Lower Your Horse's Head

© 2005-2009, Keith Hosman - All Rights Reserved

While plenty of my articles teach you how to drop your horses head while you're actively riding, (to travel in a more "collected" frame, to "calm down," etc.) this article will show you how to do so while you're standing still. There are two reasons you'll want to know this material: One, if you're standing around (daisy-chain style) hanging out with your equestrian buds, you'll want a way to tell a mischievous horse "quit playing games with that appaloosa and behave yourself. Drop your head, leave it there, quit antagonizing me and the appy." Two, you can take this material and extrapolate. Learn this routine at a standstill, mull over what you pick up and try the concepts out while walking, trotting, loping, spinning, barreling... etc. (Yes, the approach to bringing the horse's head down here is slightly different from the things you might try while moving but I'm not going into it because that'd be really, really boring.) Oh actually, there are three reasons to learn this exercise: This is a pretty neat trick once you get it down pat and it makes you look really cool. (That's the reason I'd learn it, personally.)

I teach this routine to students in my clinics and you would be amazed at how many observers will jump up, wanting to know how to do this themselves when they get home. Performing this "trick" on horses, teaching a horse to instantly drop his head after he's spent the morning with his head craned to the skies, is a great sales technique, frankly, for the Lyons methods. It's very simple, takes mere minutes to teach and, if you read this and it ain't working later you're either trying too hard or you're not applying enough motivation to your horse to "figure it out." More on motivation and what-to-look-for later. (As a rule of thumb, John Lyons' son Josh frequently teaches this in under two minutes... from the moment he first picks up the reins. Once practiced, however, mere mortals such as you and me should expect this to take... more than two minutes.)

Your goal will be this: When practiced to perfection, you should be able to pick up your reins gingerly with two fingers (like holding a stinky sock) to a height of about two inches and the horse will drop his head like a rock in a pond. While reading and practicing this you should: Be thinking of how you can put these concepts to work for you (in whole or in part) when you're riding later.

What you should know about this exercise: If you own a gaited horse, practicing this material may make you think you've broken your horse, and not in a good way. (But you haven't, keep reading.) You'll teach the horse to drop his head when you pick up the reins and at some point, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, you may find him either carrying it too low because he misunderstands or because he's obnoxiously evading your bit pressure. Regardless of why it happens, (or to whom) remember that it's our release that tells the horse where to carry his head. If you work through this material and suddenly you've got a peanut roller on your hands, simply hold pressure on the reins till the head finds the level you're looking for (what's "natural" for your horse) and release your pressure. (So, nutshell: If you teach this at a standstill, and your horse begins dropping his head incorrectly later while moving, simply hold your pressure until the head is in the right position. Hint: You may need to lock your fists against the saddle to keep the horse from pulling the reins free, giving himself an unwarranted release.)

Hop on your horse, take up your reins evenly with both hands and apply three pounds of pressure. (The number of pounds is an approximation, adjust accordingly. Also, it doesn't matter which direction you pull from your horse simply wants you out of his mouth.) Pause. Now, here's where we try something a little different from our typical training. Most of the time, we want to release the reins when the horse "gives to pressure." Now, however, we want to perform a little reverse psychology. This time I want you to wait and feel for the horse to pull against you.

(If you're saying "What the heck does he mean 'apply x-amount of pressure'? I can't picture that." Yeah, that never made sense to me either until I realized that your typical coffee can holds about four pounds of feed and picking up a full can would feel the same as if I applied four pounds of pressure when pulling on something... like the horse's mouth. That's a good way to "picture in your mind" what it should feel like when you pick up the reins. Plus, habitually quantifying the pressure you apply to the reins is a good way to chart your improvement (or the lack thereof) because it tells you whether your horse is progressing or not. If it took four pounds yesterday, it should take less than four today. But... if it's more than four, you'll know objectively that you're doing something wrong. Think back over what you've been doing, tie off your loose ends or try something entirely different.)

So, you're sitting up there, applying three pounds of even pressure to the reins... It may happen in ten seconds or you may find yourself waiting half a minute longer, but (typically) within a minute you should feel the horse either pull against you or lower his head. The instant he does, no matter how slight, you let go. And here's your key to success... when you do release, you must allow the reins to "be pulled from" your hands, (as opposed to "letting go"). When you first begin, and the horse just barely drops his head or pulls against you, you'll need to exaggerate this release by actively dropping your hands while simultaneously allowing the reins to be pulled from your grip. Later, when his head drops further, you can simply allow them to be pulled, dispensing with the exaggerated movement. This is the most important factor, so Ill repeat: You must motivate the horse to actually pull the reins through your hands to gain its release.

Frequently Asked Question: Will the horse then learn the nasty habit of pulling on the reins? Answer: Yes, briefly, as described several paragraphs above. We're counting on that, though, and will use it to our advantage here. We'll know this and be conscious to "go back and fix" this when or if it crops up. Frequently in our training we'll break one thing while fixing another. I'm sure you've seen that many times yourself. Two steps forward, one back. Your horse needs to learn to read your body language, to learn that picking up the reins with you "sitting like so" means one thing and you picking up the reins "sitting another way" means something else. That's what practice is all about: Push your horse to stop reacting and to start thinking. To reiterate the fix from above: If you feel that your horse is rudely or incorrectly pulling away, simply hold your pressure till the head is in the correct position AND he releases the pressure you feel through his neck (or, he's "polite").

