# What do i do with a horse who jerks the reins and tosses his head?



## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

I think you should as the instructor to put you on another horse. You sure don't need to be on a known bucker at this point, nor do you need to have your confidence shaken! If she won't comply, heck, I think I'd be stable-shopping...


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Bubba has a good point. You are a novice and you have had a few setbacks. Right now, it's not the time to be overchallenged, in my opinion. Will the instructor let you request another horse?

As far as the horse goes, if you can prevent him from gettting very far down in the first place, this will help. It means that you have to be pretty aware of him and when he is thinking about doing this . If you sense he is doing this , you must interupt his thinking. One can do this by kicking him briskly, by snapping the reins, either back or even throwing them forward at his neck, you can yell harshly, you can smack him on his neck, you can put a crop on his hiney. Just knock him out of that thought el quicko and then move him forward and try to get him a bit startled so that it makes a bigger impression on him and he doesn't have time to brace up against you. Take advantage of him being starteld to put a leg on and move him forward. This might help to knock him out of his idea that you are a pushover. You can change the way he percieves you but you might have to get a bit "dramatic".

In any case, as a new rider, you want riding to be fun and inspiring you to keep trying. It's cool that you are going back to the lunge line and basics and not to worry about it feeling like you are going backward. I cringe to think what a lungeline lesson for me would feel like!

Good luck and keep going!


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## mavis (Jul 28, 2011)

Thanks tinyliny and bubba

If i were to snap the reins back, won't it **** the horse off and make it tug even harder? I am thinking a sudden strong tug is enough to really propel me forward.

I told the instructor in no uncertain terms I won't be going back if they give me this horse again.

This incident took place at my old riding school where I rode independently. I am also attending lunge lessons at the new riding school I mentioned earlier.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Yeah, new horse, new school , new you! post some videos some time. Take them now, 'cause you'll get better and then you can look back and have a good laugh.


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## mavis (Jul 28, 2011)

i actually cried during the class... and I am in my early 30s.. Boooo

just felt very crappy

have been learning to ride for 6 months now.. and the lesson with the tossy horse just made me feel like I am back to square one.

For the past month, I have been riding twice a week (at least); and I was just learning to get up to a canter. Yet during yesterday's class, I couldn't even get the horse to keep up a trot before he started his antics. I just wonder if I have absolutely zero talent in riding; and should give up. 

I have invested so much time and money on improving, that the pressure just got too much. It didn't help that i got sympathetic looks from some parents whose kids were having lessons in the next arena. And yes, I heard even 9 year-olds can ride problem horse with no issues..


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## Dresden (Jun 24, 2011)

The difference is 9 year olds have no sense of their own mortality. Don't even bother worrying about what kids can and can't do. Seriously. You are old enough to know better and they are not. If that's the attitude at your riding school, find a new one. I am a timid rider due to a fall and in my early 30s. I rode better at 13 than I do now because I had no fear! I'm the only person at my stable who wears a helmet and even the teenage girls don't make fun of, they just offer to help if they see I am intimidated. You need a new school. Also for confidence building you need,imo, to be on easier horses so you can work on your skills and confidence. You can ride all the head jerkers, known buckers etc later if you wish. Find some place that will help you build confidence not tear it down.

Also I have discovered at my age I have no interest in horses with problems. I bought a well broke easy ride. I love riding him and 2 months post concussion my confidence is soaring because I am not afraid of him. I hope this doesn't sound harsh. Its late here and I am trying to be supportive 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

I gotta agree with everyone else. You just need a horse that is suited for you.
You aren't going to learn anything on a horse you don't trust. You need a been there done that horse that knows its job so you can concentrate on riding.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Mavis,
You are not at ease with that horse and the horse knows it.
It is telling you that you are out of tune with its rythm.
You are probably tense and unwittingly jerking the horse on its mouth.

Your tutor, if competent, should be able to see this from the centre of the ring - certainly the tutor will know that the horse is uncomfortable with you aboard.

Alternatively,
The horse needs to have its tooth rasped
Or 
the bit and bridle set has been fitted and adjusted in correctly

As for crying - well that's your brain telling you that all is not well.
Many novice riders have to learn that it is not your concious brain which keeps you in the saddle - it is your sub concious brain which reacts before your concious brain has time to think.

My guess is that a change of horse, tutor and venue would do marvels for you. 

You also need to re-learn to relax - try reading up on Dr Alexander.

There is one other factor - maybe you are trying too hard , too soon after your health issues. I'd wait a month or so and then find another riding centre with a more sympathetic tutor.


