We still have the little monkey , she is 21 now, she is perfect on the lead rein and I drive her aswell. It is important to make sure your pony/horse is comfortable with this type of pressure before using them, as they do restrict the horse's natural head movement. Daisy reins are useful for small children who don't have the upper body strength to outsmart cheeky ponies as they dive for grass. They can be a safety measure to put in place/if/when needed.

Confident riders use a mix of tools and techniques to communicate with their horse and guide its movements. These help them to deal with common challenges like a horse that pulls or bolts or grazing while riding. If he were leaning, ie just heavily hanging on your daughters hands, as if she is holding the whole weight of his head - its leaning and is a schooling thing for both him and her. For an experienced rider who wants to correct grazing the daisy or grass reins will provide an adequate solution. For the novice rider, someone with a weaker grip or for an enhanced comfort experience and for both horse and rider the Balanced Support Reins offer a step up from these two options. So, lets take this as a learning experience - this mare deserves praise as well because she's teaching you - to become a more confident rider and a more determined rider. Maybe not at this point, but one day you'll see that. If he is pulling down very sharply, ie yanking the reins out of your daughters hands, it would be snatching - snatching the reins off her. Its a very cheeky pony maneuver! ( thats ofc since you have ruled out pain)blitznbobs, I'd assumed I was too big - he's 13.1hh (but a chunky Dartmoor), I'm 5ft 6, and more over 12 stone than I care to know about on the scales. Maybe last year before I ditched my diet it would have been ok - what do you think?? Balanced Support Reins are a newer type of rein with a patented design that sets them apart from daisy and grass reins.

When considering whether the daisy, grass or Balanced Support Reins are the right option for you and your horse it’s important to consider both rider and horse’s ease, comfort and what you want to achieve. I am going to suggest, maybe riding her only when you have others with you - to help you become more confident and stronger. And, when you are alone - maybe ride another horse who is allows you to relax and just enjoy yourself? There could be a number of reasons as to why your horse is rooting - poor saddle fit, mouth hurts, too much hands in her face, not enough leg and too much rein, etc, etc, etc - can you eliminate the reasons as to why she is doing this? One of the benefits of using grass reins is that they are relatively easy to use. They can also be adjusted to fit different horse sizes and shapes. They are also a less severe option compared to martingales or draw reins. Grass reins provide a gentle pressure on the horse's mouth, making it easy for the rider to keep their head up and in a more balanced position. They may however not be effective for stubborn horses or those that are resistant to pressure. They are designed to let the rider control the length of the reins to stop their horse from lowering its head to graze while riding, which can be dangerous.Maree, yes I think a crupper will be necessary, he just kept pulling til I noticed the saddle had been pulled! So he pulled them again, and I didn't budge - so he had me go out on the rail, and work on that, and when Nelson rooted - I did not budge, and what happened was Nelson caught himself in the mouth. Please note that in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 we can only accept items returned to us for inspection if they are clean and dry, even if they are faulty.