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Western Pleasure: Proper Head Carriage

Cinch Magazine, Lewis Richmond

As any western pleasure horseman knows, the positioning of your horse’s head and neck is very important if you want to pin.  A horse most suited for western pleasure is one that can do what you want naturally. The horse should have a free flowing stride, and carry their head in a low, relaxed position. Finding an appropriate horse will, ultimately, make your job of perfecting its head carriage easier, and the results will often look more fluid. Often-times riders attempt to force their horses into a low headset, which ultimately results in a sour horse- one which will not be a happy and cooperative partner! Keep in mind that some horses are not capable to achieve a level headset due to conformational flaws or past injuries. 
However, for the greater majority of horses, the ideal head set should, with proper training, come about once the horse learns how to properly balance himself.
 During training sessions, aim to get your horse’s face soft to pressure, which means that your horse is obedient to the slightest of cues. Many trainers recommend a snaffle bit paired with suppling exercises to help achieve an ideal headset. The snaffle bit, being considered a mild bit, helps the horse engage into bit contact without backing off.
Use your hands in a side to side motion, which bumps the horses mouth until he breaks at the poll. When you feel your horse give, release your rein pressure to reward him for doing what you asked. Keep in mind that horses don’t learn when you are pulling on their mouths, but they do learn when you release (reward). Continually repeating this process will help cue your horse to give to pressure and lower his head.
 It can also prove helpful to work your horse, taking his face off to one side, and getting him to break at the base of the neck. When your horse obeys, release the pressure.As you horse becomes more adept at balancing himself with this head posture, he will begin to move out more freely.

  As your horse gets better with these exercises, try with each step, to ask him to lower his head and bend at the neck at the same time. This teaches your horse to drive forward using his hind end and lifting his back in order to create collection and impulsion- all the better towards the desired image!
When a western pleasure horse is balanced properly throughout his body and mind he can carry his head in the proper position much easier, and give you a better chance of pinning in your next class!