what do you do??

to get your horses head down and in the correct position? I tighten my reins and squeeze with my legs but I've heard some people had other tricks to do it. sometimes backing helps me too. but I was wondering if anyone else had a different way of doing it. it works fine for me, it just takes a while, and sometimes some patience. sometimes I go out to ride and Jazz is incredible. he does it the first time I ask him and its great. most of the time though, not so much. so does anyone have any tricks?? this is a picture of him on one of those good days. I wish he were like this all the time.

People have all sorts of tricks and tools to get their horses head into a set.. however.. a correct and appropriate headset happens naturally when your horse is correctly tracking up and moving off his hind end.. Now it sounds like you are doing this correctly, even though you may not know it ;) asking your horse for forward motion but keeping your hand firm will ideally, stop him from running through your hands and continue on the forehand, and will cause him to lighten on the front and engage the hind end .. Getting a horse to properly lighten on the front and engage the hind can take years and years of hard work.. dont get frustrated that you arent 100% there yet all the time.. it takes AWHILE especially when you do it correctly rather than by artificial means

It all depends on the horse. JC puts his head in a perfect place without having to do much of anything, but he is built that way. Another horse I have doesn't have a perfect head set so with him, I use my legs and push him up into his bridle. The important thing to always realize is a horse is built the way he is built and can only put his head in a certain place that is best for him or her.

It all depends on the horse. JC puts his head in a perfect place without having to do much of anything, but he is built that way. Another horse I have doesn't have a perfect head set so with him, I use my legs and push him up into his bridle. The important thing to always realize is a horse is built the way he is built and can only put his head in a certain place that is best for him or her.

Thats a really great point too..
for example, i was talking about being light on the forehand an tracking up.. this is ideally what you want in ur riding, however, with a horse that is built downhill, that can be really almost impossible.. sometimes you can only do so much with what you have.. the key is to knowing what you have to work with and not push a horse to do something he or she just isnt physically capable of

ditto to what they said! the trick at first is not force them to hold their head in with a very tight rein-the horse should accept a light contact on his mouth, sort of like the weight of a purse in each hand (not your every day purse with all the crap in it, a purse that contains maybe cell phone, wallet and chapstick haha)
you don't have a noseband on your bridle and it's hard to tell what type of bit you are using, but keep in mind that some bits are harder on a horse's mouth than others and can make this a little tougher to teach as well.
for dressage, the power should come from behind, and the arch of the horse's neck to create the headset comes from flexion and submission, not just from being held there. as horses progress in their training and begin to carry more of their weight on their backends, their headset will actually look more elevated.
Because a horse uses it's entire back to have a "correct" headset in dressage, it takes a lot of muscle. Your horse may be getting tired! If they do it for several steps at first, that is good! just keep a good rhythm and build a little more every day. if he seems to get sore in the back or neck, rest him for a few days and then work on it again a little bit. It's very hard for them to do it at first!
To ask a horse that has never learned to put it's head down,
1. I push them into a good walk, not rushing so that it's pacing, but it should feel like the walk they do when they are heading back to the barn- head bobbing, moving you around in the saddle.
2. Then, take up the reins so that you have a light feel on them (like your purse)
3. Then, ask for a circle about 20meters wide by shifting your weight onto one seatbone a little more than the other.
4. Once you have your circle going, squeeze and release with your inside hand with the rhythm of the walk, like you are squeezing water from a sponge. squeeze-2-3-4, squeeze-2-3-4. The horse will do something, either with the speed of the walk or with it's head.
5. When you have the result you want, stop squeezing on the rein!
6. The horse will do it for a step or 2, then put its head back up. Of course, right? it's hard to balance that way when he's never done it before! So you ask again.
7. The trick is to always be a step ahead of the horse and ask when you feel they are going to shift. the horse will feel rounder when you are doing it right, almost like they are rolling their back when they are up under themselves and the walk will feel bouncier.
8. once you are used to asking, do most of your work at the trot. this is because it's easier to keep a rhythm at a trot...squeeze-2, squeeze-2 and because it's never that great to fiddle with the horse at the walk- then they are more likely to creep around or get fussy. with the trot, you have more natural impulsion to help the horse carry itself.
I hope I haven't talked too much... I just get all excited about this stuff!
Good luck!

sounds like Im doing it right, but Im impatient! thats alright. I guess spending time with my horse is a sacrifice I will have to make...j/k, I love riding....DUH. so I'll just try to be more patient and work harder on it. Jazz will love that. I got back home from vacation and he was FAT! I was like, I was only gone for a month and a half! so now we're getting back in shape. but its too hot in the afternoon to do it so I go at 7 in the morning. OH DANG THATS NOW! gotta go!

I used to do a little trick with Chico to get him to set his head while trotting...
I would sort of rotate shifting my hands with each trot step. Like allow my hands to gently half halt one hand then the other according to which step we are on and he would set his head immediately. It keeps him on the bit well at the trot. I do the same at the canter. Of course, he was taught that way too so I am not sure if this is something that works on other horses as well. It works for Goober too as long as he is on his rear. When he's forehand heavy, he leans heavily and I have to get him off his front...but he's still in basic training. ;)

i know this is old post,but i just wanted to add that i do it the same way you do..i just give a little tickle with my inside rein while holding outside rein,just to remind horse to stay there if head creeps up and then at same time using my leg aids to push him up to it and then give a little to basiclly to reward for doing it right..after a while done enough times in flat schooling he will evenually do it all the time.note shifting reins in each trot step is not encouraged to keep frame as it encorages head swinging as is veery hard to retrain out of.
holding too tight a rein and then pushing up.must be taking care that the horse does not learn to lean on forehand..as i have had experience riding horses that have been ridin into this problem.
just keep soft giving hands and good leg aids and you will do fine with the riding in a frame.