How do I teach my horse to neck rein?
to get your horses to neck rein we'll work from the ground first.
I want to mention that having your horse neck rein with reins is just half of it. The horse should also learn leg cues so he can associate the two together so that the message is more clear but I'll just give you some points on how to get the reining part.
From the ground stand to the side of your horses head. Take a rope and hold it in your hands with your hands about 2 feet apart and your arms out strait. Now use the rope and press against the side of your horses head at the same location where your halter rests around your horses nose. Remember to use little pressure and then slowly increase the pressure until your horse moves his head away from your pressure. Do this about a dozen times per side. Now do it again with the side you started with but this time do it with the rope being pressed against your horses neck. Remember to repeat this about a dozen times per side. After your done do something else for an hour or two or wait till tomorrow.
The next time you do this just start with the horses neck and repeat the same steps that you did before. After a few sessions you'll notice your horse will start to move his head/neck away from you as soon as you touch him with the rope.
Next we want to teach your horse to move away from you with what I call feigned pressure. Basicly pressure that is due to motion but without actually touching your horse. We want your horse to move his head away from you as you swing the rope in front of you as if it was a propeller. If he doesn't move his head away as you are swinging it slightly rotate your hand so that the tip of the rope starts hitting his neck and/or use your other hand and tap your horses cheek until he moves his head away. Work with this until your horse moves his head away without hesitation. Then do something else for awhile or come back the next day.
Repeat everything I have mentioned so far but this time your goal isn't just to have your horse move his head away but to actually move his front feet so that he pivots away from you.
Now you can work while mounted. While mounted work with having a rope or rein lay against your horses neck. If he moves his neck away from the rope then great. If not, swing another rope near his face like what was done from the ground so he moves away from the feigned pressure or wave a 3 to 4 foot long stick out in front of you. He ought to move away nicely for you because of the work you've done from the ground.
There are other methods to use then what I mentioned above but the above works for me most of the time.