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Dropping Head Cue
OBJECTIVE
The
objective of this lesson is to teach the horse to lower its head when pressure
is applied to the poll. Using our fingers, or halter pressure, we want the
horse to lower its head and neck to whatever height asked in a relaxed manner,
with a submissive look on his face.
WHY DO WE WANT THIS?
We want to be able to do
this is because it helps when haltering or bridling, and it helps keep him more
relaxed and submissive. How many times have you felt that you had to stand on
your tiptoes to halter or bridle? Wouldn't it be nice to have your horse lower
his head to your belt line, enabling you to gently put the halter or bridle on?
It also helps the horse understand that pressure behind his ears, on his poll
area, means he should submit and give to the pressure, rather than pull against
it and panic. This exercise is particularly useful for horses that do not like
to be tied.
GETTING STARTED - THE
TEACHING PHASE
What we eventually want
the horse to do is, as soon as he feels pressure on his poll from two fingers,
he immediately softens his head and neck and lowers it to whatever level we
ask. Where we place our fingers is not really that important; but as a general
rule, there is a hard lump of bone between the horse's ears. Just about an inch
behind that spot is where I want to put my thumb and index finger - then press
with my fingertips on either side of the mane. My fingers will be about an inch
apart. I then apply pressure with my fingers - kind of like I'm pinching the
horse's mane together. This is an uncomfortable feeling on the horse's mane and
skin. What I want him to do is lower his head and reward himself by moving away
from that pressure.
Now, if I keep that
pressure on, he should keep lowering his head until it gets to the ground. If I
take it off, he should stay at that level until I ask him to either bring his
head up or lower it further. Eventually, what we want is for the horse to
become so light and sensitive, that as soon as we touch the poll gently with
one finger, he immediately lowers his head. He will also learn to do this when
pressure is applied by the halter and lead rope; thus when pressure is felt
from the halter behind his ears, he will lower his head.
I want my horse to drop
his head in a relaxed manner when I approach with a halter. Once I have taught
him to drop his head, it soon becomes a habit everytime I halter or bridle.
Eventually, when I enter the stall, the first thing they do is lower their
head. If you do not halter or bridle until your horse lowers his head every
single time, it will soon become a habit for your horse, too. Pretty soon, you
won't have to ask him to lower his head; he will offer it by himself.
Now, we have described
what we want to see happen and what the horse should do. Realistically, this is
not going to happen on the first try. The equipment you will use is a rope
halter and a lead rope. I like to use a rope halter for this because I find
that the horse doesn't lean on it nearly as much; but a traditional webbed
halter will also work. The lead rope should be 10-14 feet long.
In the beginning, stand on
your horse's near side. Place your left fingers slightly inside the cheek piece
of the halter and hold it. Be careful not to place your whole hand or arm
inside the halter, in case he should rear up or run away, to avoid being caught
in the halter. Your right hand will be used to apply pressure to the horse's poll.
The reason you should hold
the halter with your left hand is because in the beginning most horses will
start to resist when you apply pressure to their poll. They may throw their
head around, lift it up in the air or shake it from side to side. Occasionally,
you may get a horse that is very disrespectful or resistant. When he is trying
to avoid dropping his head, he may accidentally move around vigorously; and you
don't want him to smack you in the face with his head.
When you apply pressure to
the horse's poll, you will do so very lightly in the beginning. I start off
with the lightest amount of pressure possible - just touching the hair with two
fingers. If the horse does not respond by lowering his head, I will increase
that pressure and I will press with my two fingers as if pinching him. If the
horse still does not respond by lowering his head, I will dig my fingers in a
little bit, adding more pressure. I will continue to dig my fingers in harder
and harder until eventually it's uncomfortable enough for the horse and he
tries to relieve himself.
In the beginning, he will
probably throw his head up or side to side and generally resist. When he does
this, try not to stop him from resisting you. All you need to do is maintain
the pressure above his poll until he lowers his head. In the beginning, when he
lowers his head, he may just lower it a half-inch. As soon as he does this, it
is very important that you immediately take your right hand away from the horse
for at least two or three seconds. Act like the horse is burning your hand -
like you touched a frying pan - and you quickly take your hand away. The
quicker you can remove the pressure from your hand when the horse responds by
lowering his head, the quicker he will realize that when he submits and lowers
his head, the pressure is removed immediately. Then place your right hand
between the horse's ears and gently rub him with your hand. That lets him know
that your hand is not going to make him feel uncomfortable every time it
touches him.
