The picture isn’t the newest, and was to show the “level” at which she carries her head. That’s a still from a video, so it’s a good-ish moment of many meh moments haha.
I’ll try to get more recent videos, with me in a dressage saddle. We only started riding in the dressage saddle pretty recently. Not that I want her to do it, but I’m sure she will give a primo example of her curling on tape. 
Well you might need to keep her hind legs a little more active, maybe that will solve your problems… And it’s not a matter of how high your goals are… You will need the basics to move around the ring. it has nothing to do with fancy movements.
and that’s exactly why I would recommend somebody on the ground… your mare sounds a little like my mare. She keeps great rhythm but if she moves slow behind it is impossible for me to keep her neck up and stay in front of my legs… Everything in riding dressage comes from behind. The hind of the horse is the engine… So my young horse I have to slow down to get her into the right rhythm, and my older mare needs to stay active from behind…
so I guess my first advice was about correct for your horse, keep a soft solid connection and push her from behind a little against this connection… Once she starts to use her hind legs she will carry herself more… But remember it’s all guessing without knowing your horse, I still think you need somebody on the ground… It is not easy!!!
And I agree with Fordtraktor!!!
I’m going to keep all this stuff in mind. Today is a well-earned day off for her, but I’ll be back on tomorrow! Thank you!
I would sit with your shoulders back and chest out more, sitting taller. Body position can be a game changer. Then use leg leg leg keeping the contact, with half halts to help balance. Half halts through your core, in an upward fashion. You don’t use the hand to lift the head. That comes from behind.
This is much easier in my dressage saddle - even when focusing hard on it I do tip in my jump saddle. I will have to charge up my Pixio and get video tomorrow. Thanks for the tips!
BTW I posted a pic of her with my trainer in the joy thread… and believe me, she is very able to keep her head as low as your mare …but as long as her hind is tucked under, she is not able to do it…
I haven’t been following that thread, but I’ll look for it. Thanks again for the tips, can’t wait to ride and see if I can get some improvement.
Something to explore may be whether she is locked into that tempo. The ones with a great tempo can trick us a bit into worrying about other things but can you adjust the tempo without losing rhythm? I know a few who settle into “the trot” and then slowly can get on the forehand and curl without changing the tempo. With those, riding different trots keeps them a bit more honest and up in the front. She’s a baby so I’m not saying piaffe to extended trot but going from a 4/10 to 6/10 and back. Just small but intentional changes to see if she’s moving off the leg and coming back in a way that is aligned with her current strength and level of understanding.
My OTTB has this same problem, it has gotten much better over the past year as he has gotten stronger and more experienced. It is definitely tied to fatigue for him.
This may contradict some of the tips mentioned here, but when he starts to curl, my trainer has me lift my hands slightly and bump/halt halt with both reins while adding leg.
The thing that has made the biggest difference is teaching and adding long and low into our routine. He loves to go long and low, just like your mare. During our warm up we will alternate every minute or so between long and low and being in a frame. Then once we start working I will give him frequent breaks in long and low. This has seemed to enforce with him that there is a time he gets to stretch, and a time for him to be in a frame.
Not criticising you body position, but throwing in something my coach has reminded me, and it comes from our combined yoga experiences… Lead with your heart. My heart is most forward part of my upper body. (and then there is the implied notion also)
That’s a really great one. A mental image that gets my upper body out of the way is “trying to flash a belt buckle in the sun”. It’s just so hard to remember everything all the time, when you’re also on a green bean who might exit stage left at any moment haha.
No need to soften a comment, I know I’ve got lots to work on. 
oh well… people here are kinda “touchy” LOL. my childhood schooling was with a very picky MEAN demanding saddleseat instructor. He put a good position on me. (age 7-15) Plus there was ballet… (age 5-15) Rarely, does my coach ever have to issue a reminder. I think it’d be a totally different story had that orig schooling been jumping though…
Yes this! My very green horse doesn’t curl so much as stall out, but it’s a result of getting too over her front legs, and I am getting better at catching it early, bringing my torso back with my tailbone a bit tucked and not so much banging her on with my legs, but just carrying my hands above the pommel and thinking about getting more of the horse out in front of me. This usually solves the problem and I’m able to keep her in better balance so she doesn’t stall out. It has very little to do with the hands other than making sure they aren’t dragging them down any lower.
While I don’t think this is bad, if you tend to have a more hollow lower back, as most women do, this can exacerbate the problem. Just something to watch out for and make sure the tailbone isn’t pointing out the back door, because the horse will mirror and hollow his back too.
