Ready, Set, HEAD..

CRAP, I hit publish again.. Jeeesh.
2010 has been my y2K, brain wise..

Okay, Ready, Set The Head. No, no, no. Full stop. It's backwards, this whole idea that the head position is where the horse being broke starts. Nope, it isn't.

I Know that's where you lead them from. You don't want to be pushing them around by their large, dangerous arses, do you? Hard to find a halter to fit those big butts. Imagine giving them a rectal twitch.. Yeah, the head is way easier for leading, less prone to flatulence, although goobers are always in the possibilities. Halter classes would certainly be more exciting, if we always pushed them around by their bums:)

However, did you ever notice that's what you firstly do when training babies to lead? Recalcitrant types? Horses with no go?
"No, I don't want to" usually becomes "forward go", if you push them from behind. Usually, I'm saying, you people with exceptions just TRY to be quiet for a minute, and think about it..
Hmmm, eh?

You do NOTHING with the head position, for the first several months/years of a horse's training. Okay, sorry, too much bold there.. NOTHING. If you do your early "stuff" correctly, the horse will naturally learn to relax through his top-line, and allow his back to swing, and voila. Horse's head will be in his very own right place. THAT's crucial too. Every horse is different, and each has a "sweet spot", where he can carry you comfortably, and still give you the roundness and softness and throughness we all like to ooooh over.

So, in answer to a question I received from Liz, don't worry about head set. Actually, Liz's little bay has a lovely natural head carriage. Red Mare is high-headed, and again, no need to change that, at all.

It's the wrong way to think about horse-or-any-animal training. Step one is getting them going forward consistently. Step two is being able to change speed and tempo. And those first two steps are the backbone, the foundation, for everything else that you do. It's that simple.
(No, it's not.)
Yes it is.
(No, it's NOT.)

Yes, it IS!!
(Stomps foot.. Hah!)
Sorry if I sound grumpy, I kinda am.
Post isn't finished, I wanted to ramble about spacing between trotting poles. See, even there, it depends.
But 4' is a good general rule. If your horse can take three trot strides betwixt, you need to buy an actual life-sized horse:)
I'll be baaaack.