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Have An Excitable Horse? Teach It To Lower It's Head!
A horse at rest holds its head low. Just how low – differs from horse to horse, but we all know a relaxed horse when we see one – low head, one hind leg un-weighted, and that lower lip hanging loose. A horse that has its head low is ultimately relaxed. Just like a dog on its back can’t feel aggression, a horse with its head down can't feel alarm!
I place one hand on the poll with my thumb and a finger ready to apply pressure downward just between the ears. My other hand rests on the nose about halfway between the muzzle and the eyes. Now here’s the part that’s a little tricky – if we apply too much pressure, then the head will want to go up – so we need to apply pressure with both hands which makes the horse look for relief, but not so much that we frighten the horse. Please note that this exercise done incorrectly can bring out the fight in a nervous horse, so look for signs of extreme nervousness and adjust pressure accordingly. When the horse lowers its head even a little, release the pressure and repeat until it understands what you want.
Before you apply pressure, always say “put your head down” and one day your horse will listen! Once your horse learns to put its head down on cue, you can prevent it from getting overly nervous the next time you’re tacking up your horse for the big show or trail ride – or any place where it typically starts to get nervous. Remember, a nervous horse is overly alert with its head held high, so if you can physically lower its head, and make them keep it down, it will have a harder time going to an emotional and anxious state-of-mind. Good Luck and check back next week to do the same from the saddle.
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