Quote:
Originally Posted by mountaingirl1961
I have a 10-year-old Arab gelding who's new to my place - he's been here about a month. He's a real pleasure to ride, has a LOT of go AND is pretty level-headed in the scheme of things.
He has a habit of head tossing. I think it's just part of how he plays, he does it all the time in the field, too. Throws his nose straight up in the air, shakes it around a bit as it's coming down, tosses it once or twice before moving on. However, while it's funny to watch in the field, I'm less appreciative when he does it under saddle.
His previous owner rode him with a running martingale and that does help him keep his head down. However, I'd prefer not to use it, and he and I are both happier riding with a loose rein. Any other ideas?
He's in an egg-butt snaffle, FWIW. Other than this little foible he's a really good guy.
There is the "Arab fling" that refers to when a horse takes his head from one side and down and away to the other side type of head shake. High spirits. I would have the horse checked by the vet and if they find nothing I would work on teaching the horse to soften to the bridle. I love Arabs and have one of my own. He loves doing the fling thing, but has learned to stay soft in the bridle and thus not doing it under saddle. It is possible to teach the horse this new head carriage without a martingale.