how to stop my horse fighting when i try to stop

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huskyfinn

New Member
Mar 3, 2009
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north east somerset
my horse has a bad habit of lifting his head/nose right up and opening his mouth everytime i ask him to stop or even change pace (slowing down), he's had all the checks done and he does stop but it's like he is saying he doesn't want to stop where i ask him and will even take a couple of paces to let me know.
i've tried him with different bits, nosebands, hackamores and even bitless, he still does it!
normally i wouldn't be bothered but i've been talked into doing a walk trot test and where my aids are concerned that is the one thing he will be marked down alot for!
any ideas??
 
I have a similar problem with my mare. On occasions she does NOT want to stand, and throws her head up as high as she can in the air and sticks her bum out!
Have you tried her with a martingale on? As this may give you a bit more head control where she can't lift it as high.
I'd also suggest try her in a school (if you have one accessible) and try some half halts with her and just basic transitions.

It may be she's just stubborn and not wanting to stand, therefore, some more manners are in order in which she needs to listen to your aids more efficiently! Good luck :)
 
To be honest (and no offence meant at all) I would get an instructor in, as it may all seem like the horses fault but it's not most of the time.

Help on the ground will really assist with your postition and what you are asking him to do and making sure your not doing anything which could be assisting him with his inability to halt or come down a transition effectively.

Goodluck though.x
 
Are you asking for halt/slow down with your seat? It may be that you are inadvertently pulling on his mouth in an attempt to slow down which his causing him discomfort or irritation so he throws up his head. Try stopping with no reins at all, just sitting up and squeezing your bum/upper thighs, and see if he still does it. If he trys to lift his head give a gentle squeeze on the reins (like squeezing a sponge) as you you would if asking him to come down on the bit. As soon as he stops totally relax your body and hands to reward him. It will take ages for him to stop using just your seat at first, but eventually you should get to the stage where he is responding perfectly to this even doing trot to halt transitions
 
Use your seat more than you're hands. Next time you ask for the halt keep an eye on your hands, are you using too much pressure??

Canter - trot transitions. As you go down to the trot keep your hands nice and soft. Trot for a few strides and then ask for canter again and just keep repeating.
 
basically a horse puts its haed up in a downward transition when it THINKS it needs to protect its mouth or head...

now this might be from a previous owner -- might be from a previous rider and now its a habit...

so your real job is to prove to your horse that he can lower his head and does not need to protect himself from your hands...

you can start this with in hand work -- doing stuff with the reins while you are on the ground -- this keeps you stable -- you can ask for a rein movement and just wait until he relaxes his head - then release -- so you teach him that a soft head and neck is comfy safe and easy...

then you can start teaching him this from his back...

when he trusts that your hands are safe, he will change his habit -- although as I said, if he learned this from a previous person it may take some time for you to prove yourself...

good luck

Cathy
 
My loan horse used to do exactly the same thing, stick his head forwards and keep walking. Simple fix my RI said to try was to shorten my reins before asking for halt, now we get a perfect halt every time :)
 
The reins are not the way to ask a horse to slow down. Learn to use your seat more effectively and the reins as a secondary aid.
 
i always ask for a downward transition or halt by using my seat, saying the command (walk or stand) then the reins, i've also had an RI ride him and she had the same problem, he just doesn't understand to stop where i ask!

he was hunted for 7yrs before i got him, his owner only ever turned up and saw him on the day of the hunt. he's had an easy life in the 3yrs i've owned him.
Finn is the same on the ground though, i ask him to stand and he just HAS to take them couple of steps more. :rolleyes:

it's like it takes so long to go from his head (giving the command) down to his feet to react!
i'm not into strapping him down and even if i was i think he would panic a bit as he doesn't seem to like 'restriction'. he's not unruly and is easy to be with it's just this one problem which i've had highlighted to me since talk of doing the walk trot test! :eek:
 
I agree with what some of the others have said. Reins are not the way to slow down. Recently, the pony that I part loan has started doing this, in fact the more pressure you apply to her mouth, the faster she gets, she also throws her head in the air and shakes it about!!! We had all relavent checks done, ie teeth, which are always done every 6 months anyway as is her saddle and her back too nothing wrong there. She has recently (in the last few weeks) just got really fit!! so we've put it down to hi-jinx.

Anyway, the only way I have found to stop her doing this is plenty of schooling. Lots and lots of transtions, using my voice to 'steady' when she speeds up, sit up straight and deep and still in your seat if she speeds up and plenty of half halts. She is starting to get the idea now.
No yanking on reins required, and def No gadgets, she is ridden in a plain old snaffle bridle with a loose ring french link snaffle and no martingale.

The only 'gadget' I would suggest maybe is a flash if you've had all the checks done and nothing is wrong, this will stop him opening his mouth.
 
