Western Tack For Sale

Western Pleasure??? Emergency?

my sister has a TB mare that is PERFECT in everthing 4 western pleasure she lopes, she reins, she jogs, ect but she is constantly complaining that her horse holds her head up high,and she does but i dont think that the judge will count that much off if the horses nose isnt on the ground..??but i was asking so i can show her your opinions oh and she has gate problems and we dont know how to help or stop it im talking my sister has to get off of her horse and walk her up to the gate then get back on and go(oh cause she contests with her) so if you have anything 4 that then shoot lol thanks for your answers!!

when I showed last year there was a horse with a high head and she placed really well. Thankfully the extremely low headset isn't the popular or isn't what is needed to place in Western pleasure (at least it wasn't in the shows that I entered).

How does her TB mare move without her on her and no saddle? Though some TBs generally carry their head higher then other horses, a poorly fitting saddle or one that is causing pain can definitely cause a horses head to be higher than normal.

I am not a fan at all of any type of mechanical devices used to force or "encourage" (as most people like to say) the horses head down, but if you have ruled out pain from a poor fitting saddle , sore back, and everywhere else my thought would be to teach the horse on the ground how to lower his head. With a halter on put a slight downward pressure on the lead rope, the second the horse even lowers his head a centimeter, release (still release even if the head goes right back up) and continue. Just don't forget to release release release. Horses learn from the release of pressure.

Edit: whatever you do, don't see-saw the reins. it's way too hard on the mouth of the horse and can cause so much damage even if done "lightly"

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