Question:
"Will it help shift the weigh back in this excersize , if chin gets
nearer and nearer  front  hooves  ? ( cos would have to lift shoulder
to do this )"
 

Julie Varley wrote:
Feb. 25, 2006

Hi Anna,
 
Yes.  When head lowering is first taught we c/r responses that get the head lower and lower to the ground.  When the nose is consistently all the way to the ground we can then refine it by waiting until the nose is closer to the horse's feet.  If the nose strays too far out away from the feet, then the feet will follow and we will have to stop the horse, back up, and begin again (because head lowering is not a forward moving exercise in the beginning).
 
What helped me see the weight shift back was to build a little duration so that I could begin to take a step or two back away from the horse.  Then watch the horse's whole body, and you can see moments when the horse shifts its weight back- and then click!  The more consistent that we are about reinforcing the moments when the nose is close to the feet, the easier it will be for the horse to keep its weight back.  It helps to imagine a circle drawn in the dirt around your horse's head, and click when the nose in inside of that imaginary circle.
 
Then you can get really fancy and shape the bend if you wish.  You can withhold your click until the horse turns slightly to the side you are standing.  Alex shows this in a series of photos in the Step-By-Step book, pg.27.  In the beginning of the series of photos the horse's head is down, but it is bent against the rein (or lead in this case).  By the end of the photos she is waiting to click until the horse is bent to the left.
 
Does this help?

Julie Varley