candycar said:
Should I overcheck her this early in the training, tighten up the sidecheck, or see how she does as we get farther into it? It really bothers me when I can't see her eartips or the side of her face to see how she is accepting the bit and contact.
How do you get them to bend at the poll and soften up this early?
Disclaimer to other readers- I've been privileged to work with Candycar and her horses in person so am familiar with the horse and handler in question. My advice is tailored to them.
Sherri- how exciting that you're getting Lexy started!
From the wonderful trims he's done on your horses this farrier clearly has a lot of experience but I disagree with him about using an overcheck in this case.
Overchecks are used to bring a horse's nose up and
out so they're well-suited to the specialized discipline of Standardbred racing, but in my opinion they interfer with the horse's ability to round up their topline and pull and as a consequence make trail driving unnecessarily uncomfortable for the horse. If you were a little more experienced it would be possible to do it with an overcheck but would require much more active contact than I think you're comfortable with at this point and it still wouldn't be the best option.
It would probably be better to tighten her sidecheck so she can't get quite so far down then see what she does with all the free space left to her above the "no-dive zone."
She may simply be trying to find a comfortable spot for her head, or perhaps she's looking for grass or has a back problem that makes her walk like a bloodhound. She's not a naturally high-headed horse but she's also not built to be any sort of slug either in-hand or in harness so I have to think there's a reason she's moving like that. Kody does the same thing to some extent but usually once I start working him regularly he stops looking like a peanut roller and starts working up into the bridle naturally. The key is to distract them and give them something else positive to think about so they don't have time to either laze along or lug on the bit. With that big mountain-goat hill in your pasture she's probably used to putting her head down all the time to get her balance and by now it's a habitual way of moving!
I know you do some trick-training so you might try training her to Pose. Teach her to stand square on all four feet and pull herself up tall on her toes while arching her neck and putting her head on the vertical, standing proud like a Grand Prix dressage horse. This would help break her postural habits and get her thinking about how she uses her head and neck, and it would also build some muscle.
When you have her bitted try walking along behind her and off to the side so you can see her more, like I did when Jellybean was objecting to our trot work. Run the reins through the tugs and down around her butt and stay back in that 3/4 position for now...just far enough to the side that you can see her. Ask her for a lot of walk/trot transitions to liven her up and teach her to start getting under herself with that back end. Your contact was just right for Jellybean but you may need to take up a little more rein with Lexy, not being harsher but rather using a little stiffer grade of metaphorical elastic. If she raises her head and gives to you, give back. We want to stay as light as possible. Don't dump her, just soften slightly and say "Good girl!"
That's really the secret to getting them to bend at the poll and soften- show them what you want and release the pressure when they do it. Praise, praise, praise! Then ask again. As they learn, ask for a bit more and a bit more so they're always learning and progressing. That keeps the interest for both horse and driver so toodling around the neighborhood can still feel like doing something.
Think of this as an opportunity to develop a higher level of horsemanship "feel."
You can't see her mouth, but you can sure feel it! Is she pulling on you? Backing off? Champing and gaping? You should be able to feel all those things without being able to see her head. Remember to steer her like a bicycle- the outer hand controls the size of the circle, the inner hand asks for bend, and you have to give with the outside to allow the turn.
Leia
) that I can't even see her ears to gauge how she is feeling. She carries her head really low even when being led. My ferrier(who trains standardbreds to race) said she is just being lazy and to go ahead and overcheck her. I use a real loose sidecheck already to prevent grass diving.
