Freedom carries a lot of tension in his poll. I don’t know if it’s because he’s a cribber and the collar bothers him, but he always needs to be released in this area.
Here’s a helpful video from Jim Masterson that shows one way to do it.
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I have often had that problem with cribbers, I do believe it is the collar. When I rode my mare Bonnie I just let her crib, because the miracle collar made her too sore to flex.
I loved this. I learned something new! It never occurred to me that moving my feet *first* would instinctively make a horse’s flight mechanism wake up. I love how he leaned with his legs, then moved his feet. I’ve often wondered, when I have a horse totally relaxed, why they may jerk up their head or step back when I move to a new position. Thank you!
As a side note, I’ve found tightness in the poll is often helped by releasing jaw muscles. (it doesn’t release the poll – but can help the horse be more willing to have a very sore poll touched.) Many horses clamp their teeth tighter on one side than the other. Sore jaws and sore polls frequently seem to go together.
Thanks for this!