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## mavis (Jul 28, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for your advice, feedback and encouragement.

I guess its frustrating for me cos I am ok sometimes, and sometimes really crappy. And last Sunday really took the cake cos the horse refused to even trot properly. And two weeks ago, i was cantering on a ranch elsewhere. 

How do i prevent a horse from bullying me? I think horses are smarter than people say. This horse seems to remember from the last time i rode him four months ago, that he could bully me.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

You must be _confident._ It really is true that horses can sense your nervousness and fear, and that only makes them act worse.

Man, I wish I could help you more. My boss, who passed away a few months ago, specialized in rider just like you: adult beginners with confidence issues, etc. She would have ripped your instructor a new one, most likely, and then started fresh with you from the ground up. Pity I can't channel her knowledge; I'm just finishing her book on the very subject, but sort of copying and pasting the whole thing--100 pages and counting now--there's no real wisdom I can impart. Dammit.


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## pinkyshot (Jul 18, 2011)

My aunt taught me how to ride she had been riding all her life....she taught me the best way to learn how to ride is to start on the ground...learning more about horses and how they think will help a lot when your riding different horses...I haven't rode in ten years and in about two weeks I am gonna be going to buy a horse...

I plan on finding one that is laid back hopefully lol its scary for me I have been hit in the face by a horse throwing their head back and been bucked off I think getting my teeth almost knocked down my throat hurt the most lol

I don't think that persons a good trainer....you should never have been put on a horse with disrespect problems....I mean who would actually have a horse like that in their riding program anyways....I hope you find a horse that you click with and learn to enjoy riding once again


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

See. There are tons of riders who deal with fear and confidence issues. tons. Lot of confident riders out there and they make it look so easy, but we adult learners whose confidence might not be so out there , we have a right to try and do our best with pride on our accomplishments. It is the fearful rider who still rides, that is the bravest.

By the way, I remember a lot of lessons that I was trying so hard not to have my teacher see my eyes all teary. Barely made it to the crossties where I could hide my crying while detacking the horse.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Mavis,
I guess its frustrating for me cos I am ok sometimes, and sometimes really crappy. And last Sunday really took the cake cos the horse refused to even trot properly. And two weeks ago, I was cantering on a ranch elsewhere. 

_How do I prevent a horse from bullying me?_
*By showing the horse you know how to ride and by hiding your fears.*

I think horses are smarter than people say. 
*A lessons learned - horses aren't dumb*

This horse seems to remember from the last time I rode him four months ago, that he could bully me. 
*That smart cookie will remember you forever. He knows you don't yet know how to ride.*


*Mavis, learning to ride is a very complex issue. **Your confidence has taken a bad knock and you need to find a horse which will help you regain your confidence. That is what a good riding school horse does - it is not so much the tutor who teaches you, it is the horse. **Everyone has said to you - "go find another horse and another tutor!"

*


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

mavis said:


> i actually cried during the class... and I am in my early 30s.. Boooo
> 
> just felt very crappy


UNACCEPTABLE

Why would they give you a horse you obviously aren't comfortable with?? It's untraining the horse, and it's destroying your confidence! This makes me mad. They need to wait until you have conquered the basics before they put you on a challenging horse. Ugh. I hope things get better and you don't give up riding!


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

Ditto that.
OP-Have you mentioned that you are scared of the horse to the trainer and would like a different mount?


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Mavis, I'll just add my support and echo what everyone else has said. I'm also in my early 30s and have been back in riding for about a year. I have had similar bouts of low confidence, which early on greatly affected each ride I had. I'm now paired up with a horse that I can handle, while still feeling challenged every time I ride.

Whether or not you stick with this instructor, could you ask for lunge lessons every now and then? Or maybe _exclusively_, at least for now? In my mind, that would help you in two ways. 1. You wouldn't be responsible for the reins and your horse would be wearing side reins, which might help psychologically in that you won't be waiting for the moment when the horse starts to jerk the reins or threatens to throw its head in your face and; 2. You can really concentrate on _you_- where your body is, how to let your weight shift into your seat and legs, etc.

Lunge lessons really helped me feel secure in the saddle, which greatly helped my independent riding. Now that I'm working on cantering, I'm back on the lunge every lesson so I can get my seat secure enough that I feel I can do this on my own soon.

Good luck! As people often say, riding is supposed to be fun! Sure, it's work and overcoming fears and learning new ways to move your body and connect with another living creature, but if you're dreading every ride, I'm sure you have much better ways to use your money. So, you should feel empowered to find an instructor who will put you on a horse that matches where you are right now and let you enjoy your time at the barn.


