How do you fix a horse that is tense and above the bit in dressage?

A horse that is tense and above the bit — carrying its neck high and stiff, avoiding the contact rather than seeking it, and showing tension through the back and jaw — is one of the most common and most consequential problems in dressage training because tension through the topline blocks the throughness that all quality dressage requires. The first step is identifying whether the tension has a physical cause — back soreness, bit discomfort, dental issues, saddle fit problems — because training corrections cannot resolve physically based tension and may make it worse by adding training pressure to a horse that is already managing pain. Once physical causes are ruled out, the approach to releasing tension prioritizes forward movement over any attempt to lower the head through rein contact. Pushing the horse forward from the leg into a consistently following, soft hand — the horse moving actively into the contact rather than being asked to accept it passively — develops the forward-seeking behavior that gradually loosens the back and jaw. Long and low work, in which the horse is encouraged to stretch its neck forward and down by offering a longer rein when the horse shows any softening, rewards the release of topline tension directly and builds the horse's association between reaching down and the relief of rein pressure. Transitions between gaits, ridden with particular attention to ensuring the horse moves forward into the trot and canter rather than tensing in the transition, develop the forward throughness that is the opposite of the above-the-bit tension. Cavaletti and ground poles encourage the horse to look down and reach forward with its neck, producing a naturally lower head carriage through interest rather than through rein pressure. The most important principle is never to use rein pressure to bring the head down — a horse forced into a lower head position through rein pressure while remaining tense is not becoming through but is simply being compressed while remaining tense.