Head Yanking at Walk

[midnightsecret]

Hello all

Comments

[miladyelizabeth]

How are her teeth? Any time I hear of weird new behaviors like this I think teeth.

[midnightsecret]

Her teeth are fine - we had a vet out to check them recently. I normally would think the same thing! :)

[_kollision]

I would suggest an second opinion from an actual equine dentist. Vets...often don't really know what they're doing when it comes to teeth.

[penella22]

I know you had her teeth looked at, and it sounds like that was pretty recently?

The next thing I think of is possible saddle pain. And that might make sense if she's been out of work for a few months; her shape could have changed. Some horses let you know by bucking, but if she is trying to communicate her discomfort she's picked a far nicer method...

That picture is HUUUUGE!! You can resize it in most places like photobucket etc. It takes a long time to load right now. Pretty horse though!

[midnightsecret]

Sorry - resized the picture. I hope it's better now.

That's a good idea with the saddle. We use a gel pad for some extra cushion, but maybe we should have someone to come out to look at the fit of the saddle. I think she has put on a few lbs due to the scarcity of work, so that would make sense... And yes, the vet was out recently to look at her teeth.

Thanks for your suggestion!

[greyskyridge]

Normally I am very non-aggressive, but this behavior is fucking RUDE.

If she did it to me more than twice in one ride, she would get a no-foolin' pop with one rein and then get backed up a few steps firmly. Then she could do an up-canter transition out of the halt and hand-gallop the long side, so that she can learn that trying to rip my arms out gets her a gank in the teeth and put to work promptly.

If what you are doing isn't helping you are probably being too nice. Correct her like you mean it and she'll quit it.

[skyringer]

This. Harper gets mouth and cranky, particularly when she's going back into work off a lay off (kinda like NOW), a pop gets her attention, especially if it's followed by lots of yielding the head work.

[rhondabelle]

This This This. My mare did this when she started working. Saddle fit fine, her teeth were fine, she just didnt' want to work. Sounds to me like yours just doesn't want to go back to work.

[silverblaidd]

God why would you do that to a horse?

Yes, punish the crap out of her. Punishment works so well.

[hold_onhope]

Check her eyes. I knew a mare who would flip her head like that. At first we thought it was behavioral, but it just got worse no matter what discipline she got. Eventually we noticed her doing it even while she was alone in her stall not being bothered.

I don't know what the official diagnosis was, but it had something to do with her sight, oversensitivity or something like that. (It was something that developed over time, not something she was born with.) Her owner rides her with a fly mask to filter the light, and it seems to do the trick. I don't know if this is what is going on with your mare, but it might be worth checking out.

[moonfeather]

Head flicking can also be caused by an allergy to surrounding tree pollens irritating the face. Or so ive heard. Interesting to hear about the eye-sight thing, thanks for sharing.

[blitzen_]

yep. head shaking syndrome i think we call it here.

[default_reality]

I was going to say as I got about halfway through this comment "I bet they rode her in a fly mask!"

ahaha. :)

[young_modern]

you said you get her to trot or work in some other way when she does it. but what do your hands do when she jerks on the reins [when she's not already on a completely loose rein]? does she manage to pull the reins out of your hands, even just a smidge? do your arms go forward to follow her head movement?

in addition to the suggestion of giving her a good pop [i personally prefer to airmfor the shoulder/chest if i can], i would also suggest keeping your hands solid. if she wants to be bratty and jerk on the reins, let her bang on the bit and maybe she'll realize it's not such a good idea. be soft when she's soft.

[moonfeather]

This.

[default_reality]

I've done this before - but as he only did it while standing, I'd just plant my hands on the pommel and let him nail himself >.>