck =)

Answer 3

Start on the ground and stand next to your horses shoulder and take a treat and put it on his shoulder and make him bend around to get it. Do it on both sides and treat each time. After he gets it and will bend do not treat every time but only sometimes.
Then get in the saddle and do it from the saddle. Not moving just standing. Have him touch your toe. Treat at first and the only every so often.
As he learns to bend and give his head he will get more supple all the time. Bend him each time before you ride.
Clinto Anderson has some good tips on bending a suppling a horse you might want to check and see how he does it.
Good luck.

Answer 4

You need some riding lessons and your horse needs some training---If you are riding the horse in the same pattern every day and the same area he is probably 'sour' and not paying attention to what he is doing---do a variety of patterns with him and see what you get---also the martingale is a good idea but won't be an auto head set for your horse, check your bit also he may not like it.

Answer 5

All horses can bend, but some horses just dont like to. (Come on, we all see them in the field tryin to get that piece of grass on the other side of the fence, or itchin their back) Try this to get your horse to bend; Once you have saddled you horse take him/ her to an arena or round-pen. With the halter still attached, and the lead hooked under the halter, gently pull the lead up to the saddle horn. REMEMBER DO THIS SLOWLY!!!!!!!! If you have to pull away from your horses neck so that they bend. Stand in the same place, but dont get ran over.. move with him, but stay by the sholder.. You should see your horse eventually bending his whole neck around to the side. Eventually his nose should be able to touch his girth... I use this exercise on my horse 20X on each side before I get on to ride. It 'streaches' his neck.

Answer 6

If you want him to st reach out and bend at the poll try pushing him forward and lightly but efficiently sliding the bit through his mouth. If you want to make him bend around his turns put your inside leg on him and pull and give on the inside rein, but make sure you keep your eyes up.

Answer 7

have you tried a martingale?

Answer 8

i have no idea