# tosses head when asked to run.



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

As some of you know I am a beginner at riding.
I have been working on staying in my saddle when running and especially TROTTING! 

I'm curious as to why my horse Gidgit tosses her head when she runs. She only does it when I ask her. She LOVES running up hills like no other horse,haha. It's just she gets into it at first and tilts her head down and tosses it up and starts going. Someone told me she might have sore teeth but she takes the bit so easily each time so I don't think her teeth hurt. If anyone has any ideas let me know!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Are you asking from a walk or trot or has she already begun to lope when you ask for the run? Does she also sling her head when asked to go from trot to canter?


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

it's when I ask her to trot and lope....walking is perfectly fine. Yesterday I was taking her for a walk down the road and I decided to have her jog with me and she didn't toss her head at all....she was fine and looked happy.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Without seeing what she is actually doing, when, and all the other little details, I would guess that she is using her head to pick herself up because she doesn't have the impulsion needed to smoothly transition to that higher gait. I see it often on young horses who haven't figured out how to use their body yet. I would work on tons of transitions and do some smaller sized circles at a trot, try to get her working on her butt instead of the forehand. I can't say that is for sure the problem but it is the first thing that comes to mind. Having her teeth checked and feeling for back pain wouldn't hurt either.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Well before I got her she use to do that...head toss...she grunts too.
She has more muscle up front than on her high end so I think she uses her upper body more than her back.

I will get a video...please excuse my horrid riding...still trying to stay in the saddle and leg placement.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

oh and she is 7 years old..almost 8


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

It could be that she's just frisky. Annie always throws her head around when she's fresh. I've been working on getting that out of her so maybe Gidget just needs to calm down first. 

She very well could be sore, too. Her back, legs, and teeth would be prime candidates for that.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I personally think she is frisky because I checked for sores and pain..it could be she might need her teeth floated but she eats fine and everything..even when the bits in the both she perks her ears up and everything so I think she might be frisky because wouldn't she be expressing a lot of pain if she had the bit in her mouth..i don't perky ears and looking around means she is in pain.


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## GoldRush (Dec 14, 2009)

Is she 'singing' when she runs? If so, she's being frisky! If she moans, pain...listen to her body language, and watch as you go about your riding tacking up. If she's happy, she's going to tell you. If she's experiancing pain, she will not be happy with the tacking up part.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Well I know she grunts when she walks.
She hates being saddled but I have a saddle that fits her well now unlike the other one. Some days she is good sometimes she hates it but I talked to my mom and she mentioned that she was like that with her previous owner. When I mount her she is fine..we walk and she makes a grunt noise...like a pig...sometimes it's quite and sometimes it's loud....I heard some horses do it when they are relaxed.
I don't want her to be in pain.
I would feel sooo bad!


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

oh and I don't know about horse horses but my horse's bottom lip trembles....

She seems to be cinchy sensitive but I always walk her and tighten as I go. I push on the pressure points that the saddle would be but nothing seems to hurt. 
She hates when I groom her and always has.


Sometimes I think she is cranky but seems to like me because she will follow me and if I run she will run and catch up and stop when she is near me. So it's not that she hates me.

I will take a video of tacking her up and also riding.


Maybe the cinch is pinching her?


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## Tasia (Aug 17, 2009)

well somethimes horses need to throw there heads up to get into a lope this usaully stops when a horse builds up more muscle.


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## charlicata (Jan 12, 2010)

