Tarrin’s Training Tips

I wrote this for my Facebook page several years ago

Headset - It’s not about the head...

Some of the most common statements I hear are: “I’ve been working to get my horses head down.” “This horse is high headed.” “My horse won’t keep its head down.” (During my lifetime I’ve used those statements. Then I realized that mentality was my problem.)

I want you to replace the above statements with the following: “I’ve been working to get my horse’s back up.” “My horse is blocked in the back.” “My horse doesn’t have the hind leg under and can’t come through the back to connect with my aides.”

The hardest thing I have to help riders do is forget about the head and stop managing the face with their hands. (One of the hardest things I have to do is not manage the face.)

The second hardest thing to get riders to do is get rid of the gadgets to set the head. They will give your short term results that will result in long term problems. They are a crutch for bad mechanics and are creating more problems than they are fixing. (I loved gadgets. The running martingale was my favorite... Now they collect dust in my tack room.)

The true problem with the head is not the head. It’s the horse not being balanced over the hind legs and coming through the back. We have to start by not micromanaging the face and getting the hind leg back under the horse. When we are fiddling with the face, the horse is too worried about its mouth to listen to our seat and leg. They are busy avoiding our hand instead of connecting with our aides. The horse is working at evasion not connection.

As humans we struggle with not micromanaging what’s in front of us. We need to focus on what’s behind us and what’s under us. When we have those pieces balanced, the head won’t be an issue.

Trying to “set the head”, “soften the face”, “manage with the reins”, will create blockages and balance issues that will lead to behavioral issues.

When the back is unblocked and comes up, the head and neck will come down. Except during stretching exercises, the poll should always stay above the withers. Your horse can have its head down without its back up if you have been focusing on the head down and not balancing the body. This continued hollowness with bad mechanics will create pain and physical issues in the horse that will manifest as behavioral issues. They can only communicate through behavior and body language. When we miss the subtle body language, they will express themselves more loudly through behavior.

A horse that has spent a long time blocked and traveling hollow won’t make a magical turn around in days. It will take MONTHS to create the new habits and YEARS to finesse them. The bad muscle memory has to be overcome with better muscle memory. You become a physical therapist for your horse. It’s going to take TIME. (Your trainer isn’t just trying to take your 💰 💴)

REMEMBER:

The horse can only respond to the information it is receiving. The human has to change before the horse can change.

Forgive yourself. You do the best you can for your horse with the knowledge you have. As that knowledge increases, you become a better partner for your horse.

You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. Your horse is a forgiving creature.

The only bad rider is the one who has quit learning...