[QUOTE=Arrow;3055593]
Start punishing him every time he trips–a little jab with your heels and “watch it” in a bad boy, strict voice. You’ll be amazed at how fast he improves. Once he’s good to go, stop punishing him for trips (all of them trip from time to time)–but start the punishment up again if the trips increase to the point that you know it’s because he isn’t paying attention.[/QUOTE]
NO! Why would you punish a horse for tripping?!
:lol: You got that right sista! 
Ears up the nose is par for the course. And you’re right, it just doesn’t feel right when there’s nothing about there in front of you but daylight.
But at 16.2 and 3 years old, I really doubt it’s an Arab.
[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3056834]
:lol: You got that right sista! Ears up the nose is par for the course. And you’re right, it just doesn’t feel right when there’s nothing about there in front of you but daylight.
But at 16.2 and 3 years old, I really doubt it’s an Arab.[/QUOTE]
Tell me about it… :winkgrin: Our Arabs run around with their heads in the clouds. Maybe it’s an Anglo-Arab. Mine isn’t that big, but she has a heck of a lot of neck, and it’s always straight up in front of me. If it’s not, something is wrong. 
there is an old notion that the horse is somehow "goofing off" and by punishing him you will "refocus" him to not goof off....I have never ever known this to cure a horse from tripping....the saddest case was from an old horse that had undiagnosed ringbone...[QUOTE=Arrow;3055593]
Start punishing him every time he trips–a little jab with your heels and “watch it” in a bad boy, strict voice. You’ll be amazed at how fast he improves. Once he’s good to go, stop punishing him for trips (all of them trip from time to time)–but start the punishment up again if the trips increase to the point that you know it’s because he isn’t paying attention.[/QUOTE]
you never ever ever punish ahorse for a rider mistakes especially at 3 yrs old horse dont know nothing
op-- work the horse from behind-- to poll so he relaxes his yaw-------
by lenghenthing and shortening your strides in an areana using th e whole lenght of the arenae with plenty of half halts and transitions - keep the horse straight and forwards so he can learn to become balanced
his high head carriage is counter his balance because hes not balanced-- up hil work and down hills arnt good for a young horse with no education
balancing comes from work in school with baisc walk trot – lengthen the walk shorten the walk move on up to trot so horse legehtneings – etc
ie free walk medium walk extended walk trot sitting rising extended – mix of two wlak and trot free walk — medium trot – working trot extended trot
free walk teach the horse the half halt stride in walk till he understnads it practice in downwards transitions as it easier for the horse to learn as there is no where to go but stop
the horse is a baby he gets his q’s from you the rider good or bad he learns from you
[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3056834]
:lol: You got that right sista! Ears up the nose is par for the course. And you’re right, it just doesn’t feel right when there’s nothing about there in front of you but daylight.
But at 16.2 and 3 years old, I really doubt it’s an Arab.[/QUOTE]
Imagine going from a high-headset Arab to a head-between-the-knees QH. First time I rode my QH, I felt like I was just gonna slide all the way down her neck and end up sitting between her ears. :lol:
It took some getting used to… not getting to look ‘through the radar’ (the place you’re looking through a pair of Arab ears!), as I like to say. 
As for the OP, if the horse’s breed is a high-headset kind of horse… then I wouldn’t be too worried. My mom’s Arab is always allowed to travel with the head up on trail, that’s his natural and comfortable position. Same goes for my QH. She travels with the head down just above the knees! But that’s where she’s comfortable. 
