walking horse with a high nose?

Question

my walking horse brings his nose up too high when i'm riding him with a walking horse bit. i used a tie down a couple of times but it takes away from the horse's style. when removed he lifts his nose back up in the air. what is a good bit that i could use to get him to bow his neck and lower his nose when i'm riding him. oh yeah i saw him riding with a bow in his neck when he was first broke he is a 2yr old stud!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

I applaud you for staying away from riding contraptions such as a tie down and martingale. A well trained horse should need neither. And I say this as a person who's been training for well over 40 years and have never needed to use one on any of my horses- not even for roping or running barrels.

The walking bit may be to severe on his mouth and not giving him enough of a release. He may have found that by having his nose in the air he is getting release to the points where it is causing pressure.
I recommend trying a different type of bit- such as a smooth snaffle or a twisted wire snaffle as these are what we refer to most as the Training Bit. The bit when used properly is a great tool to improve communication with your equine. You may also choose to use a hackamore or bosal- both which are great but not every horse responds to them.

Lastly work on flexion exercises with him daily to make him more supple and his head more responsive to your hands.

Answer 2

I would not get another bit, I would get a German martingale. A more severe bit is only going to harden his mouth, not solve the problem. The German martigale only pulls until you reach to point where you want your horses head set and then releases back to your reins. Your horse will get the idea where you want his set fairly quick with this. Also, please keep in mind, that horses all go thru phases where they will try you to your last nerve, just to see if you are still in control. My three year old gelding is going thru a phase of riding around with his nose in the air now. And he was doing great as a western pleasure horse until about a week ago. And everytime I try to pull him in he gets mad. So I let him get mad and keep working on his headset. You do not have to be mean or abusive, just take a firm hand and let your horse know that you are the pilot, not just along for the ride. Good Luck! Remember this: A true horseman solves the problem, everyone else gets a bigger or a different bit.

Answer 3

I had a pretty similar problem with my horse. Although I'm not sure what you mean by a walking bit. I recommend that you should get a pair of draw reins ( they have another name but I fergot it), they can be made out of just leather of in a webbing style. They loop through your girth, through the bit and have a buckle which sits below where you would put your hands when you ride. Because of the pressure on the horses head telling him that once is head is down the pressure is relieved ( like you would train a horse). At first they mighten understand but if you lunge or ride with it maybe once a week for a while ( depending how often you work your horse). My horse caught onto it quite quickly and now she is happy to work on the bit =D

i hope it works for you too =]

Answer 4

whether the horse is up as much as now on all his innoculations there is often the prospect that the batch became into defective. He could have a virulent disease and the blood assessments could desire to make specific which one! meanwhile keep him heat and remoted from different horses if in any respect achieveable. keep him hydrated and supply small feeds of bran and a few soaked beet and something candy, like mollasses or honey to tempt him. If he would not consume it, do away with after a million/2 an hour and throw it on the muck heap. keep changing his water and throw the keeps to be on the muck heap too and disinfect the bucket till now giving extra. do no longer touch different horses when you have been along with your horse. Disinfect your arms and boots and alter your outfits each and each time you leave him in case you will touch different horses. Or ideally do no longer touch them or pass close to them in any respect, just to be secure! keep all his tack and rugs and buckets etc separate and while he's unquestionably adequate sparkling the best deal! i'm no longer able to tell you what's incorrect yet i'm advantageous the vet is doing all he can. this is familiar to dose the horse up on something that they could throw at them on a similar time as making assessments. I undergo in strategies my horse stopped ingesting and became into fairly wobbly. I took his temperature and he became into one 0 five! i could no longer have self assurance it! I phoned the vet at modern and he got here out and he could desire to no longer have self assurance it the two - used 4 diverse thermometers to substantiate it! He had a gutteral pouch an infection and the following day he had the snottiest nostril I easily have ever seen! He became into sick for weeks yet ultimately made it with the aid of. i'm chuffed which you're a sort of who will call the vet. Too a lot of human beings won't - because of the fact they say they can't cope with to pay for it! this is not any longer stable adequate!

Answer 5

i'm not exactly sure what your on about with the 'walking horse' and 'walking bit' but i woudl not say the problem is the bit or anything like that. You say he's a 2yr old stud so i gather he's only green broken? And in that case i personally wouldn't be pushing the whole 'carriage' issue just yet. Let him be a baby for a while still :). Also most horses do hold their head up high, after all it's only natural...

Though for good measure i would be using a martingale. It keeps alot more pressure off his mouth than if he has his head up in the air and your trying to control him through the bit (the angle where your hands would be and where his head would be will get you no where). Also if he gets a bit naughty {as studs can when they want to test you out ;) } the martingale will do him good because it really is a deterrance for horses who throw their heads up or are likely to rear. I personally love martingales and will use them any time im not schooling, or doing hacking, dressage etc. Anything like jumping or just passengering i'll have the martingale on straight away, but thats onyl because i'm really contious about horse's mouths. Did you notice wether the breaker or who ever it was that broke him in used a martingale or any other equipment which you have not used? That coudl be the key.

However, should these tips and the ones above not help i would also recommend possibly a chiropractic consultation for your boy. I know a fair few people don't believe in chiropractors but i have used them in the past and currently still do and having my chiropractor come out and go over my horses when somethings not right, has got my babies back on the right track. it could just be a simple problem like his back could be 'out'.

I wouldn't strap down his head becuase if your after a nice 'carriage', eventually you'll be needing to build up his topline. Tying down his head will only build up the muscle under his neck as he'll be straining against the pressure (eg: pushing/pulling upwards). Just give him time and he'll come good i'm sure.