I had a horse that would always drop his head and take the bit willingly. He would shake his head from side to side when trotting or cantering. After I had his teeth floated, he stopped. It wouldn't hurt to have his teeth at least checked.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

this is what was going on with my horse. she was fine at all gaits. but then we got our new saddle. and she would toss her head when we were loping. alls fine an dandy. i thought ok she is feeling good maybe. but then she started bucking. and i realized it was the saddle! it was to big for her and causing her discomfort! and i didn't take the head tossing sign so she kicked it up a notch by bucking at only the run. not the walk trot or canter. and i know you said your saddle fits. so this may not be the case for you. but it was for me. also my moms horse also does alot of head tossing. and i guess it's just because she lieks to toss her head. because all her tack fits. and nothing seems to be bothering her. so maybe thats whats up with your gidget.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Based on this post and your critique post, it sounds to me like someone has mistreated your mare. I saw your "running like the wind" post and that mare was about as viciously angry as a horse can get. There was zero joy there - it could be from the saddle, it could be the way you were riding, it could be how she was previously treated but the photos you posted actually scared me because those are photos of a mare hunting for different ways to get rid of you. Don't ever mistake a willingness to run for a "joy" to run. Often these horses have learned running is the only way to escape things - I had a mare like yours, everyone thought she loved to run but the reality is I couldn't even stop her. Whatever the past people had done to her, she learned that she was least likely to get hurt if she galloped as fast as she could.

The fact that your mare hates being groomed and hates being saddled tells me someone has not treated this animal nicely in the past and she is flat out sick of being ridden. I would do your best to spend some quality time with her, and stop worrying about racing around. She needs some tender loving care to bring her around and make her enjoy riding again.


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## kmdstar (Nov 17, 2009)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Based on this post and your critique post, it sounds to me like someone has mistreated your mare. I saw your "running like the wind" post and that mare was about as viciously angry as a horse can get. There was zero joy there - it could be from the saddle, it could be the way you were riding, it could be how she was previously treated but the photos you posted actually scared me because those are photos of a mare hunting for different ways to get rid of you. Don't ever mistake a willingness to run for a "joy" to run. Often these horses have learned running is the only way to escape things - I had a mare like yours, everyone thought she loved to run but the reality is I couldn't even stop her. Whatever the past people had done to her, she learned that she was least likely to get hurt if she galloped as fast as she could.
> 
> The fact that your mare hates being groomed and hates being saddled tells me someone has not treated this animal nicely in the past and she is flat out sick of being ridden. I would do your best to spend some quality time with her, and stop worrying about racing around. She needs some tender loving care to bring her around and make her enjoy riding again.


I completely agree with this, though I haven't seen the other post that was mentioned I think I've got the main description (I'll go take a look after this). 

My mares past owner galloped her on trails for years, when I first got her I thought she always tried to run because she _wanted _to. I've paid alot of attention to her while lunging and being ridden, truth be told it seems like she WANTS to be a calm horse, but it's been instilled in her head that she needs to RUN and not stop until the rider dismounts. I've spent the majority of my time riding her getting her to walk and be comfortable doing so.


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## kmdstar (Nov 17, 2009)

Have you ever had a chiropractor out for her? If not and you can afford it, I'd look into it. She could just be having back pain which would make her act out while being groomed (brushing down her back = pain) and undersaddle. My moms mare is very aggressive while being groomed and we thought it could be a back issue, she's completely fine undersaddle though. She also gets extremely p*ssy when you touch her flanks, we were sure that was a pain thing but if she's distracted it doesn't bother her so it's hard to say with her.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Hey you all. Thank you very much for the info.

I am wondering if it is her past because the person that sold her said she us to be a gaming horse and when asked to run or anything he mentioned she would always pin her ears back. She does that with me but when I was galloping with her at the fairground she slowly began to pick her ears up. 
She hates being saddled but once she is she is fine and she loves just walking around. I know this because she is looking around and her ears are perked all the way up.

A ten year old owned her and the person we got her from said she was spurred a lot due to doing gaming. Maybe it's just drilled into her head that she has to run when she hears a kiss noise? I know she hesitates when you ask her but then she will do it. She prefers trotting...which is H*ll on my body but I am working on getting better.

I called the vet and she told me to check for signs of her needing her teeth done so I did and everything..she is seems to be doing fine. After I moved her to the stables she decided that it was okay to take the bit..maybe I was pinching her? But now she takes the bit. 

She gets a bit annoyed when I touch her withers but once I do start petting her she is fine.


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