I have a youngster I am just taking out on trails and I’ve tried a few different bits and I still have the same problem. He is very flexible and puts his chin to his chest when we gait or canter. The more I pull, the more he holds it down. I have soft hands and it’s not like I am in him mouth all the time. He can canter fine with his head like this (much to my dismay). Any training or bit recommendations to address this? 
Dressage work to teach him to move I to the bit instead of hide from it.
Circles, not straight on pulling. Teach him other cues to slow down and go laterally instead of continuing the whole behind the bit routine. Stop cantering until you get a better handle on him, start at the walk/gait instead.
It’s not a bit thing… he’s learned to evade so you have to soften him back up.
Look along these lines for some ideas:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?378899-Chronically-Behind-the-Bit
What kind of bit is he in now?
For BTV issues a lot of time a Nathe, or even just a rubber mullen mouth or Happy Mouth mullen can be helpful. Also sometimes making the bit more stable, by choosing a Baucher or a full cheek with keepers, can encourage them to seek contact a little more.
stop pulling?
Yep. Let go.
I had a horse that did this and it didn’t matter how much I let go or how much dressage work I did with him (I competed him up to 2nd Level BTW and rode with an “O” level judge and we still struggled with the ducking)
What finally worked was doing all of our schooling and trail work in a gag snaffle with two reins- 1 set on the snaffle ring like regular and 1 set as the gag rein. The snaffle rein was for Dr Jekyll and the gag rein was for Mr Hyde LOL!
It isn’t the bit, it’s the hands and the communication between the rider and the horse. If you are pulling you are in his mouth.
Dressage work, as Hampton Bay and cowboymom say.
You don’t say what breed he is, but since he is a youngster I am inclined to think it may be a balance thing with him, as it is with so many youngsters when they start canter work. About the gaiting, I’m not sure, don’t know enough about gaited riding. Does he gait naturally in preference to the trot, or is it a taught gait for him? What breed is he and what gait does he do? He may be falling into the gait that is easiest and most natural for him in order to keep his balance as at the canter.
Soft hands are great – I am glad you have them! Go back to a plain snaffle (single-joint or French link) and back to dressage basics.
[QUOTE=MidnightWriter;7246970]
It isn’t the bit, it’s the hands and the communication between the rider and the horse. If you are pulling you are in his mouth.
Dressage work, as Hampton Bay and cowboymom say.
You don’t say what breed he is, but since he is a youngster I am inclined to think it may be a balance thing with him, as it is with so many youngsters when they start canter work. About the gaiting, I’m not sure, don’t know enough about gaited riding. Does he gait naturally in preference to the trot, or is it a taught gait for him? What breed is he and what gait does he do? He may be falling into the gait that is easiest and most natural for him in order to keep his balance as at the canter.
Soft hands are great – I am glad you have them! Go back to a plain snaffle (single-joint or French link) and back to dressage basics.[/QUOTE]
That’s a great simplified answer but what do you do when it doesn’t work? What do you do when the horse carries himself nose to chest with no contact? The let go answer is a good one in theory but doesn’t always play out to be the right one.
tabula – That’s where the dressage basics come in (yes, gaited horses can do dressage work). When the horse is truly “through” he can’t be behind the bit. It’s impossible. If the horse’s rider can’t accomplish true throughness, it can be very helpful to have an experienced rider teach the horse how to do it and what it feels like, then coach the rider on how to achieve it themselves.
