# Evasion of contact by pulling neck & head back & up & hollowing back when out hacking



## x Heidi x (Jan 28, 2012)

*Evasion of contact by pulling neck & head back & up & hollowing back when out hacking*

Does anyone have any advice on this please? He is fine in the school and will listen more when he tries this and will accept a contact, keep his canter balanced and not revert to anything he did when he had been driven in a cart in Ireland as a youngster.
On a hack when we turn for home i can keep him in a walk but ask for trot and his head & neck comes up and back, hollow back and legs are everywhere! I ride him in a Myler low port comfort short shank combination bit. Anyone else experienced this or know how to help...thankyou


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Have you tried a running martingale in the school first, then on a hack? May help, but then may not as if he feels resistance, he may freak out.

Do you ride alone of in company? He may be trying to get back to his friends.

Subbing as well to hear the answers.

Good luck!


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

I know this is going to sound really unhelpful... but just put the head down when he puts it up. And don't just try, do it! You don't need a fancy bit or any contraption, just a bit more will than him. If you have to, bring him back to walk, take the head down and go back to trot, bit make sure you are maintaining a connection and not just letting him go for a cruise. Eventually you will be able to correct him with less aid and in the trot. A circle might also help you. To get the head down I would plant my knuckles of one hand on the neck, and without pulling back, raise or open the other rein and encourage him to flex laterally. You also have to remember that the leg goes to the hand, so put it on! This usually results in "give" longitudinally too and when the head drops, reward.

Good luck!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> I know this is going to sound really unhelpful... but just put the head down when he puts it up. And don't just try, do it! You don't need a fancy bit or any contraption, just a bit more will than him. If you have to, bring him back to walk, take the head down and go back to trot, bit make sure you are maintaining a connection and not just letting him go for a cruise. Eventually you will be able to correct him with less aid and in the trot. A circle might also help you. To get the head down I would plant my knuckles of one hand on the neck, and without pulling back, raise or open the other rein and encourage him to flex laterally. You also have to remember that the leg goes to the hand, so put it on! This usually results in "give" longitudinally too and when the head drops, reward.
> 
> Good luck!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Sounds good in theory, and in the school I'd be more willing to give it a go, but I know a lot of horses, and from experience, that if you try and put them in a forced headseat become extremely strong, and there was some tanking involved.

I prefer having a martingale on hacking, to use as a neck strap in case things go wrong.

If it were me, I wouldn't be trying to put him in the headset if he's tossing his head up and hollowing his back, it may be a battle of the wills, but unless you pump some iron one that is more likely to frustrate and be a battle of strengths rather than wills- also OP what is your riding experience?

Not picking your post apart anebel, when I first started schooling Duffy she was like a giraffe, inside stayed on, outside hand give/take and legs ON, but different circumstances, and if the horse is doing this as a pre-empt to bolt, go, or is barn sour, is this going to be effective?


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

It's not a forced headset - anything but. It also has nothing to do with strength and a lot to do with timing.

It's so hard to accurately describe things on the web haha... it's not like a grab onto his face and seesaw that sucker until his nose is to his chest. It's ride forward, dont pull back, but make him realize that the head needs to come down. I can get a horse with a high neck with his head down and relaxed with a quick 1-2 on the reins. A horse with a high head is one that has adreneline pumping - and that's not safe so you just have to fix it.
My horse on hacks likes to pretend he's a race horse, but also that everything is going to kill him. So I usually have a horse that's already prancing and looking for an excuse to bolt off, and then a tractor or stack of 2x4s or anything really is usually "put your head up really high and then bolt sideways". Once I can have the neck and head down and we hack out for about 5 - 10 minutes I have a horse on a long rein, more interested in grass than passing vehicles. So yes I do know what it's like to have a psycho horse on a hack!! You have to take control of the situation, put the head and neck down to get the horse to chill and then go from there. If I let him giraffe around I would have a bolting horse all ride. And it's not about muscling him down, it's about using good timing to quickly re-place the head and neck and immediately giving and rewarding.

"and if the horse is doing this as a pre-empt to bolt, go, or is barn sour, is this going to be effective"
The MOST effective thing you can do on a barn sour horse or something that lieks to bolt is put your legs on and practice neck control (not that the horse is "in a frame" - just that his neck is where you want it and if you want to move it, you can). On a bolter that is looking for a reason to leave if your legs are already on - then bumping him with a leg wont make him bolt. It's also easy to diffuse a pre-bolt with a little suppling and re focussing of the mind.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

"
leave if your legs are already on - then bumping him with a leg wont make him bolt. It's also easy to diffuse a pre-bolt with a little suppling and re focussing of the mind. "
I think thats a big problem, I also have. Take leg off, sit funny, let horse prat around, then BAM leg on and horse goes ;D ​ 
I'm not a big hacker, I'm not a happy hacker. It petrifies me.​ 
Thanks for clearing it up though, I read the first post completely wrong, but the clarification helped tonnes!​


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