When I speak of punishing a horse for tripping, I’m not talking about getting in his mouth or beating him–I’m talking about giving him a small kick and saying “watch it” in a sharp voice. When I bought my horse a little more than a year ago, he was an angel for about 4 or 5 months, then he started interfering and tripping all over the place. I’d never had a gaited horse before, so I had a trainer come in and evaluate us. She told me that he wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to me. I started getting after him for tripping, and he stopped doing it within a week. He hasn’t had the stumbles since–now when he trips, I know it’s an accident and just tell him to “take it easy” in a gentle voice. I trail ride only and never ride in indoor or outdoor rings.
she gave you something to empower and embolden yourself with while the horse adjusted to your riding style...nothing more...gaited has nothing to do with any part of your scenerio...if correcting him for tripping was the cure you would still be doing it....No–he’s not tripping anymore except rarely. He was tripping a lot because he wasn’t paying attention. The corrections cured the problem within a week. I still speak sharply to him if he trips from inattention, and don’t if it’s an honest mistake. It’s really not all that hard to tell the difference.
[QUOTE=Tamara in TN;3056907]
there is an old notion that the horse is somehow “goofing off” and by punishing him you will “refocus” him to not goof off…I have never ever known this to cure a horse from tripping…the saddest case was from an old horse that had undiagnosed ringbone…[/QUOTE]
Well–now you know of one case, my case.
how do you know the difference ??? you said you had never had a gaited horse? did you ascribe his tripping to being his being gaited at the time? why on earth would you have thought that ?? the trainer gave you something to feel "accomplished" about on a new horse...you relaxed with your new skill and rode him better and he went better...nothing more no....in no case, not even yours...I have known too many horses in my life to believe that...He was tripping at a regular, old walk. I had the trainer in because I couldn’t really tell a rack from a pace, etc. Once I started getting after him, he stopped tripping. I rode all the time as a kid, bareback–for 7 years. Arrow was my first horse after a 25 year break, but I’m a confident rider, I’m not scared at all. But as for the tripping, I didn’t know if I was having a problem because I didn’t understand his gaits. Once the trainer pointed out that it was a regular old horse problem, getting after him wasn’t a problem. The real problem was interfering–and that was from not paying attention. Once I brought him back in line, he stopped tripping and interfering. I agree with you that this isn’t the best way with a 3 year old, and if I had a 20 year old, I’d have a vet out–but I did the right thing with a 10-year old. This is the best horse I’ve ever had, and our relationship can’t be beat–we are a team, we work in harmony, after a year of hard work. Getting after him for tripping helped, it didn’t hurt.
Also–there’s no such thing as “it NEVER works.” You don’t know my horse or why he was tripping–a trainer who has probably known as many horse as you was there, she watched him, she told me why he was tripping, and she was right–he wasn’t paying attention. I made him pay attention.
I agree Arrow that there is such a thing as a horse not paying attention and being dumb about its feet. I’ve felt irritated at my horses before too when their heads are up in the clouds, they’re gawking and walking sideways and tripping over a big rock. I have had to “get onto them” a little and it does involve firm legs and a “Would you move over” or some other words they don’t understand. :lol: Especially working with a youngster, I’ve found that she can get so engrossed in something off on the horizon or in the woods that she forgets she has feet.
I just disagreed on the punishment thing. I wouldn’t say I punish but I just give a leg and seat command, a half halt or two to get her mind focused again and we move on. Different people have different ways of doing things.
At 3 he is just learning to balance himself. With time comes balance and he may eventually learn to put his head down. Does he have the conformation to do so?? Some horses don’t.
I trained my mare to put her head down through ring work were I could get her attention and focus. I lifted the reins and gently pushed her poll down. I just did it in small steps everyday and she got the hang of it rather quickly. You can even do it from the ground. Lift the reins, soon as you get even an inch, release and praise.
Consistency is the key. Even on the trails when she gets a little high headed and not paying attention to the footing, I lift my reins. Again - Soon as I get any form of softening, I release and praise.
But IMO at 3 he is just learning to balance himself on the trails. Worry about the head later, unless you want to work on it in small increments in the arena.
[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3057561]
I agree Arrow that there is such a thing as a horse not paying attention and being dumb about its feet. I’ve felt irritated at my horses before too when their heads are up in the clouds, they’re gawking and walking sideways and tripping over a big rock. I have had to “get onto them” a little and it does involve firm legs and a “Would you move over” or some other words they don’t understand. :lol: Especially working with a youngster, I’ve found that she can get so engrossed in something off on the horizon or in the woods that she forgets she has feet.