If all else fails... (i don't want to be critisizing here as i don't know you and have not seen you ride) but it could possibly even have soemthign to do with your position. Not saying that your position is bad or anything; but if your riding him with a show position and he's touchy because it's new and different from what he knows he may be holding his head up becuase of that. With the newly borken horses i ride, for a while when i'm just passengering on them and showing them things i forget about the 'show' positon and just passenger. I once had a young gelding who when it came time for me to educate him in the 'show' aspect of riding freaked out a bit because my legs moved to a different position because i had to encorporate the shoulder, hip, heal line.

I coud go on, but those are the main things i would keep in mind, if i was in your position.

Good Luck and Happy Riding :)

Answer 6

You need to get him "supple". There are tons of excersises you do from saddle and the ground that make the neck bend and then the payoff is a more responsive horse. Craig Cameron and Clinton Anderson (Downunder Horsemanship) are big about that and have very effective methods. I incorporate both trainers in my program and have seen a lot of improvement. But I agree with the above statement and wouldn't use a harsher bit, maybe even a lesser one like a full cheek snaffle. He could be feeling pain and is trying to get away from the bit by lifting his head.

Answer 7

The bit is probably too severe. Try a lower ported bit with a shorter shank. Instead of a tiedown, try a martigale for awhile during the transition phase with the new bit. If you are using a broken ported bit, try a low port and visa versa.
Also, MOST importantly is to get his teeth checked. He may have wolf teeth erupting and causing pain as well as points on his molars.

Answer 8

are you talking about a a gaited horse or a tennessee walker? i dunno just thought id take a guess lol but that doesnt really matter.

Okay, for one, no man-made contraption, device, or tool of any kind will permanantly fix this problem. You're gonna have to do a little research and find out WHY he's holding his head high. You can't solve a problem without knowing the source.

So start with his conformation. Look him over and check for conformation faults. If you don't feel experienced enough to do this, have someone certified help you. If he has a conformation fault, it could be causing him pain when you ride him, thus triggering him to raise his head as if to say "Ow!" Or a conformation fault could cause him to raise his head naturally to carry your weight. But also, it's very important you have him checked out by a vet to make sure he is not in pain in any way. Make sure all his tack fits. Horses raise their heads when they are in pain.

Once you've accomplished this and if you find he has little or no faults that would drastically restrict him, now ask yourself this. Why do horses naturally raise their heads? You've probably seen it before - a horse will lift his head way high if he's nervous, scared, anxious, etc. A horse usually is nervous if the leader of the herd is anxious, or the horse senses danger. So you being the leader of your two-horse 'herd', ask yourself if you're nervous. Are you a confident rider? Are you scared for any reason on his back? If your muscles are tense the slightest bit, or if you anticipate something and lock up, your horse will feel it and become nervous too. Two years old is very very young too, so he may have his head up because he's alert of his surroundings. When you're riding him, do you have his focus at all times? Or does he look around, perk his ears, maybe snort or spook sometimes? This could be why he holds his head up high. The best thing you can do for both of these cases is RELAX. If the leader's relaxed, the herd is relaxed. Sit deep in your saddle, look ahead, lower your hands and BREATHE. Even do some stretches before you get on. This will help your horse feel comfortable and he should lower his head maybe even lick/chew in response.

Another reason could be taht he's confused. LIke I said before, two years is extremely young for a horse. (In fact he's only eight years old in human years) Do you find it difficult communicating with him? Does he constantly flicker his ears back or hesitate when you ask him something? If he's confused or doesn't understand, he's going to raise his head and ask "What do you want me to do?" in his own language. It's up to us to catch these signs. If he's confused, it's fine, just take it slow with him. Work on ground manners and get him to respond the way you want him to respond without force.

One last thing I might add, if you're totally at a loss and none of the above reasons contribute to him holding his head high, is that in some way you may be putting him off balance. First, observe him when he's in the pasture or at liberty. Look at his head. He should be carrying it low if he's in a relaxed state. so why should it be any different when you're riding him? He may be raising his head if you have the saddle too far forward. This will bring all your weight bearing down on his withers, and he's going to raise his head if this causes him pain or puts him off balance. Otherwise he'd fall flat on his face. Your body position could easily be putting him off balance. There should be a straight line from your shoulder to your heel. Your hands should be low, and you should not be leaning forward or looking down. This will also cause him to speed up if he has too much weight bearing down on his forehand. Have you noticed this? Can you trot or canter him on a loose rein or do you constantly have to half halt with the reins? If your body position is causing him to do this, I'd suggest you take lessons (if you aren't already), have someone watch you and correct you when you ride, and even video tape yourself to see what you're doing wrong and what you do that makes him speed up or throw his head up.

Well good luck, I know this can be frustrating but its very important you find out whats causing this problem while he's young. A bit won't do anything except cause him more pain. The reason you saw him 'bow his neck' when someone else was riding him was because they were balanced, he was relaxed, he was not in pain, and he was one with the rider. Hopefully this is inspiration enough for you to go out there and try to achieve that. good luck have fun with it :)

Answer 9

well for one thing, i'v never heard of a walking horse, and a walking bit, so i'm not so sure i know what you are talking about. but i wouldn't tie him down, for style, or any thing like that, (rember Black Beauty just only the opouset) if i were you i wouldn't tie him down, i don't think you have to worry about a thing. so what, he has his nose to high in the air. look's don't matter you know.

sorry i wasn't very good help, best of luck with your horse!!!

Answer 10

have you tried a bitless bridle?
http://www.bitlessbridle.com/
hope this helps.