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## LadyNeigh (Jul 16, 2011)

if a horse bullys you- bully it! If he wont trot- growl at him, kick him and if needed smack him. If he pulls his head down, snap at the reins and pull him back up! When you do this push your heals forward- that wedges you in the seat.
Take no rude manners from the horse. YOU are in charge- YOU take control!


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## Jumpehunter (Jul 29, 2011)

pinkyshot said:


> My aunt taught me how to ride she had been riding all her life....she taught me the best way to learn how to ride is to start on the ground...learning more about horses and how they think will help a lot when your riding different horses...I haven't rode in ten years and in about two weeks I am gonna be going to buy a horse...
> 
> I plan on finding one that is laid back hopefully lol its scary for me I have been hit in the face by a horse throwing their head back and been bucked off I think getting my teeth almost knocked down my throat hurt the most lol
> 
> I don't think that persons a good trainer....you should never have been put on a horse with disrespect problems....I mean who would actually have a horse like that in their riding program anyways....I hope you find a horse that you click with and learn to enjoy riding once again


At my lesson barn we have horses here that do have attitudes for the advanced riders because they learn to fight it out and use ever ounce of knowledge the have to get that horse canter or get on the rail or something. I love riding those horses not the push button lesson horses we have. Those are nice and relaxing but kind of boring. and I know a lot of lesson barns have those kinds of horses too it's just up to the instructor to decide hat riders to put on them.

I work at a lesson barn and I'm an instructor in training and i take lessons there my self. We get riders of all confidence levels and some who have had really crappy riding experiences. This might be a stupid question, but does your instructor know that you have a confidence issue with horses. We are running a beginner intermediate camp at my barn this week and we have this one girl here this week. She has been here before and could boss these horses around (in a good way) like theres no tomorrow. But this week she couldn't steer even our very beginner horse and I started to coach her hard like those lectures that ya get and kind of shake you up a little. I have seen her ride before and she could have handled it. she even rode one of our advanced horses. But after like 20 minutes we were walking cooling the horses out and she was sitting up there sobbing! so i pull here into the center and ask her whats up? and she said that Jack (the horse she was riding) was walking to fast and wouldn't go anywhere she wanted to and that she was scared to heck! I didn't know and none of our staff knew she was scared of horses because she was so confident or so it seemed with them on the ground and even on their backs until that second. it was bizarre. It has happened so many times that the kids never say they are scared or they don't want to do something so we push them because physically they are ready for cantering or jumping or something. But mentally they aren't. and we ask them but they still say they want to even if they don't.

so yea sorry this was so long for 1 little point but if she does know you r confidence problem then maybe you should ask for a different horse and ask for a specific horse. If she says no it's time to go barn shopping


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## serafina (May 5, 2011)

Huh. I am a novice rider too, and if my instructor put me on a horse that was known to buck, well...I don't know what I'd do, since I cannot imagine her doing something that insane. This is not the horse for you, and if the instructor knew that you were a novice and that the horse was a bucker, it's probably not the instructor for you, either.

To put it in a little perspective, I have many, many times finished a lesson and wanted to grind my teeth because the horse was cutting up and I didn't know how to deal with it (and learning that kind of thing is a big part, IMO, of learning to ride). BUT when this horse cuts up it is NEVER in a dangerous, or really even potentially dangerous way. He cuts corners, he wants to stop at the gate, he trots when I want him to walk, he walks when I want him to trot, and yes, he pulls his head down (more on that in a minute). But he does not EVER buck, rear, bunny hop, kick, or ANYTHING of that nature. He never attempts to unseat me, ever.

It is all I can do to deal with his sort of plain-vanilla lesson horse awfulness...I do not need to be contending with actively dangerous situations, not at my level of skill. AND I don't have any problem with confidence - I just know what is within my ability to handle and what isn't, and I stick with what I can handle. That's common sense, not lack of confidence.

Not saying you don't have a confidence problem either - I'd say that since your first response to someone suggesting you ride a bucker wasn't "You have got to be kidding. Now please show me a horse that is appropriate for my level of ability." that you probably *do* have a confidence problem.

A good teacher will help you build that confidence, and that includes putting you on the right kind of horse.

On the subject of the head pulling, my former lesson horse did this CONSTANTLY. Part of it was that it was one of his Horrible Lesson Horse Tricks, part of it was that I didn't know how to make him stop, and a big part of it was that I hadn't learned yet how to keep my hands quiet. Since you're a novice, I bet that noisy hands are part of this. That is something you can talk to your teacher about working on, and it's an important skill.