I just disagreed on the punishment thing. I wouldn’t say I punish but I just give a leg and seat command, a half halt or two to get her mind focused again and we move on. Different people have different ways of doing things.[/QUOTE]
As I stated, though–a leg command and a sharp word is what I meant by punishment, I just chose a bad word.
I basically agree with Huntertwo here–the horse is young, work with him, he’ll come around. Arrow needed to be gotten after a bit because he was older, well trained, and knew better!
I gotta agree with Tamara that “getting after him” with a tripping gaited horse won’t work. Having a trainer come in and work with you 'cause you were unfamiliar with gaited horses was not a bad idea (assuming you didn’t hire a bad trainer ) but I’d bet money you learned more than “getting after him” and that the “more” is likely the cure for the problem.
I have no problem using a heel nudge or bit wiggle or a weight shift to remind the horse to mind it’s business. As long as the movement is small and focused it’s OK. As long you distinguish betwen an immature horse and a well seasoned one it’s OK.
G.
[QUOTE=Guilherme;3057662]
I gotta agree with Tamara that “getting after him” with a tripping gaited horse won’t work. Having a trainer come in and work with you 'cause you were unfamiliar with gaited horses was not a bad idea (assuming you didn’t hire a bad trainer ) but I’d bet money you learned more than “getting after him” and that the “more” is likely the cure for the problem.
I have no problem using a heel nudge or bit wiggle or a weight shift to remind the horse to mind it’s business. As long as the movement is small and focused it’s OK. As long you distinguish betwen an immature horse and a well seasoned one it’s OK.
G.[/QUOTE]
Actually, getting after him is all I learned (and I didn’t learn it, I applied what I would have known to do at the age of 12 when I’d ride anything with four legs bareback). The trainer wanted me to use a harsher bit, a saddle, and put chains on his back feet. I stuck with my Myler medium-port bit with the HBT shanks and my Little Joe Bareback pad, and started getting after him for tripping–at a walk! He wasn’t tripping while racking. I hadn’t owned a horse in 25 years, I thought the problem was that I was doing something wrong with a gaited horse. Well, what I was doing wrong was thinking it was a “gaited” problem rather than a simple “horse” problem.
If we could just please go back to trying to help this person with her problem and stop posting that I was a raw beginner who knew nothing until a trainer restored my confidence, it would be much appreciated. I don’t want to hijack the thread, let’s get back on topic–but I feel compelled to bump every time I’m condescended to. Stop freaking out about the fact that I said “punish” and look at the actions that I took–a little kick and a sharp word.
If this horse is only three, it’s probably not entirely his fault. We have trained quite a few young horses, and they all take a while to find their feet. And the Arabians are naturally high-headed and we don’t really give a rip. My big Anglo mare and little Arabian mare are high-headed animals, and I don’t know how they do it, but they hardly ever trip. It’s especially amazing since the little mare has no ground clearance. But we have Paso Fino’s too, and they trip pretty consistently. I think it’s just their short gait, they have a tougher time with terrain, no matter their age. However, if I’m riding an experienced horse that is tripping for no reason, I see no problem with a, “Watch your feet!” or some such reminder.
ya know.....I posted my comments to you [B]before [/B]checking your posting history.... as I have now done so this will make about the third time you have gotten "knotted knickers" from a thread...each time telling people to shut up after things did not go your way....
if it helps, it is a [B]very[/B] common thing to distract a green rider so that the body does what it can naturally do on a horse.....the windmills with the arms and the touching the toes while on a lunge comes to mind....both which secure the seat while giving the rider something to do elsewhere...as they are connected to one another....
by correcting the horse YOU paid attention to him...you fine tuned YOUR response to him....instead of feeling helpless when he stumbled, you were given a task and while absorbed in the task, you felt less helpless and more secure in the stumbling itself....YOUR attention was honed into him....not the other way around...
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