head tossing/bits

Question
i have a 8 yr ottb mare whom is quite the head tosser, i beleive the bit to be the problem, her trainers insist in using a gag which is bad enough but is also too large for her mouth, she is a 4 1/2 to 4 3/4  size and the bit they are using is for a warmblood......she is ok until canter transitions, then she gets all fried and tosses her head  and pulls you almost out of the saddle........my daughter rode her in a french link snaffle the last 3 rides when the trainers were away at a show and she was improved but still tossing her head which may be because she is expecting pain to occure from the bit ?also, the previous trainer would wack her in the head/neck when riding her she got so bad that the trainer did not want to ride her anymore....i guess i am having bad luck finding a trainer that understands an ottb horse, this horse by the way is as sweet as they come.. her ground manners are the best and she is perfect when lounged in side reins......quite a pretty mover....which leads me to beleive that she needs her mouth as soft and quiet as we can allow with control....perhaps a hackamore may work temporarly to give her mouth a break and help to reestablish respect for the bit?

Answer
Hi Ashley,
I feel for  you, and for  your horse.  Thank you so much for questioning your trainer's advice, and the gag bit.  YES :) :) you are on the correct thinking track, considering a hackamore ... but, I want to really help you with a few hints.  Yes, you are right, this is a sensitive but sweet mare it seems , and she's just waiting for someone to understand her language and understand her.  I am not at home presently, checking my email remote, so feel free to write me at [email protected] to allow me to formulate a more detailed answer.  I have some pictures I want to show you.

The problem is not the bit!   (although gag bits are torture instruments that no horse ever needs)   The problem is that the horse is not in a position to understand what his riders want her to do.   The problem is that the humans in her life (the trainer?) do NOT know that the horses learn best when we reward, not when we increase the pressure.     Sure, she has emotional "baggage" from the track (even if she was handled very well, baggage is almost inevitable at the track).  But gag bits are desinged to HURT. And we cannot cure fear and lack of understanding with adding more pain to the pain she already feels.

As to the ol' and tired argument that bits are only as severe as the rider's hands, we look at it this way:  if a trainer has soft hands and knowledge of horses sufficient to allow use of a gag=torture instrument, that trainer won't ever need such painful devices.

I have dealt with many head tossers, is not an uncommon thing at all.  Again, you are correct in going bitless or going for a back to basics approach.  What I would do;
1) groundwork,  I would teach her a few things from the ground:
---- to trust me
---- that I am fair and consistent
----  that I ask by "pushing" and I immediately reward/release for her SMALLEST  TRY  to please.
--  give at the poll from the ground, lower her head
---  bend her head from the ground, with me releasing if she even looks at me
--- disengage hind foot, and I'd release and reward for her softening laterally

2) I'd start riding her in a halter, a rope halter adjusted to sit about 1inch above the nose like a sidepull or simiple jumping hackamore.  I would use NO mechanical hacks which do NOT allow for lateral gives.  I would ride her in a round pen, smallish arena etc and for the first few rides, I would NEVER even use two reins at the same time.  I would practically ride using one single rein (the inside one) at all times, slowing her down by disengaging the hind quarters and bending her in a circle.  She'd have NO reason to toss her head, since I would not be using two reins.. but I would RELEASE and reward for many, hundreds and thousands of lateral "gives."

The thing that I can barely explain in here is the subtle timing of what the rider needs to do to act in synch with the mare.  Me writing this answer to you is like writing about the icedancing jump, or playing a Beethoven symphony on the piano, or teaching a martial arts stunt in writing only: words cannot convey the timing of the RELEASE and reward accurately. But, we can try!

Anyways Ashley, please do write me at the email addy above, I'll dig out some ottb pics for you,

Rena