The Horrible Lesson Horse Trick part is something else that my teacher taught me to deal with. She told me, and let me find out on my own, that pulling back when the horse yerks his head down is just about the worst thing I could do. It never got the horse's head back into position, I just wound up in a pulling contest - usually at a trot - and losing, because as I yerked back on his reins, it caused me to lose my balance and come forward. Bad move.

The thing she told me to do that actually *works* is that when the horse starts to yerk his head down, firm up your arms and drive him forward, firmly, with your legs. Use your heels if you need to, but when he starts to pull down, your better response is going to be really laying a leg on. She told this to me 1,000 times before I actually *got* it. It was EXTREMELY effective.

AND it had the extra benefit that the horse grew to understand that if he did that head-pulling-thing, it was just going to cause him to have to work harder. And after *he* put 2 + 2 together, that was the end of that. He still does it to other people, but only people who respond by pulling back instead of driving him forward.

You deserve to have a positive experience...and a teacher who tells you this stuff.


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## Heelsdown (Jun 5, 2011)

I just posted something very similar. I didn't see this post! No advice, just sympathy. 
You blame yourself for the horse not listening but then it's confusing because you've had great rides on other horses. It's very frustrating.


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## mavis (Jul 28, 2011)

wow

thanks for the wealth of advice and encouragement

ok, i know what to do now when i get a jerky horse.. and i know there's hope for me STILL!

Thanks everyone, I will be back on t he saddle this evening  

And i am definitely going to progress soon


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## rodeoqueen77 (Aug 4, 2011)

i would put a greman martiangale or a fork


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## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

Sorry to comment so late =) I think what you need to do is pull the horses head towards you and turn him in a circle, he'll eventually learn that if he does he gets to do hard work.... If that doesn't help then I suggest getting your instructor to get a chiropractor to look at him, that sometimes is the underlying issue =)


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## Ferhoodled (Jun 7, 2011)

serafina said:


> The Horrible Lesson Horse Trick part is something else that my teacher taught me to deal with. She told me, and let me find out on my own, that pulling back when the horse yerks his head down is just about the worst thing I could do. It never got the horse's head back into position, I just wound up in a pulling contest - usually at a trot - and losing, because as I yerked back on his reins, it caused me to lose my balance and come forward. Bad move.
> 
> The thing she told me to do that actually *works* is that when the horse starts to yerk his head down, firm up your arms and drive him forward, firmly, with your legs. Use your heels if you need to, but when he starts to pull down, your better response is going to be really laying a leg on. She told this to me 1,000 times before I actually *got* it. It was EXTREMELY effective.


Yes! This!

My instructor has told me this numerous times for a horse that yanks on the reins. I don't always remember right away, but it definitely works. She always tells me not to "give him my elbows" and that I need to stubbornly keep my arms at my side and not budge. Not always easy :? But it's helpful to really keep your weight flowing downward through your seat and legs. Make yourself "heavy", so to speak, and it'll be harder for him to pull you off balance. Hold your ground while you drive him forward.

Most of the time when this happens it's because the horse isn't working hard enough, in my experience. Often when we're working on my posting, I'm doing more work than the horse is. He isn't engaged, his mind wanders, and some annoying habits emerge. Driving him forward makes him actually work and gives him less energy to pull that kind of BS with you. Just my take on it.

Overall, I would agree that you probably just need a different horse. But if the yanking ever happens again, this is how I've been taught to deal with it. Good luck with everything!


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## serafina (May 5, 2011)

Ferhoodled said:


> Yes! This!
> 
> My instructor has told me this numerous times for a horse that yanks on the reins. I don't always remember right away, but it definitely works. She always tells me not to "give him my elbows" and that I need to stubbornly keep my arms at my side and not budge. Not always easy :? But it's helpful to really keep your weight flowing downward through your seat and legs. Make yourself "heavy", so to speak, and it'll be harder for him to pull you off balance. Hold your ground while you drive him forward.
> 
> ...


Totally true! All of this! :rofl: I wound up going around the ring with my teacher shouting "BE THE TREE!" to get me not to give the horse my elbows. "DO NOT LET HIM TAKE THE REINS!" she'd yell.

Now she just has to say "PUT YOUR LEG ON WHEN HE DOES THAT!" I do not always remember in the moment that this is what to do, but as soon as she says "LEG!" it comes back to me and I boot that bad boy forward and sort his hash out.

I totally agree that some of that is from Horse Boredom. It usually gets worse as we go...it's like the horse things "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me! We're trotting in endless rings AGAIN?!?!? How much more can a horse stand?!??!" and he starts screwing with me.


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