Maybe he's just never been taught to yield to pressure from the bit - ie his early schooling was lacking some basic stuff? If a horse doesn't know that gentle pressure from the bit means slow down, then he won't respond to that cue reliably. Riders (eg previous to you) tend then to pull harder, making the horse uncomfortable, and leading to head tossing/evasion and a vicious circle can develop.

If he is basically responsive to you, but has this one 'fault' both on the ground and when ridden he probably just doesn't get it. Will he back with light rein pressure? If so, then it's fair to say he understands what the cue means. If not, he may not. Teach him to back and you'll be teaching him to stop at the same time. Then you could try and practice walk - halt - back -halt- walk transitions.
 
I would go with what others have said, leave his mouth out of the equation and use your seat. When he's moving you move with him then when you want to stop sit down into the saddle, stop trotting/walking in your body first and then (hopefully) he'll follow suit. If he's been trained properly his mouth and the bit should be for flexion and not to use as breaks. If he hasn't been trained well then he's probably anticipating pain and taking sensible (from his point of view) precautions to protect himself. Either way if you can leave his mouth alone as much as possible then the two of you can't get into a fight.

Another thought is to give him plenty of warning. Like us some horses need a bit of thinking time to respond. Develop a preparatory command, a sort of 'are you ready there's going to be an instruction' signal, perhaps pick up the reins slightly, or just squeeze them a little and then when you've got his attention use your seat to stop or slow down. I used to joke that you had to make an appointment to stop my cob mare, but in truth she just needed a fair bit of warning and then when the instruction came she was more than willing to comply.

Good luck with your test :)
 
IME horses that have been ridden by first time trekkers all their life respond to seat and leg aids before rein.
 
But wouldn't is be useful to teach them how to respond to reins? What that cue means? Riders tend to assume horses do understand and therefore increase the pressure or start using gadgets (not you OP - you are saying he doesn't seem to understand and I think you're right!) so surely it's in the horses interest to teach it to yield to bit pressure even if when you ride you use seat/legs/voice more.
 
Krissie I do see what you mean, but the question wasn't really about yeilding to the bit (i.e. softening/flexing the poll/accepting the contact) it was about using the reins for stopping/slowing. I agree that most horses do respond to pulling the reins by slowing down, however as others have said it sounds like he's anticipating pain which means he isn't responding in this way. And in any case its not the correct way to ask for a stop you never see GP dressage riders pulling on the reins!
Husky - I think if you can work on getting him to slow down totally with your seat WITH NO REIN AT ALL he will stop associating stopping with his anxiety and you will eventually be able to add a gentle squeeze of the rein to help him soften/step under at the same time. I'm not saying its easy, I really struggle to get charlie to stop with seat aids only especially at beginning of schooling session, but I know from other people on NR that by working at it you can get a good response every time.
P.S. just wanted to be clear I don't think its your riding that has been causing him pain or anxiety you are obviously caring and concerned about him!
 
I think all the advice re the seat is great. I'm just offering a differing perspective. My just backed horse would not repond to reins - he leant on the bit and pushed through the pressure, lumbering to a stop a few feet past where I wanted him to stop. I set up the cue with weight (slight shift back), then seat (tighten ar$e) then rein (squeeze). He had no clue about what the cues meant, but would lean into the bit pressure. Nothing to do with trying to get him on the bit, I just wanted him to know what cues to slow or stop using the reins meant. He clearly did not understand this. I think that this is a key part of a horse's education. So I taught him to back by shifting weight backward and holding light but steady pressure on the reins. He initially leant on the bit/tossed his head and eventually shifted his weight back and all pressure was released. Only took 4 repetitions before he was backing on light cues and from then on he was no problem to stop. I then moved on to stopping without reins.

Are the other posters saying horses don't need to know what pulling on the reins means? Am I displaying my horrendous ignorance in thinking that reins=slow down rather than just flexion?? :confused::confused: Not having a go, I am genuinely intrigued to know if my riding school knowlege of starting and stopping is outdated! If so, I will happily change what I do...

I agree that this problem probably developed because the horse was pulled too hard, causing pain and is now anticipating this. But the root cause lies in the horse not understanding the cues - hence previous riders using more force. So I personally would teach the cues - or at least assess whether ot not he understands the cues by asking him to back and see if he does. Do keep us posted OP - I'd like to know how you resolve this!
 
Krissie I said:
Are the other posters saying horses don't need to know what pulling on the reins means? Am I displaying my horrendous ignorance in thinking that reins=slow down rather than just flexion?? :confused::confused: Not having a go, I am genuinely intrigued to know if my riding school knowlege of starting and stopping is outdated! If so, I will happily change what I do...
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Not in my experience. The 3 different riding schools I've been taught at in the last 3 years have all told me that squeezing the reins means stop. I also use my seat to slow down too - more pressure on the horses back and blocking the movement, but I definitely use my reins for slowing down/stopping! :p
 
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