Training...

Ok, so after riding the other day, and working on a training issue, I decided it would be a good idea to tell you guys about my problem, how I went about correcting it, and then, I would love to know how you would have corrected it, had it been your horse.

I have a 9yr Arabian x Quarter Horse gelding in for resale. He is a decent little horse, very quiet, he walks/trots/lopes when you ask, has a decent stop on hi, he even has lead changes when he is paying attention. But he isn't BROKE, Now, anyone can ride this horse, arena or trails, he is safe, I would put a beginner on him. So, many of you are probably wandering what I mean when I say he isn't broke. When I pick up my reins, instead of dropping his nose in and waiting for a cue, he either ignores it or pushes his nose out a little. When I ask for a turn, I'll shift my weight, use my leg, and then pick up on my reins. Sometimes he turns beautifully, other times, he pulls his nose the opposite way, and braces himself against the bit, completely ignoring me. As far as a stop, all you have to do is say whoa, and shift your weight back, he stops. If I pick up my reins and also cue for him to stop with them, he tucks his nose and stops. When stopping, he doesn't ignore or evade the bit like with everything else. Backing, I shift back, pick up my reins so that I have contact, but I don't pull. Then I put my calf on him, and he backs, he doesn't nose out, even if I apply more pressure on my reins.

So, there is some info on the horse, to help you understand him. Now I'm going to tell you why I think he does this. When we got him, he carried his head unusually high, and was horrible about bending/flexing. The first thing I did was get the chiropractor out. He was out in his poll and neck on both sides. They also had him in myler bit, 5" shank, level one mouthpiece. Not a harsh bit, by most standards. But after riding him, I had a feeling that he was used to being jerked on, a lot. So, my theory is that maybe he knows what he is supposed to do with his nose and head, but when you pick up the reins, he is expecting to be hurt, and even if the reins don't hurt him, he doesn't want to flex or break at the poll because he had been out. So I had him adjusted by the chiropractor, and got to work. First thing I did was put him back in a smooth mouth snaffle. I got on him, and treated him like a colt that doesn't know how to flex and break at the poll. I would hold him until he gave just a little, then release. I worked on breaking at the poll, and then bending his nose to each side. After a couple times, I think he realized he could bend and flex without it hurting. He seemed to get it at a standstill, and so I quit for the day. Fast forward a couple of rides. He was bending, flexing, and breaking at the poll great at a standstill and a walk, but jogging he would just revert back to nose out, and bracing. He was softening up a lot in the bridle, but I seemed to be stuck when it came to picking up speed and him staying that way.

So I thought about it, and the next day I went out to ride, with a plan in mind. Now, before I go further, I will say, it's my first time fixing this specific issue, so I may have gone about it the wrong way, but that is why I wanted to talk about it on here, to see what others thought of how I fixed it, and get opinions on how they would fix it. So, back to my plan. I saddled him up, put his o-ring on him, clipped my training forks{also known as a running martingale} to the girth, ran a pair of reins through them, and just laid the reins on his neck. I grabbed my other pair of reins, clipped them directly to the bit, and then got on. So, I had two sets of reins on my horse, one set run through the training forks, then a normal set. Many people ride with double reins when using draw reins, but does anyone use double reins like I did? lol

Anyways, using my normal reins, I asked him to give and flex, then backed him a few steps before going forward. Then, as we walked along, I would use my normal reins, and then every now and then use the reins that were through the forks, so he could get the feel of them. He didn't brace against them, or do anything at all really, but when I would use those reins, his head would drop and he would listen to them very well. It made me wonder if he knew what the training forks were. So, we got him loosened up at the walk, and I asked for a jog, which he picked up. I picked up on the training fork reins, he dropped his nose in a little, waiting. I was surprised at the instant change. So, I continued to ride for pretty long time, and after asking a couple things with the training fork reins, I started using my regular reins again, then if he didn't do what was asked, I would pick up the training fork reins. By the end of the ride, I had dropped my secondary reins on his neck, and was riding him with my normal reins. He was doing a lot better, not bracing or nosing out, but not perfect. We will see if the lesson stuck next time I ride, and hopefully it stuck enough that I can continue working on the problem without the aid of the training forks.

Now, I know that probably wasn't the way to go about fixing that problem, but I thought it worked very well for that horse. Because I think he has known all along how to do what I need him to, but I think he was hesitant because of past issues. So, what would you have done, to fix this issue. I would love your suggestions, because we still have work to do, and the training fork lesson might not have stuck with him.