Chris Cox: Bring Your Horse's Head Around to the Side
In Part 1, you learned how to take up your reins smoothly and efficiently in a movement I call the "choke." I also showed you how to ask your horse to give laterally to each side at a standstill, in preparation for this lesson.
Now, I'll show you how to use your reins to bring your horse's head around to the side. This maneuver can be used to supple your horse, or, combined with moving the ribcage and hindquarters over, as a way to deal with a buck, bolt, or other misbehavior.
When a horse gets "strong," his power comes from his hind end and ribcage through a stiffened neck. By bending his neck, suppling his ribcage, and stepping over or "disengaging” his hindquarters, you take his power away and soften his mouth at the same time.
I'll coach you through the maneuver at a walk; after you've mastered it at that gait, you can use the same technique at a trot and lope. Correct technique is extremely important, especially as you increase speed. If you pull your reins the wrong way, especially in an effort to regain control of a misbehaving horse, you risk dragging yourself out of the saddle or pulling your horse over on top of you.
As I explained in Part 1, proper rein management in general means good communication with your horse and improved safety for you both. It also enables you to let your horse travel on a loose rein between maneuvers. This promotes his peace of mind and encourages him to move freely. The goal throughout these lessons is to be able to use your reins smoothly yet quickly, in a way that makes sense to your horse and preserves the responsiveness of his mouth.
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To Get the Most from this Lesson
- You'll need: A level work area with good footing.
- Outfit your horse in a snaffle bit with a roping rein or, as I'm using, a mecate rein. Eventually you can use my methods with open reins, but it's easiest to start with a closed rein. Mark the precise midpoint of your reins with a piece of duct or electrical tape.
- Prepare your horse in advance by working him on the ground with a lead rope or however you ordinarily do to discharge excess energy and get him in sync with you.
 | 1. After a brief warm-up, allow your horse to walk forward on a loose rein. Sit deep in your saddle, your upper body straight and balanced, as you prepare to bring your horse's head around to the right. (To bring his head around to the left, simply reverse these cues.) Then, while grasping the exact middle of your reins with your left hand (your hand will be over the tape you've wrapped there), raise that hand straight up, as I am here, by lifting from the shoulder. At the same time... |
 | 2. ...slide your right hand down the rein to take up the slack. As you do this, remain seated deeply in the saddle, and don't lean forward. |
 | 3. Then open your right rein to bring your horse's nose to the right. Keep your hand relatively low as you do this, pulling to the side rather than up or back. This is important, as it allows your horse to keep his balance as he comes around. Remain seated without leaning. |
 | 4. Your horse should respond by bringing his head around to the side, like this. If he resists, "ask" a little more insistently with your right rein, keeping your arm straight. If necessary, rest your hand on your leg and wait for your horse to give to the pressure. My horse is perfectly compliant here, but if I were bringing him around because of misbehavior, I'd move my right leg back and apply pressure near the back cinch, to move his ribcage and hindquarters over (in other words, as his head comes to the right, his hind end would go to the left). This would take away his propulsive power and put me back in control. |
 | 5. Here's what not to do as you prepare to bring your horse's head to the right. Don't pull the slack out to the side with your left hand. This puts pressure on both reins and just confuses your horse. |
 | 6. After you've mastered the correct form and your horse is responding willingly in both directions at the walk, you can try the same maneuver at the trot and then lope. Here I'm bringing my horse around at the lope. As before, note how my left hand is carried up high over my horse's neck (and not to the side), while my right "asking" hand is kept low and wide as it brings my horse's head around. (If my actions were in response to my horse's acting up, I'd also apply my right leg at the back cinch to disengage his hindquarters.) |
 | 7. A common mistake, especially at speed, is bringing the "asking" hand up and pulling across the horse's neck, like this, instead of keeping it low and wide, and pulling to the side. This makes it difficult for your horse to maintain his balance as he comes around. |
 | 8. Don't pull straight up with your "asking" hand, either--or you risk pulling your horse over on top of you. Keeping your asking hand low is especially important when you're bringing your horse's head around as a way to reestablish control in the event of a buck, bolt, or shy. |
Check out Part 3 in the July 2005 issue of Horse & Rider, where I cover bridging your reins for vertical flexion.
--Photos by Darrell Dodds
Horseman Chris Cox has traveled the United States, Canada, South America and Australia for over 17 years presenting clinics and demonstrations. His approach focuses on building confidence through knowledge and establishing a relationship with your horse. Raised on a cattle ranch in Australia, Chris attended Longreach Pastoral College, an agricultural school where he earned the Horsemanship Award for top scores in class work and practical skills. Today his home base, from which he conducts clinics and produces "Chris Cox Horsemanship" for RFD-TV, is his Outback Ranch in Mineral Wells, Texas.
This article originally appeared in the June 2005 issue of Horse & Rider magazine
