# Horse throws head up at canter transition



## Horsesaremylife150 (Feb 4, 2015)

My ottb has a quirk where he will true his head up when asked for a canter transition. It can be walk to canter or trot to canter. He goes in a nice outline until you ask for the canter. He does it on the lunge as well, even with full tack and side reins. My trainer has suggested using draw reins. I personally don't want to use anymore "gadgets" than the side reins. I feel they are just a bandaid for the issue. I should add that I have had the saddle prefessinally checked and it fits very well. I have had the chiropractor out and he found nothing. This horse also gets monthly full body massages. Any suggestions are welcome. I am at a loss with this issue.
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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

well, how old is horse? any injuries? 
throwing the head up to take a canter depart might mean that the hind legs are weak or sore or in some way they don't push off as well as they could, so horse uses the flinging of his head weight as a help to gain momentum into the canter.

is it possible there is any discomfort in his hocks? 

what would happen, if you try a roll back into a canter? I mean, you trot along, come to a fairly quickstop, make sure the horse is rocked back onto their haunches as if to back up, turn the hrose and ask for an immediate canter depart, or at least an acceleration into a good trot , from a stand still. done correctly, it makes a horse push off from their hind.


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## Horsesaremylife150 (Feb 4, 2015)

tinyliny said:


> well, how old is horse? any injuries?
> throwing the head up to take a canter depart might mean that the hind legs are weak or sore or in some way they don't push off as well as they could, so horse uses the flinging of his head weight as a help to gain momentum into the canter.
> 
> is it possible there is any discomfort in his hocks?
> ...


The horse will be 6 this year and raced for 3 years. No injuries to my knowledge. No ones ever said anything about his hocks even when I had a PPE done on him last year when I got him. How could you tell if the hocks were sore? 

I can't see that roll back excersise going smoothly at all. He still really struggles with walk canter transitions. Usually he will run a few strides before picking up the canter. I've been told by my trainer it's a balance issue. He does still run into the canter from a trot too but as much.
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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

I agree that after ruling out any pain issue, make the horse use himself correctly, by driving up from behind, versus throwing head up and pulling himself into a lope
I assume that you are riding with a plain snaffle. At this point , the horse needs support in transitions, to learn to round, drive up and elevating shoulders, not head
Start to get good transitions at the slower gaits ,before at the canter.When the horse tries to speed up, and throw head up when asked for a transition, he will also be heavy in your hands and on his front end
So first make sure that you are riding him back to front, more legs that hands, and if he gets heavy in your hands, instead of pulling harder, use you legs harder, driving him up until he softens in your hands, then reward
Get that correct movement first. Draw reins are not the answer, as they will dump a horse on his front end, often getting that headset, but with the horse not truly collected


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## Horsesaremylife150 (Feb 4, 2015)

Smilie said:


> I agree that after ruling out any pain issue, make the horse use himself correctly, by driving up from behind, versus throwing head up and pulling himself into a lope
> I assume that you are riding with a plain snaffle. At this point , the horse needs support in transitions, to learn to round, drive up and elevating shoulders, not head
> Start to get good transitions at the slower gaits ,before at the canter.When the horse tries to speed up, and throw head up when asked for a transition, he will also be heavy in your hands and on his front end
> So first make sure that you are riding him back to front, more legs that hands, and if he gets heavy in your hands, instead of pulling harder, use you legs harder, driving him up until he softens in your hands, then reward
> Get that correct movement first. Draw reins are not the answer, as they will dump a horse on his front end, often getting that headset, but with the horse not truly collected


Thank you I will certinatly try this! How would you encourage a horse to lift his shoulders rather than toss his head? Just ride back to front I assume?
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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Smilie said:


> make sure that you are riding him back to front, more legs that hands, and if he gets heavy in your hands, instead of pulling harder, use you legs harder, driving him up until he softens in your hands, then reward


Agree with this; the horse is not departing from the hind end, he's departing from his shoulders. 

I am working on this with my mare - driving her up in the bit, when she softens, relaxing; driving, soften, relaxing; driving, soften, ask for the departure. 

I know people who use draw reins (I don't). But the problem is still the same - horse has to drive and depart from the HQ. Draw reins don't fix that.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

So, an ex-race horse.
Race horses run on the forehand and on the bit, as that is the most efficient way to cover ground fast.
As a riding horse, he needs to have all those basics put on him that race horses don't-body control , collection, leg aids. You can't expect ahorse to know how to keep frame and collection in transtitions, if he has never been taught how
For a collected canter departure, you need some basic body control-shoulders, hips. Leads start in the back, not in the front Therefore, by having the basics on a horse, so you can ask for that lead departure, with his body positioned to make that easy, is the place to start
First stride of that three beat canter is the outside hind leg. Next stride is counted when inside hind and outside front hit the ground at about the same time, and the finla beat is made when the inside lead leg hits the ground
Thus, if you can position that hip so it is slightly into the lead, keep inside shoulder up with inside rein and then drive the horse up into the lope from behind, using outside leg, you have him in the body position where he can most easily do so. At the same time, you hold with enough rein that he keeps frame and topline, then when he is loping /cantering nicely, reward by lightning the aids.
Don't canter endless circles, but do lots transitions . Canter one or two circles. Stop. Do a slow rollback to the outside and lope off in opposite direction, with no trotting steps. This teaches a horse to drive up correctly from behind, versus falling into the canter out of forward momentum.
Your horse is not ready for this exercise, and in fact, does not sound ready to pick up the canter correctly, until you have some softness and correct movement at the slower gaits
I would work on suppling exercises, lateral work, shoulder control, etc


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## Horsesaremylife150 (Feb 4, 2015)

Smilie said:


> So, an ex-race horse.
> Race horses run on the forehand and on the bit, as that is the most efficient way to cover ground fast.
> As a riding horse, he needs to have all those basics put on him that race horses don't-body control , collection, leg aids. You can't expect ahorse to know how to keep frame and collection in transtitions, if he has never been taught how
> For a collected canter departure, you need some basic body control-shoulders, hips. Leads start in the back, not in the front Therefore, by having the basics on a horse, so you can ask for that lead departure, with his body positioned to make that easy, is the place to start
> ...


Thank you! I have been doing lots of lateral movements. He can preform a leg yield, shoulder fore and hunches in correctly according to my trainer. We are now working on turn on the forehand and hind quarters.
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