Good advice so far, just want to add back pain can sometimes cause rooting. So rule that out too.
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If you donāt feel comfortable or arenāt able to boot him, you could try a tap tap with a dressage whip to get the same message across. No sir, this is your rein length, you must carry yourself.
Again though, make sure youāre giving him enough walk/stretch breaks.
Try a loosely adjusted side-check rein.
A side-check is easily rigged from spare bits of tack, but BigD Tack has some for $169
I work to turn the rooting into pulling me more firmly into the saddle so theyāre effectively pulling against themselves. I clamp my legs on tight, almost lean back, and hold my arm position when the horse pulls and release the tension as soon as they stop. The clamped leg tends to drive them forward which helps to bring their head up. They pretty quickly learn that rooting brings the driving leg.
You know the feeling when you grab the pommel and pull yourself down into the saddle? Thatās what I get the rooting to do.
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My instructor has told me to sit back and kick him forward without getting into a tug of war over his head, while also not letting him yank the reins away.
Sheilah
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My younger mare used to do this.
Forward is the answer here.
As he roots, donāt release the reins, maintain some pressure there, not a lot, and push him forward. Iām not a big fan of kicking, just push him forward with leg and seat aids. Kicking is just going to make him defensive and fearful of leg aids.
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Rooting can come from so many different places. I would first look to see if there are holes in your horseās training or yours or in your position. Suggest you check that your horse understands what it means to give to the bit. Is he uneducated? Check yourself to make sure that your seat is solid and he is not unseating you. Next check your contactā¦that your hand yields when he yields to the bit. Then there are a whole lot of other things related to rein length, hand position, contact etc.
IMHO, it seems logical to start at the basics and sort out what could be going wrong before kicking etc. For me, I would want to know if there are holes in training and fix those before being more aggressive with aids. Each horse is different. Mine is a super sensitive mare and she is not averse to a fight if she perceives she is being treated unfairlyā¦whatever that means to her. And that solves nothing and ends in the tug of war that nobody wants.
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He had some reining training early on in his life. But his lasting career was as a track pony. He is very, very safe. But his buttons are rusty. As a track horse he was use to working with a tie down, so his go to muscle memory is to reach for that tie down to balance on.
He can do some fancy things. He just needs to learn how to carry himself and I need to relearn how to sit.
Sheilah
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I have found the youtube videos on rein pulling from Amelia Newcomb dressage to be quite helpful. Each to their own thoā¦just a tool in the toolbox and the techniques will not ābreakā your horse. At the minimum, they will help you assess whether your horse understands yielding to the pressure of the bit and you can go from there.
One thing I did was to spend an entire ride looking for the points in the ride where she pulled the reins out my handsā¦and then what my body didā¦particularly if it unseated me or I got tense. That was insightful as to how to approach the problem. She even did it at the halt with light contact. So from then forward, I made a point of not ever throwing away the contact and not letting my seat change because she pulled. Also always rewarding to the yield to pressure by giving on the pressure but maintaining the contact wherever her head was. Then, giving her something else to do like ride a circle or a little shoulder fore. Weāve made progress and she is not pulling as much.
Two things about my horseā¦you can not overschool her as that frustrates her, just check in from time time that you still have what you want. Always keep her busy with lots of changes and ask for things that she does not expect.
Anyways, hope that helps.
Sounds like you have a great horse.
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If you could explain what rooting means it would help. I thought rooting meant bucking, however that does not go with him always trying to be good.
If you mean he is pulling the reins out of your hands every horse will try this and your instructor is correct in that your stomach muscles are what stops that.
You can do this when in the saddle or a chair in the kitchen. You both hold the reins. You put your heels up, slump forward and relax your stomach and the other person pulls on the reins. They can easily pull you out of the chair or saddle. Do not do this on horseback if your horse will react to you falling forward.
Now sit up, heels down. Elbows by sides. Thumb holding the rein in the correct position. This time when the other person pulls you will not move in the chair or saddle.
If you are not able to do this because of your disability then grass reins might help. This is baling twine tied from the bit to the d rings of the saddle. Loose so the horse can use its head but can not reach the ground for grass reins. Maybe a little tighter for you, however do not turn them into side reins they must be loose, so not as to affect your riding aides.
Yes. This. He isnāt always able to pull me out of the tack or take the reins from me. My horse is a very good boy and the fault lies with me.
Sheilah
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Stupid questionā¦which way around does the bit go on the bridle? If Iām looking at the bridle from the front, does the turtle logo face forward?
Yes, forward and right way up.
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I am obsessed now. Thank you for the idea. Her videos are fantastic.
Sheilah
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Thereās arrows on those too
Mine doesnāt have any arrows on it.
Appropriate thread! I trail ride (in a dressage saddle so it fits here LOL!).
My gelding, who I got at 7 years (heās 19 now) had a lot of re-educating to do, mostly because he is a big, strong moving appendix QH and the person who bred him (oops breeding, she found out yearlings can breed mares) wanted a quiet, drunk-broke (if you fall off, he stops, which he does 
but because he was so forward they put a western shank bit on him (not sure of the type, before me) and when he started tossing his head (those drunks have heavy hands) the also put a running martingale on the shanks . When I got him, he did not know how to transition smoothly, and when walking/trotting/cantering was all bunched up. I finally got him to use his back nicely at a walk and trot, but the canter was either chin-to-chest leaning on bit (now a snaffle, no martingale, no more head tossing), or headās up gallop. I could eventually get him to carry himself the right way, and I have just dealt with it.
My riding took a hiatus for two years (lots of farm repairs in spare time, didnāt want to leave hubby alone with it all), and my granddaughter has now declared my gelding as her horse 
. I have decided he needs to learn to canter nicely. This thread popped up, so I did the ātake a deep breath and ātossā the reinsā when he started leaning on the bit. Resisting him does not work since his mouth is a bit hard from the drunk riders.
First, do you know that horses can trot and canter with their noses almost on the ground and pick up speed at the same time? I chose to work in circles simply because of how strong he is. After lots of circles and searching for the bit, he finally lifted his head up in the right position. He is going to take work and strengthen at the canter, but I feel when my granddaughter is ready, he will be too. Of course, she could ride my really trained mare, but sheās in loveā¦
And, I have no idea how those WP people like to ride and not see their horsesā heads! Granted we were going fast, but I like to feel like I am not going to fall forward and nothing to stop me, if you know what I mean LOL!
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Yes I know what exactly what you mean. I rode a camel once and my only thought the whole time was I am going to end up down there on his neck a foot or so below.
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Not stomach muscles, CORE!
And yes, you can give them a thump with the leg or a tap with the whip to send them forward (rooting is ābackward thinking ā, and also happens when the horse does not want to put weight on the hind legs, but instead leans on your hands as a fifth leg), so attach your elbows to your pelvis, engage your core, lift your rib cage and sternum, and ādonāt let the horse take your elbows away from your pelvis.ā You want my elbows? You have to take my pelvis with them. The buck stops there. make sure that youāre kneeling down, and that you are sitting at the front of your saddle. Whatever you do, donāt pull - that just makes you weak and allows the horse to take your arms and upper body with them as they pull down. Remember to release when the horse rocks his weight back! Thatās the reward.
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Love āDrunk-brokeā!
Thanks!
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