FAQ2: "How does the horse know to drop his head to his knees while I'm standing here and then to only drop it x-amount later when we're riding?" Answer: With practice, a combination of factors will tell the horse what you're looking for: 1) The situation the horse knows you typically ask for such-and-such while hanging out with your friends and something entirely different when rounding a barrel. If you don't think this is true, then why does your horse know to run from the bridle in your hand but toward the feed bucket in your hand? Or to meet you at the gate at feeding time but to run away when you remove the halter? Or where the exit to the arena is or that you always stop loping at Frank's driveway? 2) As stated, it's your release. Practicing this material gives you the ability to put the horse's head at any elevation simply based on when you release the reins. 3) Your body position. When you simply concentrate on something, you make small changes in the way you carry your body. Your horse reads this. Whether you're standing or being carried, your horse has nature's gift of reading body language innately.

Tip: As you release the reins, this will go much quicker if you release as if "reverse milking a cow." I'll explain: Put your hand out, making a fist. Now, one finger at a time, open your hand, starting with your pinky and working up toward your index finger. So, as the horse tugs on the reins, you will allow them to be pulled, you'll slightly drop your hands and arms to follow the motion and finally you'll open your fist, one finger at a time, pinky finger then ring finger then bird finger then, lastly, index finger and thumb. (When you and the horse have learned this exercise, you can dispense with the theatrics and simplify your movements but the exaggerated actions will help you communicate to your horse and find a rhythm in the beginning.) This seemingly bizarre tip will cause you to find the timing you need to hurry this particular exercise along. You'll find a similar situation described in my article "How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro." You may want to check that out.

If your horse moves backwards: Ignore it; don't try to stop him, just allow yourself to be carried and stay focused, waiting for him to pull. He's most likely signaling that he's not "giving to pressure" but let's not over think this. Horses often try walking backwards for awhile. If you ignore it, it'll stop when they learn it doesn't afford a release. Fixing it would complicate matters. (Okay, okay, okay, you may want to try this when he backs up if it's bugging you: Don't change anything, keep that even pressure on the reins, but if he backs up, try sitting up straight. This changes the tilt of your pelvis and your weight distribution and oftentimes signals to even the most recalcitrant horse that you're not looking for "back." Again, though, the simplest course is to just ignore the back up and let it fade on its own)

Motivation and expectations: If you're sitting up there, applying your even pressure and nothing happens for a full minute: You're either looking for too much of a drop in the horse's head elevation or too much "pull" from him. Back off your expectations and "release on less." Remember, we want him to pull against us in this case to gain a release so a horse that is "just hanging out" is almost certainly applying at least a little downward pressure otherwise his head would be floating. Build on that. Find a way to irritate him enough to MAKE him want to pull away. If your horse seems content to allow you to hang on the reins forever, motivate him by applying more bit pressure (a few more pounds, not fifty). If still nothing, try gently drumming his sides equally with both of your legs. Find a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 beat and stick with it. If still nothing, you can increase the intensity of your thumping stay rhythmic and know that more often than not, full-out kicking is not the answer. More often than not, you're looking for too much of a change from your horse and need to scale back on "what it takes to get a release."

When you can pick up the two reins, apply even pressure and consistently cause the horse to tug downward, it's a simple thing to repeat the process, asking for more and more and more, until his head will drop to his knees or lower. In the end, he'll be dropping his head not as you actually apply pressure but when you simply reach for the rein. Accomplishing this, takes a pattern and a sort of "tempo to your training." You know how, when a fly lands on you and you swat him away and several seconds later he's back again and again and again like clockwork you know that pattern? That's what you'll replicate here, with a very similar pattern and attitude. (You're the fly.) You http://www.horsemanship101.com/Catalog/John-Lyons-Reins.html, he pushes his nose down, you release as if "reverse milking" the cow. Pause a beat. Pick up the reins, egg him on to pull away, release as he does. Each time you do this, ask for one percent more "down with the head" than the time before. If he stalls out or plateaus, respond by thumping his sides (again, at a steady, Indian-dance-tom-tom beat).

When you can pick up the two reins, apply even pressure and cause the horse to reliably drop his head to his knees, build on this by making the drop of his head happen fluidly. They'll usually begin dropping their head, let's say 12 inches and then hesitate, then maybe another 8 inches and hesitate again. Make the whole movement fluid by giving the horse a slight release of pressure (as a reward) as it begins to drop, but hold the reins in your hand till he hesitates, then add a small amount of pressure back to say "Keep going." Release fully only when the head drops to where you want it (and he's polite about it).

Finally, when you can pick up the two reins, apply even pressure and cause the horse to fluidly drop his head, you'll want to consciously "add a cue to" your request. When you apply pressure, you're applying motivation. "I'll let go when you do something." In the same way that touching your horse's back right flank can be your cue for a left lead departure (a cue, not a motivator), you simply picking up your reins in two fingers should become your horse's cue in this exercise. How do you get there? By progressively asking the horse to work on less. Actually work at using less and less pressure with each try, seeing if you can't wean your horse off "being made to do it." If he slips back in his training (let's say the next day or so), then just fall back to a point where he's really nailing it and work forward. Practice this exercise and you'll be amazed at how simply grasping the reins lightly in two fingers causes the horse to drop his head. (It'll amaze your friends, I promise you that.)

This article is part of the "John Lyons Horse Training" series. To read more, or to find a clinic or Certified John Lyons horse trainer near you, visit horsemanship101.com.

About the Author

Keith Hosman If your horse won't speed up, slow down, stop or turn, you missed the latest training methods from Josh and John Lyons.  Have you lost your confidence?  Want a horse to brag about?  Invest one weekend to make big changes with John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman.  Keith is based near San Antonio, TX and is available for clinics, private sessions and training.  He frequently conducts clinics and demonstrations with an event coming soon to a town near you. For more horse training articles, or to attend a clinic or find a John Lyons trainer living in your area, visit horsemanship101.com now.   No part of this article may be reproduced without the express written permission of Keith Hosman. To contact us regarding reprints or syndication of our articles (in print or online), please contact us via www.horsemanship101.com.