Collection problems :(

I own a morgan gelding that used to be shown in country english pleasure as you may have guessed he hols his head highh and not very collected. I don't believe in forcing a hores head out of its natural head set but I would like some tips on high collectons. I just cant seem to get his head tucked in right.
please help :(

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Chamberlain on October 19, 2009 at 11:05pm

A good excercise to try with your horse would be to start working him long and low and get him stretching over his back. Once he feels he is working into your hands, pick him up slowly until he is in a nice headset, not behind the verticle or to low or high in the poll. If his head comes up too much ask him to stretch again and repeat the excercise until he learns to work in a frame. Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Bernd on October 21, 2009 at 7:36am

Hi,
Cathrine is right. That's the way. I would suggest that you also do lunging sessions where you get him into a long and low position. You may use different aides there.
The important part is to be patient. It requires a change of the horses muscles, bulding up the right physics for this.
Collection is a question of balance and physical strength with the right gymnastics.
In the beginning the lessons to ask for long streching of the horse should not exceed 10 minutes. After that the horse needs some rest before it can do it again.
Its no point in forcing it too early as it will not help the horses muscles nor its balance and make any progress harder.
The key is patience and consistency. 10-30 minutes per day. Expect 6 months to gain satisfactory results.
Any shorter progress, forced by mechanical helps (reins) can damage the horses muscle build-up and hence create unnecessary but difficult problems.
Good luck
Bernd

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Permalink Reply by Queenrider on October 21, 2009 at 4:07pm

High collection is something you achieve after years of work. The beginning of collection is called "on the bit" and a skilled rider can achieve this after months of remedial work on a horse who has incorrect habits. The beginning of collection often goes unnoticed by the unskilled rider and will only last moments. If you don't reward the horse for this you will get nowhere fast. Collection will be achieved by sitting correctly. Dressage is not about head set but Reiner Klimke said it best, collection is about neck control. You need a skilled coach to help you.