Lex always tossed her head at the lope. I taught her to drop it instead. It takes a while to teach this at liberty, no ropes no gimmicks to achieve the head to drop. Never forced, only clear communication, consistency and routine.
By teaching Lexus to drop her head instead of tossing it she is building top line, a strong back, strong hip and natural collection. If her head is up, she will be hollowing her back, traveling on her front end and building incorrect muscle memory. It’s much harder to teach a horse to move correctly under saddle if they are allowed to move incorrectly at liberty.
I don’t know about you, but if there’s a battle, I much rather assess and correct it from the ground not from their backs.
Riding is supposed to be fun for both horse and rider. Riding is a close partnership with your animal. I refuse to get into battles while riding. If there’s a hiccup and the horse starts to act up I go back to groundwork. Horses don’t just act up, there’s always a reason or possibly a hole in their training. Ground work and refreshers are needed all throughout the horses education journey. I have yet to run into an issue that groundwork has not solved.
Soft horses come from patience, understanding and routine.
J Randol horse training 