So rub the horse for two
or three seconds and then repeat the procedure. Keep repeating this exercise
over and over again; and you will be amazed at how quickly your horse
understands that when he feels pressure from your two fingers on his poll area,
the only escape from pressure is to lower his head. As soon as he lowers his
head, you must immediately take the pressure away. Usually, after five or six
minutes, most horses will understand that just a slight pressure from your
fingers means he should lower his head all the way to the ground.
The key to this exercise
is to do a little step at a time and to reward the slightest try. Every time
your horse tries to drop his head, take your fingers away and then rub him. Do
it in that order: apply pressure, he releases, you take your hand away, wait
two or three seconds and then rub him.
If you neglect the part of
rubbing him with your hand, some horses will become defensive and every time
you touch them with your fingers on their poll, they will automatically think
they may become more defensive and afraid. So, it is very important to let them
know that you only want them to lower their head when they feel steady
pressure. When they just feel your hand rubbing, it means relax.
In the beginning, expect
resistance. The biggest mistake people make is trying to push the horse's head
down lower once he begins to lower it on his own. Act like your horse is
lifting his head up and actually pushing into your fingers. Then, when he
lowers away from your fingers, you do not keep pushing downward. Your hand
should actually do the opposite and go away from the horse's head.
COMMON MISTAKES
- People try to push the horse's head down.
What
you are trying to do is apply pressure to the poll area and let him figure out
that lowering his head will get him away from that pressure.
- Too much pressure is applied too quickly.
Start
gently, and then slowly start to pinch your fingers and make it more and more
uncomfortable every couple of seconds until, finally after five or six seconds,
you are applying quite a bit of pressure to your horse's poll.
- The handler releases the pressure when the
horse is resisting or becoming defensive.
Every
time the horse throws his head up in the air or resists you, and you take your
fingers away, you are teaching him that all he has to do is resist to get away
from the pressure. Every time he lowers his head and you remove the pressure,
you are teaching him to lower his head to be rewarded.
- Your horse seems to ignore you and doesn't want
to lower his head.
You
may not be adding enough pressure to make it uncomfortable enough for him.
Remember, horses learn through comfort versus discomfort. You have to be very
consistent with your rewards, as well as making it uncomfortable for your horse
when he does the wrong things.
DROPPING THE HEAD -
PHASE TWO
Once your horse is
consistently lowering his head from light pressure - barely touching with your
two fingers above his poll - you must now start teaching the horse to do the
same exercise with a halter and lead rope. Every time you pull down on the lead
rope or apply pressure, he should immediately follow that pressure and lower
his head. This should come very easily if you have done your homework and
haven't cheated in the Teaching Phase. If you haven't gotten the horse lowering
consistently, don't go to Phase Two. It will take a lot longer and you won't
get the results you are looking for.
In the beginning, I like
to use a rope halter because it is more uncomfortable for your horse to lean
against. Start out by applying downward pressure with both hands just below the
snap. As in the Teaching Phase, don't try to pull the horse's head down. Act
like you are applying pressure, and he is lowering to that pressure.
Apply both hands to the
lead rope and increase the pressure to the halter by pulling downwards, maybe
one or two ounces, and maintain that same pull. Wait there; and as soon as the
horse lowers his head, immediately take both hands off the rope and rub him.
The quicker you release your hands, the quicker your horse will feel the
release from the lead rope. What most people do, unfortunately, is when the
horse lowers its head, they keep pulling the rope down. Remember, don't think
"pull" - think "set up the pressure and wait for him to release
to it." Once his head is down, rub him on the face and reward him. Do this
over and over again.
If your horse ignores you,
start to add a little bit more pressure to the lead rope - just keep adding a
little bit of pressure every couple of seconds to make it more uncomfortable.
If your horse lifts his head up when you apply pressure to the lead rope,
that's fine. Some horses will do that in the beginning. Just go with him kind
of like a yo-yo, but try not to release the pressure on the halter. Even if he
raises his head up, go up and down with him but keep the pressure there. Every
single time he drops his head, however, even a little bit, release that
pressure instantly. Act like the rope is burning and take your hands away. Then
rub him. It won't take him very long to know that when he feels the halter
pressure over his poll area, he should immediately lower his head.
Every single time your
horse picks up his head and neck without being asked, apply pressure to the
lead rope and wait for him to drop it back down. As soon as he drops it, take
the pressure off the lead rope again. This will teach him to stay at whatever
level you want. If you don't tell him to lift, he shouldn't lift his head.
Phase Two of this exercise
will work very quickly if you have done your job right, you haven't cheated,
and your horse understands the lesson of the Teaching Phase. So spend two or
three days and do the Teaching Phase first. If you are having trouble with
Phase Two, it is usually because you haven't done a good enough job in the
Teaching Phase.
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