> Today in my lesson my coach showed me how to hold the reins to coax my > lesson horse into a head set--he said it was good for the horse because > then > they'll work from their hind end instead of from their front making it > better for their back.
Wrong. That is riding the horse from the front, riding the horse's face. The coach doesn't understand biomechanics. It just doesn't work that way. > Isn't that just making an artificial head set? Yes. The head set is something that the horse gives you as a gift when everything else, from the back end forward is right. >>why will my lesson horse sometimes go into a head set on his own without me >>fiddling for one? Because he's been "trained" to do so, or he doesn't like the bit and is trying to evade it? >>How can one get the horse working from the hind end without making a head set? Work on the hindquarters and forget the head; let the horse use his head the way he needs to, while working on the back end exercises. Have you worked on counting cadence? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
