To ask a question, please email it to heikeb@fairpoint.net and then look in this column for the answer.

Name: Donna
Question: One time when I was driving, my horse flicked his head, and his bridle fell off. Needless to say, I was scared... how can I prevent this from happening in the future?

Answer: In driving, you have to make the throat latch a lot tighter than in riding. Make it as tight as you dare, then try to pull the bridle off. If it still comes off, you either have to tighten it even more, or put a connecting strap from the throat latch to the noseband. This will help also.

It may still happen that the horse shakes it off one or even both ears, but at least it won't fall off all the way.

Name: CC
Question: I have trouble keeping my horse straight in the ring, she goes straight down the road. Can you give me any suggestions.

Answer: 1 To answer this meaningfully, I would have to know what you are doing differently. I would assume that you try for more contact in the ring than on the road. So there could be a problem with a lot of things like the teeth, the bit, physical ability of the horse to create/maintain contact, and of course your own rein handling. The horse may also anticipate turns and be concerned how he is getting through without discomfort or loss of balance. Could also be that he gets a little too close to the fence or ring surround, and that you have to keep pulling him away from there too much. This often happens with young horses, they look for support from the surround. So without actually knowing what you are doing, and excatly what he does when in the ring, I will not be able to give you a specific answer.

Name: Donna Hornsby
Question: How do I get my horse to bend consistently when driving 40 meter circles to the left and right?

Answer: Although a 40 m circle is the requirement of the lowest level in dressage, it really is one of the hardest to drive. The bend required is so minimal that it is difficult to maintain, and it is also very easy to "get lost".

Nonetheless, the requirements are the same as for any other sized circle: The horse needs to reach continuously  for the bit by stretching his neck from his withers, maintain a constant and elastic contact with the driver,  and be soft and flexible in his poll. It needs to move in self carriage, neither leaning on the bit or hiding behind it, and the movement has to be energetic, balanced and free. Any resistance leads to tension which in turn makes bending impossible.

When I drive a circle, I always imagine that the circle line is made up of two parallel tracks, about 1 foot apart. With the outside rein, I encourage the horse "to stay here", on the outside track, while with the inside rein I ask the horse to look to the inside and follow the inside track. So, essentially what I do is a constant communication with the horse's mouth with both reins, while they alternately tell the horse: stay right here, but bend and move in this direction. But all this is only possible, if the horse maintains a correct longitudinal contact or bend. So my main concern is always to keep this well established. Whenever lateral bend is lost , you need  to fix first the longitudinal bend again. Sometimes the whip used on the inside barrel can help reestablish the lateral bend also, but it is no substitute for the proper contact. The correct contact is the basis and essence of a correct bend.

But there are lots of reasons, why a horse can't/won't maintain a bend. One is discomfort or pain, caused by a myriad of things like sharp teeth, ill fitting tack, spinal alignment problems, muscle pain, hoof pain and the list goes on. Another is lack of understanding, lack of driver skill, the ground is not level or too deep, the carriage too heavy, too many distractions etc etc. Of course, the choice of bit is also of great importance: In order to keep this conversation going with the horse, he needs to be totally comfortable with the bit, and the bit needs to allow for independent action on both sides of the mouth. With a bar bit, one will never be able to get the same soft and constant connection as with a broken bit, preferrably a double jointed mouth piece

Name: Donna
Question: How can I get my pony to make a calm, relaxed, straight reinback? She throws her head when I ask.

Answer: To answer you more precisely, I would need to know how big your pony is, what kind of cart you are using, and how far progressed the pony is in his training. Generally speaking, a rein back is a collecting exercise and requires from the pony to be truly on the bit and already muscled up enough to handle this job. Even then, a lot of things can make it difficult if not impossible. As your pony throws his head up, he is clearly uncomfortable or just not trained enough to deal with the request. Some of the things that prevent a good rein back are: the cart is too heavy, the footing too deep, the breeching adjusted too low, the hitching angle is not conducive to transmit his effort to the cart (for example, if the shafts slope a lot toward the ground at the wheels, and the breeching pulls straight back, this is a very poor energy transfer), you are pulling back too much and unbalance him that way, it hurts his body when he does it. He may simply not understand that what you want is a straight rein back. This needs lots of preparatory work in ground work, where you teach him that, also using the whip as an aid to prevent him stepping sideways.