Page 148 - Equine Chronicle August Select 2020

and horse C third.” Bailey goes on to explain that the slight difference in these headsets show varying degrees of difficulty. “It is infinitely more difficult for a horse to move correctly with excellent head and neck carriage than to be more controlled with a lower neck and its face more contained. Judges will search for the excel- lent mover that displays excellent head and neck carriage. They will also search for that in other western classes such as Trail and Western Riding.”
NSBA judge Kim
Ziegler agrees, adding,
“Proper head and neck
position shows me that
the horse is balanced and
the horse is using his body correctly. If the horse is balanced and has lift in his ribs and back, his neck and headset will be more nat- ural and correct.” In addition to the rulebook’s guidelines, Ziegler seeks, “a neck that comes out of the withers level, with a longer topline, and shorter bottom line. I want to see a neck that is lean and supple. I’m drawn to pretty, so if the horse has a pretty head and neck, is relaxed, and looking brightly through the bridle, that catches my eye.”
From a training perspective, head and neck position is often an indicator of correctness, strength, and balance, according to top trainers like Gil Galyean, Aaron Moses, and Casey Willis. All three agree that if just one of those qualities is weak, it will likely give itself away in head and neck carriage.
“A lot of a horse’s head carriage will have to do with the bal- ance it displays. If it’s too low in its head carriage, then it’s prob- ably too heavy in its front end and down in its shoulders. If its neck is too high, then you probably have a horse that’s not round in its back and doesn’t have the desired impulsion from behind,” Gil Galyean explains.
Aaron Moses agrees, adding, “It’s an indicator of what’s going on with the rest of the horse. For a horse to hold its neck level and relaxed, without extra movement, requires an extraordinary amount of strength and balance. Head and neck carriage comes from the way the horse is using itself throughout its entire body.”
For this reason, Moses typically doesn’t focus his training on head and neck carriage until the final phases of his training process. “I feel that it’s too much to ask a young colt to learn to carry the weight of a rider, position its body, and drop its neck at the same time. With the way our top horses are bred, if training is done cor- rectly, the majority of the time, the head and neck will take care of itself. If anything, I feel that I hold my horses up through the train- ing process and then allow them to drop into a relaxed position once they understand how to use their bodies correctly. I think one
of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to pull a horse’s head down too early,” Moses explains.
Galyean says there are many foundational aspects of a training program that need to be in place before working on a horse’s head and neck. “You need to have a horse that’s supple and soft through its mouth first. It needs to bend and flex willingly. You have to be able to pull on a horse without it being scared of its face,” Galyean says. “You have to have touch and feel, and can’t intimidate through the bridle.”
Willis–who also has a background in Reining–is of the same mind, saying his horses need to stop, turn, and give to pressure as foundational skills before addressing headset.
When watching Western Pleasure classes, the top horses make carrying a correct head position look deceivingly easy. The strength and balance required reveal just how well-conditioned and athletic
AQHA Judge Gail Baley
these horses need to be; but that proper positioning of the head and neck doesn’t come without its share of difficulties.
Some horses are just not conformationally cut out for outstanding head and neck position. When look- ing at Western Pleasure prospects, Willis says a dip in front of the withers is a red flag that the horse will struggle in proper head po- sition. “You want to see them up in their withers with an arcing topline - kind of like a rainbow. Usually, if they’re low in their withers, it’s hard for them to carry their necks level and be round in their backs,” Willis says. “Be
142 - August/September, 2020
NSBA Judge Kim Ziegler
careful, too, that their throatlatch is clean. If it’s thick, it can make it hard to give to pressure and give their face.”
To those structural considerations, Galyean seeks a long, sloping shoulder and a general impression that the horse is balanced over- all. “I don’t like to see a yearling with a short neck and its head in the air or nose in dirt as it moves about naturally. They should nat- urally be built to do the job,” he says.
But even with horses that are built for success, in terms of head position, other difficulties can certainly arise.
“I focus on training the horse not the head. If I’m having a prob- lem with headset, it’s because something isn’t right somewhere else,” Moses says. “I always focus on balance and correctness com- bined with mental and physical willingness and try to find where that individual horse is most capable of doing his best. I also be- lieve that each horse is different. Some need to be slightly higher- headed while others slightly lower. Some might be nosed out a little and others more in the bridle. I feel that, as horsemen, we need to recognize that there is room for individuality.”
If proper head and neck position is problematic for one of his
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