Just like the Head Down techniques demonstrated in the previous session, the goal of Head up is to shorten and soften the muscles of the poll, atlas and neck, and to allow movement in a relaxed state by resting the horse’s head in your hands, an your arm, or on your shoulder in an up position.

The result is improved suppleness in the poll and release of tension in the horse’s entire body. This technique also helps release tension in the sacrum and major muscles of the hind end. 

Technique in more detail:

1. Start on the left side of the horse and start by relaxing the poll and atlas joint as much as possible with Lateral Cervical Flexion, which you learned in the previous video. 
2. You can begin by lightly having your left hand on your horse’s nose and your right hand, just under their jaw. Gently ask for a little extension out and up, making sure your horse is staying relaxed. 
3. Repeat this a couple of times and if your horse is comfortable, keep your left hand on the nose and pivot the elbow of your left arm under the jaw. You can rest your right hand behind the horse's ears, or on the top of his head. Wait until you feel the weight of their head resting on your arm. 
4. This might be as far as your horse wants to go, so if they’re comfortable here, then slide your right hand just behind the poll and start to gently massage the muscles above the atlas bone on each side. You can also slowly bend and then extend your legs so that your horse is getting some up-down movement through the poll/atlas.
5. If your horse is happy with this, you can slowly slide your horse’s head up onto your shoulder. If he tenses, continue supporting his head on your arm with one hand on the nose, and the other on top of the neck or atlas, but don’t apply pressure, just think about resting your hands.

Four things you can do once the horse’s head is up:

1. Lightly massage.
2. Move gently through a range of motion. Remember the bend is coming from your legs so don’t lift the horse up and down with your shoulder or arms. 
3. Nothing! By doing nothing, you are allowing the horse to relax his muscles in the poll area. For some horses, this is huge for them.
4. Search for the blink.

For dressage riders, Head Up can help with stress and tension found in many dressage horses in the throat latch and jaw. It also affects muscles that connect the head and neck to the forearm, shoulder and scapula. 

If you don’t get your horse's head onto your arm, or shoulder don’t worry!  You may have to use small steps to get the feel for this technique and to get the horse used to it. It’s important to go slowly, stay as soft as possible, and give the horse time to relax into this position before actually ‘doing’ anything. 

If your horse pulls back or tries to raise his head out of reach, resist the temptation to pull him down - you won’t win that one. Instead, keep your hand gently on his nose and let him raise his head. You can’t stop him from lifting his head, but you can keep him from taking it to the side by keeping your hand lightly on his nose. 

Also, have extra patience with horses that are head-shy. This can be an indication of pain, discomfort or tension and they can’t easily let go.