# Help for child's pony, head dropping to eat



## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_I believe there are "pony reins" out there that attach to the rings on a saddle, making it hard for them to get their head down far enough to eat, but still lets them be in a normal head position._


_Dover could possibly have them?_


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

It's called a grazing rein, and I used to rig them out of baling twine for my riding school ponies. 

A friend of mine with a large riding school has had dozens had out of nylon with brass snaps. 

The idea is simple - tie or snap one end to a saddle dee, run it over the horse's head, between the ears, and under the crown piece of the bridle, bring down alongside the cheek pieces of the bridle and attach to the bit. There should be enough slack that the animal can stretch it's head forward and down, but not so much it can actually reach the ground and eat. Riding school friend uses two, crossed at the crown and snapped to opposite sides of the bit. 

And please don't feel bad - most smart old schoolies and good novice horses figure out how to take advantage of new, young or weak riders in this way. Common problem with an easy solution that doesn't involve a harsher bit or coercive tack. (I commend you for your concern in that regard!) 

At 5 and 39 pounds, she may need the ant-grazing reins for a few more years. 

Hope you daughter can continue to enjoy her pony! Good luck!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Yay for grass reins! With a kid(or adult for that matter0 who is not strong enough to prevent the horse putting his head down, they are invaluable. I don't use bits, only halters for my horses & it works to tie/buckle the 'grass rein'(well, a thin piece of webbing in our case) to the poll of the halter, with the other end attached to the saddle D. 

As for the pony stepping on the reins & then running away, I assume you are using split reins? Tie them together or use regular ones.


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## ilovemyPhillip (Apr 4, 2009)

My barn calls them bucking reins for advanced riders, but anti-grazing reins for kids. I back them up 100%! 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

Pawsnfur said:


> I wonder if we need a better bit, she usually rides in a hackamore or curb bit. ... She rides English, is there a way to tie her head up while still giving her the ability to direct her?


I'm a bit confused…you say she rides English, but uses a curb bit or a hackamore neither of which should be used with direct reining as they use leverage. Is she riding English and direct reining/two hands or Western and neck reining/one hand? Or am I missing something...


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Horse Poor said:


> I'm a bit confused…you say she rides English, but uses a curb bit or a hackamore neither of which should be used with a direct rein as they use leverage. Is she riding English and direct reining/two hands or Western and neck reining/one hand? Or am I missing something...


Good point. I think that's aside from the horse putting it's head down though.


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## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

FWIW, grass reins, daisy reins, grazing reins, bucking reins, side checks, etc. will work wonders for the horse putting its head down, but will do nothing to address riding problems. However, proper use of a bit will.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

The rider is five years old and 39 pounds. "Proper use of the bit" is a few years away. 

Also, she is not riding with split reins: "Once the reins dropped down her neck, she stepped on them, popped her head up and began trotting away...when she regained the reins and spun her in a circle to get her to stop" This sounds like ordinary buckled English reins to me.

And while I agree about curbs and hackamores being leverage devices, a 39 pound 5 year old child is probably not attempting to ride on contact, and since the issue is the pony ripping the reins out of her hands, I suspect she couldn't exert enough force to use them as a leverage device anyway.

However, perhaps when the OP solves the problem with a grazing rein, she can use a milder bit.


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## Pawsnfur (Sep 28, 2011)

She was riding at first with just a halter until the horse started dropping her head. We are looking to figure out what the best tack and head gear she should be using. The hackamore she had was a bit too big so we discontinued using it. I have a curb bit as well as a standard simple snaffle...I think. Do you think the snaffle would be best? She does use reins that are tied and she uses them up tighter than a loose western style reins. She seems to have better control this way and is used to it because her other horse moves better with reins that are held straight and tighter than typical western loose neck reins. If that makes sense. I'm sorry, I lack proper horse grammar. We are new to this and I am just trying to help train her the best I can while making sure I don't hurt or mis train the horse.


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## Pawsnfur (Sep 28, 2011)

Ps...I REALLY appreciate everyone's help and can't wait to try out the bailing twine trick. My excursion is broken...AGAIN, so we can't get to the ranch until Saturday after soccer. Thank you everyone.


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## Pawsnfur (Sep 28, 2011)

*trying to post a pic*


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

When my girls were younger, we also used a Pelham (type of snaffle) which has 3 different ways to attach the reins, depending on the leverage you want the rider to have and a curb chain. As my girls got older and better at "catching" the pony before the head went down and keeping him going, we were able to reduce the leverage. You can also teach her how to brace her reins across the withers so the pony is pulling on herself instead of your daughter. Grass reins are great though! Kind of funny to watch the pony the first couple times they try to graze and can't....... Goodluck!


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

Just looked at the picture, cute kiddo and pony. One thing-get her some boots w/ heels! I worry about those little feet slipping through the stirrups if she fell off and having her dangling there...... Kuddos to you for putting a helmet on her head tho!


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## Pawsnfur (Sep 28, 2011)

She does have boots, she was wearing her water shoes because she just got out of the lake and hopped on for a quick ride. Her feet are actually just an inch shy of even reaching the stirrups. They help if she starts to slip to one side or the other. She usually prefers to ride bareback with a pad. I was thinking of strapping a thin block to the bottom of her boots to give her a boost. Im sure by Christmas she will have grown enough. The helmet was a great find at a yardsale for $5 and may have saved her life when the pony slammed her into the tree last week. I'm a little nervous about letting her ride again. :-(


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Since it's an English saddle, you can punch more holes in the stirrup leathers using a leather punch (providing they are leather) or buy a set of child-sized Wintec Webbers. Inexpensive and will raise the stirrups up to fit very small children (my lil one has been riding since she was 5).

Also, while a yardsale helmet seems like a great deal, you have no idea how old it is or how many times it's come into contact with the ground or other objects. Plastic deteriorates over time and it's structural integrity degrades every time it comes into contact with a hard object (even if it looks fine). 

You can buy a new helmet for less than $30 and know that it will be structurally sound should your child ever end up falling.


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