# Head all the way to the ground at trot



## stephk (Oct 3, 2011)

My 5 yr old QH has started to put his head so far down to the ground at the trot when I ride that his nose is basically in the dirt. I lunged him yesterday on a 12 ft lead and he would trot with his nose in the dirt for about 1/2 the circle almost every circle. Not sure what this behavior means or how to go about dealing with it when I ride. When riding reins obviously pull out of my hands when he does this. Do I just resist with my hands and push with leg? Any advise would help. Thanks!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

As soon as he drops his head, step back a few steps and have him switch direction. This means a little more work for him. Continue to work him back and forth until he quits (completes one circle without dropping) and allow him to rest with your back turned to him. That takes all the pressure off him. That is his reward. Now is the time to quit lunging. When next you lunge him he may try it again so just do as before. Horses test and need reminder. When riding, do the same. If that doesn't work, try tapping him behind your leg with a crop in rhythm with each stride. He may speed up but he's making it harder on himself. The moment his head starts coming up, stop tapping. What he's doing is called pig rooting and he will do it usually either from the saddle not fitting well and he's stretching his top muscles, or bit evasion. Are you trail riding him or just arena work?


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

Subbing


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## stephk (Oct 3, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> As soon as he drops his head, step back a few steps and have him switch direction. This means a little more work for him. Continue to work him back and forth until he quits (completes one circle without dropping) and allow him to rest with your back turned to him. That takes all the pressure off him. That is his reward. Now is the time to quit lunging. When next you lunge him he may try it again so just do as before. Horses test and need reminder. When riding, do the same. If that doesn't work, try tapping him behind your leg with a crop in rhythm with each stride. He may speed up but he's making it harder on himself. The moment his head starts coming up, stop tapping. What he's doing is called pig rooting and he will do it usually either from the saddle not fitting well and he's stretching his top muscles, or bit evasion. Are you trail riding him or just arena work?


Right now just arena work, he and I have started recently with a trainer to get him connected and start riding in a more rounded frame. He first started this when I would ride and my guess was poor saddle fit, I was riding him in my trainers saddle and think it is too narrow and long for him (he has a short back). Then when he did the same thing w/o tack on lunge line then I started to suspect laziness and trying to get out of work. The 1/2 of the circle he would cut in too close to me and head all the way down. I just purchased new saddle today so hopefully it will fit him better.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Putting their head down can be a cause of several things and it's hard to fix the problem without first discovering the cause. Many times horses will put their heads down because they are thinking of stopping and that is when they tend to stumble. Same thing goes for his wanting to cut in close when circling. He does not want to do it and is trying to find a way to stop without openly being beligerent or getting into a fight, which may happen down the road.
I would suggest driving him on more firmly, even if you have to push for a lope, until he moves with his head at a proper level. Direction changes can work well in this case also.
Same goes for when you are in the saddle. Drive him forward and collect him with your reins if you have to, just be sure that you are not drawing too hard on the reins so as to give him mixed signals and remember to release the pressure when he does what you want.
Timing and release of pressure is always the key when training horses.
There are many bits & gadgets out there that could temporarily fix your issue, but that is not training and it is always best to fix the problem at the root so that he can be ridden softly and with ease.

As always, however, you must rule out any discomfort or pain before trying new aids or training techniques.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

On the ground. 
A horse can put their head down to the ground when they are feeling loose and are relaxing out of a bit of stress and are asking to quit the running around and come in to the handler. It can become a way for the horse to avoid work, since they may then be allowed to come in.

If the horse is cutting across the arena on one side of the circle, and then pigrooting on the other, both of those things say that he has his mind far away from the handler. He is running around you, but he is not connected to you at all.

I would at first lunge him on a much shorter line , at a walk, and work at getting him to walk a good cirlcle around you, with a slight bend in his body and with him giving your his attention, as evidenced by an ear cocked on you and some bend of the neck toward you . He is very young, so don't expect him to maintain this for a long time.

If he wanders away mentally (starts to counterbend and look outward) you can take do things like give the line a little wiggle, and one that I like is to step around behind the horse a little., Just a little. He will turn back to see what is going behind him, and then you will have his attention again and you ask him to step on forward. this can be very tricky because the horse may swing his hind away from you and end up facing you, so you have to experiment with how little you can move to bring his attention back to you, without making him swing his hind out.

if he pigroots, you can also ask him to move on faster. he will have to raise his head in order to move faster. that is what I would do either lunging or under saddle.


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## stephk (Oct 3, 2011)

lilruffian said:


> Putting their head down can be a cause of several things and it's hard to fix the problem without first discovering the cause. Many times horses will put their heads down because they are thinking of stopping and that is when they tend to stumble. Same thing goes for his wanting to cut in close when circling. He does not want to do it and is trying to find a way to stop without openly being beligerent or getting into a fight, which may happen down the road.
> I would suggest driving him on more firmly, even if you have to push for a lope, until he moves with his head at a proper level. Direction changes can work well in this case also.
> Same goes for when you are in the saddle. Drive him forward and collect him with your reins if you have to, just be sure that you are not drawing too hard on the reins so as to give him mixed signals and remember to release the pressure when he does what you want.
> Timing and release of pressure is always the key when training horses.
> ...


I knew when I was lunging him I should have started to drive him more forward when he did this but with my 12 ft lead I was a little nervous he might buck and that was too close for my comfort! Next time I will lunge him with a longer line!


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## TheAQHAGirl (Aug 10, 2012)

I've always been taught that when a horse puts his head down (to the ground) at any gait while being lunged is a sign of submission and/or relaxation. 

Some of what the others have said could be true as well.


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

There's definitely a difference between lowering the head, relaxing and submitting to the bit / handler and rooting in the dirt. I had a horse that would root his nose in the dirt because he was thinking of doing something rude (bucking, ducking out, in general taking advantage of you). It doesn't sound like OP's horse is just 'submitting'.


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## stephk (Oct 3, 2011)

alexischristina said:


> There's definitely a difference between lowering the head, relaxing and submitting to the bit / handler and rooting in the dirt. I had a horse that would root his nose in the dirt because he was thinking of doing something rude (bucking, ducking out, in general taking advantage of you). It doesn't sound like OP's horse is just 'submitting'.


No, even though I am a green rider, I know he is not submitting. This is quite different from lowering his head in submission.


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## lchad (Oct 26, 2010)

Are you sure he's not stretching his topline? All my horses warm up this way and also cool down long and low. I also let my horses stretch between exercises throughout the workout. If he is seeking the bit, let him do it as long as it is your idea. Snatching the reins is not nice.


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## Haflinger (Jul 16, 2007)

lchad said:


> Are you sure he's not stretching his topline? All my horses warm up this way and also cool down long and low. I also let my horses stretch between exercises throughout the workout. If he is seeking the bit, let him do it as long as it is your idea. Snatching the reins is not nice.


I agree....!
I had the same question... My oldest one did this quite a bit....
sometimes half the length down the arena, I let him, it was more when he just started up but even now he frequently relaxes his back this way...
It might increase with more work and when you condition him right it will decrease, because the muscles get trained and conditioned correctly and the stretching will be less frequent!
Some riders work for that their whole life and never achieve it... 

If it has a different reason, well without a "why" it is hard to fix...
Check for tight muscles in the topline, where the saddle may have caused an issue. ,is the tail relaxed swinging or clamped....


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