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.

I had a part arab mare years ago that did this, had her checked out by a vet who said she had ear mites. treated her for that but made no difference at all. she would even do the head tossing whilst galloping, it was a real pain.

running martingale did work to some degree but like you I didnt want to use it. in the end I sold her back to the people I brought her from to breed from

I have a wonderful 5 year old gelding,AQHA. He has been seriosly injured and my vet and dentist agree he will have to be ridden in a bitless bridle. what are the rules in AQHA. can you ride 1 handed in a bosal? please give me feedback. I reallly love this horse and hate to retire him.

I believe until they are 5yrs. At that point they have to be ridden in a shank bit. Reining it is based on the horses earnings.

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.

I have over the years had two nice hunters that were "head shakers" They flip their nose suddenly, quickly up and down, often very quickly. One even went so far as to lift his front leg up when he flipped his nose up. There have been several ideas, treatments, issues "tossed" around throught the years. Some horses tend to do it more when first worked in bright sunlight. Some it is seasonal, some it is regional, some you just never know. we first flush the tear ducts to be sure they haven't gotten a blocked tear duct causing pressure in the nose. The duct drains at the end of each nostril. We then check allergies, scope and X-ray head. All have been within normal limits. Things that have been of great help.
Antihistimine treatment, Cyproheptadine, 3 day withdrawl to show. Cover the entire nose with a thick riders hair net. Now they actually make nets to cover the nose Dover Catalog has them for horses now, we used to just use the thicker nets you buy in tack stores. We lightly spritz the end of each nostril with the medication used when they intubate people. When you are standing around between classes we drape a damp wash cloth over the horses noseband, long enough to cover the nose. I have found a softer feel, even a "sidepull" helps a little. Riding the horse on the bit makes no difference, in fact I have seen the condition get worse. One of the horses almost completely recovered once we moved back to Oklahoma, only at show where they used a lot of Cedar to decorate jumps, did he start to revert. Nothing is more distracting than riding down to a 3 foot 6 inch line and have your horse disrupt the stride and distance by flinging their nose straight up. Good Luck

Very interesting. I had a German Warmblood in training a year or so ago with this head 'flicking.' It is not a shake, but a flick. The owners did all kinds of tests and ruled out light sensitivity and I think allergies. They did find swelling in his neck vertebra, however, the doctors did not feel this was the problem.

Last I heard the horse was improving, but not with drugs, but with a training regimen that is done by Gabriele Rachen-Schoneich and Klaus Schoneich. They have a book called Straightening the Crooked Horse that explains their ideas. It does not tell you how to go about it, however. It is interesting reading and a lot of the product they get from their exercises are the same as I get with mine.

However, I do not think that mountain girl is witnessing the head 'flicking' you and I are talking about. It is always best to make sure the horse is healthy, allergies/teeth/ears, especially if the horse shows no improvements with training. However, the bone scan my client did was not cheap and so some are limited to the amount of testing they can do. If you can find no issues and training does not help, you have a decision to make. (Head flicking is considered a dangerous behavior by vets.) Can you can live with it, if it is merely annoying or do you need to sell the horse.

LazyJD, glad you also start with the involvement of your vet. Most often finding out a cuase is more of finding out is NOT the cause. For a large part of the horse owners, the cost of some of the testing can prohibit some of the tests. We started out with all the easy tests, blood work to show if there is some chronic inflammation, scope to insure all is well with their ability to breath and swallow. Allergy testing, if it tends to worsen at certain times each year, that is a good place to check. Some of the X-rays and MRI's get not only expensive but also there is a risk when you need to lay one down where the largest x-ray machine is located. It was a good idea to check for spinal, CNS involvement. We did the head films and got a good look at the atlas and axis.
The use of the thicker hair nets have always worked the best. If only a little improvement is seen. I have gotten good results using the hair nets, you need to use a full cheek bit. If the horse has a dark muzzle, the nets can almost be invisible. It is a cheap, safe thing to try in any event. The hunter that improved after moving from the east coast to rural OK is allergic to cedar, we now only need to use the nets when we show at a show that uses a lot of cedar to fill in jumps.
For a head tosser LazyJD gave good advice. Work toward straight, from leg to hand, with a good impulsion. Keep their bodies and minds busy working for you. The head tossing, and rubber neck will improve with a straight, forward, balanced horse. Some breeds tend to have a little bigger ego's, and feel quite proud of themselves.
Good Luck with your horse.