"The 'ramener,' in the French riding terminology, is the classical head set; it is characterized by the verticality of the forehead, with the poll the highest point."

~Jean-Claude Racinet~

There are several ways of teaching the ramener (pronounced: ra-men-ay).  Here is one way to get you started.  We are going to discuss teaching the ramener at liberty, though having a halter on the horse is perfectly fine.  Our goal is to teach the horse to lift the his neck and bring his nose in completely on his own.  This is a very good exercise for the horse's muscles. 

This is a photo of Jackson doing a medeocre ramener.  His cue is an upward tug of the neck rope.  I will get a better picture on here soon.

For this training, I am going to assume you are going to reward your horse with food.  A treat or small handful of grain is perfect.  If you are not comfortable feeding your horse food, just pet him and praise him a lot.  It might go slower, but it should still work fine.  This can be taught with clicker training methods or with just reward methods.

Our goal will be to touch the base of the horse's neck with our hand and have him raise his neck and bring his nose in until his forehead is vertical.  In the beginning, we are not going to expect him to lift his neck very high, just to break at the poll.  As his muscles develop, we will ask him to raise his neck higher and higher.

1. Stand on your horse's left side.  He can be haltered or not as you are comfortable.  Touch the base of your horse's neck and tell him "round."  You can use any word your like.  He will probably ignore this first cue.  If he does, then either lure his nose toward his chest with food or have him target your hand.  If he moves his nose toward his chest, reward him!

Note: To teach him to target your hand, put your hand near his nose, tell him "touch" (again, use any word you like: tag, target, etc.); when he touches your hand, reward him and praise him!.  Gradually move your hand farther and farther away.  If using clicker training, it won't take very long at all for him to learn this.

Try asking him to bring his nose in again.  Touch his neck, say "round," and wait.  If he moves his nose, reward him!  If he doesn't, lure his nose in again.  If he moves it a little, reward that.  Remember to reward the slightest try.  Also remember to ask for more and more as your horse learns the movement. 

As your horse gets better and better at this, ask him to raise his neck a little.  I did this by tapping the base of my horse's neck with a whip untill he lifted it a little.  Your horse will learn more with lots of short sessions rather than one long one.

This is called "shaping behavior."  Once one understands the basic method, one can teach an animal anything!

Good luck,

Ivy

Hey there, everyone,

Just posting to let everyone know about my new website:  Ivy's Horse Jewelry.  I have been working on making custom horse jewelry out of polymer clay.  Let me know what you think. 

God bless,

Ivy

Essence (of horsemanship)

By Ivy Schexnayder

A Majesty

Not contained

By force,

But directed

By silence

An Elegance

Not gained

By control,

But grown

By subtlety

A Purity

Not made

By hands,

But found

By perceiving

A Presence

Not seen

By eyes,

But imagined

By feeling

A Language

Not written

By man

But understood

By listening

For Hannah