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  Discussion on Stopping......
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Member:
Cats

Posted on Sunday, Nov 24, 2002 - 6:43 pm:

Not sure if I am putting in right place

Sorry if I did not!

Am sure I read everything and could not find my answer.....

When I try to stop my horse she puts her

head down and tries to avoid the bit

Im guessing anyway...

Please advise.....

I sit deep in the seat and tell her

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catherine Williams
Member:
Sunny66

Posted on Sunday, Nov 24, 2002 - 8:18 pm:

My two cents....

Are you relaxing your entire body, putting your weight in your stirrups, and thinking of your legs as cement posts??
Member:
Kimlking

Posted on Monday, Nov 25, 2002 - 2:32 am:

Catherine: when you are preparing to halt, stop following the horse's motion altogether with your seat and with your hands, and sit your horse as though you and she are already halted. Visualize your spine as a thick, heavy post about ten feet long (I like to make it gold, too) that goes straight up and down, through your horse, and deep into the ground, fixing her on the spot. Say "Who-o-o-oah!" in a firm, low, and lowering voice, and use a pull-and-slack technique with your hands, until your horse comes to a complete standstill. Be sure that you are not using a steady pull on the reins (which will just give her something to resist), and (at this stage) be sure that you are not squeezing (giving the "go" cue) with your legs. (Later, when you are working at halting squarely and in a collected frame, you will use your legs to drive her up into your hands, so that she comes to a stop with all four feet under her and not strung out--but don't worry about all that for now. Also, she is guaranteed to win the tug-of-war that steady rein pressure provides, so don't invite her to play that game!)

When she stops moving forward, immediately give her total comfort, by taking your legs off her and releasing all pressure on the reins--even if you are sure that she will take off again as soon as you give her her head. Letting her blow it just gives you another opportunity to correct her, reinforcing her learning; if she does begin to move off, do the same things again.

Give her three chances; if she still fails to stop, or to stand quietly on a totally slack rein, make her back up a step or two or three, and then offer her another chance to stand quietly on a slack rein. Do this (the halt and back-up and halt again) a couple of times, and she might just choose to stop and stand quietly when you ask nicely, rather than have to back up again. But if she still refuses to stop or tries to move off after stopping without being asked to, "double" her the next time. Here's how: immediately after she again ignores the "halt" order and cues, pull her nose around to one side by bringing the (shortened) rein on that side straight back towards your knee (pull and slack, pull and slack etc., and don't forget to lengthen the other rein to allow her to bend her neck), press at the girth with your leg on that side, move your other (outside) leg back a couple or three inches, and put firm pressure with it on that side as well. This will "wrap her around" your inside leg and cause her to turn briskly around it in a tight little circle. Turn her around one full circle and then straighten her out and give her the aids for the halt again. Being doubled is so much more unpleasant for her than having to back up, or simply standing still, that she will probably quickly figure out that standing still on a slack rein is what she really wants to do after all. You have set it up so that all of her other options are yucky. If she still doesn't get it, double her two full turns and then ask her to halt and stand. If she still doesn't get it, do three, always finishing with another polite request for a nice quiet halt, followed by total relief from leg and rein aids.

There's no need to become impatient, or to escalate the emotional tone. Just carry out this program calmly and matter-of-factly, and sooner or later, but within a very short space of time, she will get it. I have never worked with a horse that didn't respond very well to this program. I once had to use an aged, very badly spoiled Clydesdale-cross mare for a school horse. This old girl had gotten away with everything for years, and so it took a little more than usual to "explain" the halt to her. I actually had to drive her around in tight little circles for several sets of three or four times each, but even so it only took a couple of minutes before she understood that her choices were limited to (a)spinning around my inside leg or (b) halting and standing still on a loose rein. As soon as that was clear to her, she chose (b).

When your horse does halt, and stands quietly on a loose rein, in addition to rewarding her with perfect comfort and total release from your aids, you can praise her. You can pat her and talk to her, of course, and tell her what a good smart horse she is--and/or you can "nibble" on her withers: scratch her gently at the base of her neck, where her mane ends. Horses do this to each other, using their teeth; it's a gesture of reassurance. I think it means something like "you're my friend and everything is fine." Especially if you have had to back her or double her, that would be very nice for her to know.
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