19 yr old thoroughbred gets really toey

Question
hey rick, i am 16 and have been riding for the past 8 years i basically taught myself to ride i do mainly stock work but sometimes the odd jump but thats basically it my horse is agisted at the college i go to in a small paddock with no pasture surrounded by other horses. he is generally quite well behaved but can get really toey especially if i canter him then bring him bak to a walk. he puts his head up really high and the more i try to get it down or get him on the bit the worse it gets and if i try to stop hanging off his mouth he tries to take off or will still jig jog around. hes 19 and i dont feel he should act like this at his age can you help me please. much appreciated

Answer
Hi Jess, this horse is just being a horse. He has been taught or learned this behavior over the past 19 years.  You cannot fix it in a few weeks for months.  This will be a slow and controlled process and he will only learn to stop this when you show him what you want, make sure he understands what you want, talk to him like a horse so he respects and understands you.  All horses that are kept in stalls have some problems.  Some horses handle the stress of a stall in different ways.

people don't realize how bad a stall is for a horse.  They cannot walk, graze, play with friends, run, roll, lay down and relax, they have to smell their urine and feces all day, only get fed twice a day and the only time they get out of the stall is for some person to pull them around, ride them, make them do things and then they get to forward to being locked up back in a stall.  A very sad life for a horse.

If more people would look at a horse from a horse's eyes they would understand them better and would be able to help them be the horse they want.  

You are concerned about head position and his jigging, he is just happy to be out of his cell (stall) and is excited to be free and out in the open, you trying to make him get on the bit or hold his head a certain way is of no importance to him.  Work on your relationship with him, be his friend and leader, make him feel safe and the problems will fix themselves.  

Read my web site and read about the history of the horse, to what a great gift a horse is his.

hope this helps,

Rick