Anyone got a good fix on a stubborn old head thrower. Everytime this sour old horse gets the brakes put on he wants to throw his head up in the air.

I don't want to go to old cowboy tricks. But I do have a metal bosal, passed down idea. But it is pretty severe. But tends to work after about 2 rides.

Dont worry there is a minor pad used. No abuse. Just real pressure.

I am getting to old to be cowboyn' and thrown. Though it is fun to see how long you can stay on when you get older.

Especially when the boys are over.!

You can use a tie down, either the kind the is over their nose and tied to the girth or the kind that hooks to the halter and to the girth.

You can also use a running martingale. It gives the horse freedom of him head until you pull back on the reins, then it aids in having the horse bowe his neck instead of toss in the air.

Neither are severe and works extremely well! I used them while re-training my OTTBs!

I had quite a time with a head thrower back when I was a teen. That horse dumped me numerous times. The trainer ended up using a tie down, which worked wonders. I was scared to ride this horse for a bit. But, once I gathered courage, I couldn't believe the change in him with the tie down. It didn't take long to break him of it.

While a tiedown did solve the problem of my old mare throwing her head up, it caused her to begin trying to duck her head. She has never tried to throw me this way but she did throw my hubby this way when we first got her.

When there was a storm coming one time, I was working to get off of my friend's horse and the head starting going nuts. They helped me down, but that scared me.

what kind of shape is his teeth in? does he still have his wolves teeth? i ask because a freind of mine had the same problem with her horse 'till she had his wolves teeth removed. though he seemed to throw his head with any mouth pressure.

CK,
You are correct has the horses teeth been done recently and make sure they check for wolf teeth. The majority of head issues are related to the mouth, some horses may need their teeth done more often than others it just depends on how sensitive they are.

The only other suggestions I have are:

1) Your saddle fit. We had a mare that had been with the trainer and when my husband went to ride her at the trainers house before we brought her home she would throw her head and back up. We started looking at things to see what was causing the problem and realized that the saddle my husband had pinched her withers something terrible. We purchased a new saddle for her and now she is fine.

2) Your horses feet. They may not be lame to look at but may have shoes that are too small and pinching the foot. I had a client that had swithed farriers and the new one put to small of a shoe back on the horse. When she would go riding the horse was constently tossing his head. It took us a little bit to figure this one out but when we did and put the larger shoe back on the horse was fine.

Once you correct any potential problems, teeth, saddle, feet, etc. It may take a while for the horse to realize that it no longer hurts. Especailly if it was a mouth or foot problem since it will take some time for the bruising (foot) or sores (mouth) to heal. If they continue to do this after a couple of weeks (if you are riding regularlly may take longer if you only ride weekends) than it can be considered a learned behavior (Cause from the discomfort) and may require some retraining using a method that you prefer. Tiedowns are fine and used properly do there job and help the horse (barrel & roping horses) but I don't believe they should be used as a quick fix, you need to figure out what is causing the problem. Sometimes this may even require getting your vet involved.

Hope this helps.