Sure, and i so agree. (i watch a woman who rides in a private lesson before me and i don’t get it why she has such a sway?! I asked my coach about it, and coach says she limits herself to three comments per session) As for me, personally, my back is straight front to back, plumb almost. But sideways i have a disc that slipped out and dissolved…and my spine collapsed down upon itself (L3-4) so there is a jag sideways, but not in movement of outside appearance, thanks to yoga!
This horse is 4 and green. She can’t hold her head up for long periods of time. You should work frequent deliberate stretches into her routine. Indeed, she’s probably best served at this point by teaching her to stretch forward out and a bit down to active contact with the bit. This will help raise her withers if it’s an active bascule and help her step up behind. It won’t throw her on the forehand. It will help her build strength.
You start to raise the head and get poll flexion when you begin to start collection. There is nothing gained by putting the horse in a false frame before that. When you do start this work continue to allow moments of stretch. You can’t ride a horse productively for an hour with a high head.
In regards to your position, I will be the voice of dissent.
If your horse does not have the abdominals and back to support you in a vertical position, if she needs you to be more forward and light seat, DO IT. She will build better muscling in the long run than if she is trying to hold up a person in a forced vertical position while trying to build the support needed to do so.
In regards to what will strengthen her back and abs - long and low and transitions that allow her to bring her neck more upright gradually.
In regards to your contact issues (curling) if more leg into an elastic but unmoving hand (ie. when she curls back, do not go with her!) then “boop” with your heel or spur or whatever to get her attention back onto her engine and off of her face. IME, boop is reserved for horses strong enough already to know better, but can be used on less educated horses if they don’t respond to an increase in leg pressure.
Be patient. Make your transitions count. Don’t worry about feeling you need to be off her back. She will tell you when she is strong enough to carry you in a traditional dressage position.
If you want her stronger quicker learn some proper in hand work (in side reins) and start working on shoulder in, rein back, leg yield and full pass, and the very beginnings of half steps. You will be amazed at the difference a few minutes of this work before riding or a 20 minute session in place of riding a few times a week can make.
In answer to your question it is not the inside or outside rein that raises the head.
In a rising trot it is the inside leg. In sitting trot it is your stomach muscles and look at the horizon. Same with canter. In walk and canter your hands follow the head. In trot your hands stay still.
The height if the poll becomes higher as the horse becomes more advanced. You don’t expect a 4 year old to go with the same height as a grand prix horse.
The inside rein asks for flexion and then gives. You do not hold your inside rein. If you hold your inside rein you are blocking forward.
Horses will either lean or go with their head in the air to get away from the pain of bad hands.
Curling is more a mistiming of correct contact. Horses learn from release of pressure. If she curls and you follow, you have rewarded her to curl, you have taught her to curl.
Don’t worry contact takes years to learn, you take this as a learning opportunity and as someone above said you really need a great instructor on the ground.
The horse is a mirror. A mirror that shows every pimple and every blackhead! Sigh!
The simple answer of why is she curling, is because you are asking her to curl.
To bop with spur or to lift with inside rein is actually cruel because she is doing what you ask and then is being reprimanded for obeying. That is not fair. Horses teach us that you have to be fair.
With this change she and all horses in your future will blossom.
At the moment if she is curling, then the neck is higher than the poll and she is or will become what is known as broken necked. This is from incorrect riding.
You know this which is why you asked the question. Follow up your own thinking and change and you will go far.
Good luck.
Oh, please. A boop with heel or spur is not cruel if the face is not being hung upon and the horse understands that leg/spur mean go. It is a signal to the horse to jump start the engine that has inadvertently been allowed to fall into 1st gear idle.
It is completely fair and just.
Not fair would be to ask the horse to go and not let it go. That does not seem to be the issue with the OP or with anyone on this thread.
Furthermore, not all horses curl because they have been taught to do so. There are a myriad of reasons. Yes, plenty are taught, but many are not. I would invite you to blame my riding when my horse puts her chin on her chest while being groomed. Loose. No halter. No lead. Completely naked.
The joke is she should report herself to the FEI for offences of rollkur. The fact is that it feels good to her and is a sort of a feel good stretch just like all her other yoga poses that she does while being groomed.
With all due respect, many OTTBs come off the track curling because they have been bitted and ridden in a way that isn’t into a traditional contact - they don’t understand so they evade. So with that in mind, consider that I am retraining her not to do it. That it’s something she already knows, has worked for her in the past, and I’m trying to teach her a new, better way forward.
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