[thespa]

My QH has such a strong neck, maybe cuz he's a Skippa and they are like that, but this morning just ground working with him, pulling his head up from the grass, I got so out of breath. Gonna go every day and do more. He was good about leading, but has regressed. Last QH I had took about half as much effort, slimmer neck. No workout at the health club needed, just working with him!!

[JBandRio]

Any horse can pull you around like you were a paperweight, no trouble, it he so chooses.

The ones who feel "stronger" are the ones who are not trained to give to pressure, the ones who are not trained that you are the one indicating movement, not them.

[Jungle_cat]

I disagree - there are horses with stronger necks. You can see it in the muscling and some of them know how to use it.

My haflinger has a very strong neck. He gives to very light pressure normally - but when he is grass diving he seems to forget what pressure means. I've never known such a food-driven horse before. In-hand I use a rope halter now and when riding out on the trails I use a kimberwicke because the little extra curb action really helps. I also can't let my attention lax even a little because once he gets a bite he thinks he has won.

And sometimes on the ground it isn't all about pressure on the head - you can also yeild the hindquarters or back the horse up every time they try for grass. That can also help - something I need to do with my boy if I have him in a traditional halter.

However, since I started using the rope halter & the kimberwicke - things have been going much, much smoother. Its been over a year since we had a really bad grass-diving incident with my boy.

I wish you good luck & lots of patience!

[JBandRio]

Originally Posted by Jungle_cat

I disagree - there are horses with stronger necks. You can see it in the muscling and some of them know how to use it.

Well sure, but ANY horse, unless physically debilitated, can pull you around if he wants to. They are *strong*. A 12h pony could haul around the average sized woman if he wanted to.

My haflinger has a very strong neck. He gives to very light pressure normally - but when he is grass diving he seems to forget what pressure means. I've never known such a food-driven horse before. In-hand I use a rope halter now and when riding out on the trails I use a kimberwicke because the little extra curb action really helps. I also can't let my attention lax even a little because once he gets a bite he thinks he has won.

Then he's not quite as well-trained as you think

And sometimes on the ground it isn't all about pressure on the head - you can also yeild the hindquarters or back the horse up every time they try for grass. That can also help - something I need to do with my boy if I have him in a traditional halter.

If I'm leading a horse who tries to eat grass, I address the REAL problem, which is that he's stopped going forward. I always lead with at least a 12' lead with a leather popper at the end. I can reach the hind end of the horse without skipping a beat myself, and he gets "bitten" on the hiney as a reminder that stopping, for whatever reason, while I am still asking him to walk, is not an option.

[Jungle_cat]

Originally Posted by JBandRio

Well sure, but ANY horse, unless physically debilitated, can pull you around if he wants to. They are *strong*. A 12h pony could haul around the average sized woman if he wanted to.

I can get most horses off balance from getting them from the side. I can't do that with a horse who has a truly strong neck. I've seen a difference. Its actually my 13.3 hand pony I've had more problem with then ever a full sized horse, so yeah, I can believe it about a 12 h pony who had a strong neck since they tend to have shorter but thicker necks than your average horse.

Then he's not quite as well-trained as you think

Um, wow. Like I pointed out if you had read the whole thing - things are going much smoother than they used too & I haven't had a grass-diving incident in over a year. I was just giving examples of things I had used in order to correct the issue and that had actually worked with my horse, which is what I thought the OP wanted.

If I'm leading a horse who tries to eat grass, I address the REAL problem, which is that he's stopped going forward. I always lead with at least a 12' lead with a leather popper at the end. I can reach the hind end of the horse without skipping a beat myself, and he gets "bitten" on the hiney as a reminder that stopping, for whatever reason, while I am still asking him to walk, is not an option.

You assume the horse has stopped in order to eat. Some horses are amazing at eating at a go. My boy could munch along at a trot. Thus the kimberwicke to get the head up. When I initially had the grass diving problem with my haflinger undersaddle, I had a lot of people tell me to use a crop and get him moving forward. Yeah - that is what lead to a horse that could eat on the run and resulted in a couple bad bolts. (and now mind you - before you start jumping on me again about my horse not being trained - this was a couple years ago.) I do know the "make them move forward" method works for some horses, but not all.

[~*GOJUMP*~]

My trainer told me just last night during a training ride on my QH that he has an extremely strong neck. Which is a problem when he has his moments and wants to try and put up a fight instead of just giving into my aids!

[greyongray]

My horse has a VERY slim neck, it's getting better since we increased our workload, but I think it will never be knockout neck. Depends on the angle you are at -- like in my little avatar, I think it looks pretty good, but other times I think "Whose giraffe is this?"

I'm sure my horse could pull me around on the ground if he was inclined, but I bet his conformation doesn't lend itself to put up a fight for too long.

[John]

Bring a lunge whip and a lawn chair along. Find a nice green patch of grass and sit down. When he puts his head down for a bite say no and tap him on the rear end. Wait until he tries again and another tap. (if he does not lift his head right away tap harder) Let him eat all that he wants.

[thespa]

Thank you John, he was so good but hadn't been to barn due to 28 straight days of rain here in upstate NY. I'll try that, like the lawn chair part! I've gotten rope burn a few times with him. I'm actually looking forward to spending the time with him and not even going to ride for a month (can't get new saddle for a month anyway) but just work on ground. I've come to really enjoy ground work and I need to lose weight so that should do it.

[Rose ofintrigue]

Originally Posted by Jungle_cat

I can get most horses off balance from getting them from the side. I can't do that with a horse who has a truly strong neck. I've seen a difference. Its actually my 13.3 hand pony I've had more problem with then ever a full sized horse, so yeah, I can believe it about a 12 h pony who had a strong neck since they tend to have shorter but thicker necks than your average horse.




Um, wow. Like I pointed out if you had read the whole thing - things are going much smoother than they used too & I haven't had a grass-diving incident in over a year. I was just giving examples of things I had used in order to correct the issue and that had actually worked with my horse, which is what I thought the OP wanted.




You assume the horse has stopped in order to eat. Some horses are amazing at eating at a go. My boy could munch along at a trot. Thus the kimberwicke to get the head up. When I initially had the grass diving problem with my haflinger undersaddle, I had a lot of people tell me to use a crop and get him moving forward. Yeah - that is what lead to a horse that could eat on the run and resulted in a couple bad bolts. (and now mind you - before you start jumping on me again about my horse not being trained - this was a couple years ago.) I do know the "make them move forward" method works for some horses, but not all.

Hello. we have a Haflinger cross, and know what you mean, take you skiing, whizzes past the sweet spot, it took a lot longer and alot more energy than our large Appy..we do a lot of flexing to the side and we work with them almost every day even if just a few minutes, anyway no advice just wanted to share. good luck..