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Expert
Posts: 1477
  
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | My young horse has completely stopped paying me any attention. Doesn't matter what I do or what bit I put on him he completely ignores it. Due to conformation He is naturally more high headed than normal so he has learned to throw his head up and just keep on going. He's spent many hours in the last week saddled and tied to the "Thinking Post" and on the walker. I took hum to the arena last week and would just be walking around the edges of the arena and all of a sudden with no warning he would decide it was time for the 100yd dash. I had his normal lighter bit on and it was like nothing was there so I changed him to a Sweet 6. Still nothing. So I got a skinny twisted wire with a small shank and a rope nose, I normally wouldn't have done this but I had already got aggravated with him because he knows better, that's when he would just throw his head up and keep on going. So it's time for a tie down or bonnet but which one? I've had horses run in both but I don't know which would be best for our circumstances. I was mad enough with him that if I could have gotten my hands on a brain chain I would have use it. And I would normally NEVER use a brain chain.
Edited by TessBelle 2014-10-06 1:47 AM
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| I would treat for ulcers, or maybe his teeth, or something else bugging him. Since it is a dramatic change. My gelding is like that if somethings wrong he will do something like when you ride him he will just take you away from arena. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| It's time to go back to the training basics, and rule out pain. |
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 Ms Bling Bling Sleeze Kitty
Posts: 20917
 
Location: LouLouVille, OK | I agree with these 2 and ruling out pain or any other issue first. after that, I would go back to basics as well, lots and lots of walk, trots, stops, backs, small circles at those paces until that feel comes back
For reference..... if he is taking his head up and nose, I say tie down, if the nose is staying down and just coming up at the poll a bonnet... |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| If it isn't teeth and pain.
I will be the odd one to suggest a German martingale. The reasoning, is if he sticks his nose up all you have to pick up on the reins and nose will drop down. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Not his teeth. There were just done by a dentist. All my horses get ulcer treatment. All my horses have appointments with the chiro next week. All he does is basics. He's no where near ready to run yet. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1092
Location: OK | German martingale. I say this because a tie down/bonnet says to the horse "don't put your head higher than this point" while a german martingale says "when I touch your face, head comes down". If you ride him in it all the time, eventually, other bits will work the same because he knows when you pull, head goes down. I also don't solid pull or bump a horse's nose down that is like this, but rather work the bit in his mouth, like see sawing but light and little at first, then I let him have it if he doesn't drop his head and lighten up. This will help him understand that he can't get his head up and away from anything. I will run a horse in one, but I put a little piece of electric tape on the snaps to be sure they don't come off. I had one horse I rode in a martingale for more than a year, little wire o-ring and the martingale. Now we use anything and there is no running off.
I will say that introducing one can be dangerous, so get some experienced help. Also, the first couple sessions will probably be radical, because it's a huge change. If I trust a horse, I just put one on loose. If not, I ride in draw reins or something similar to get him used to it. |
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