Stopping difficulties, advice appreciated.

Aug 12, 2006
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Derbyshire
Hi all :)
I'm currently having a few problems with J and his breaks! I've had him for about a month and a half now, and I can't really fault him majorly other than this. He is an angel in walk and trot but when we come to canter he seems to get very excited and just will not stop it isn't a SPEEDY canter, just fairly quick, i've tried half halts and I am very relaxed when i ask him to come back down to trot but he just will not have it, he also did it with my friend today which resulted in quite a few unintended laps of the school in canter and some very tight circles :rolleyes:. I asked his previous owner about this and she said she never had any difficultly with him and I suggested maybe getting him a stronger bit (he is currently in a loose ring snaffle.) She seemed quite funny about this and said she'd never had him in a stronger bit and doesn't know how he would react. What do you all suggest? I've tried alot of groundwork letting him know i am in control but still.. he just wont have it :confused: It is getting a bit of a pain now having no control and stops me progressing to things on him such as jumping.
 
Put him on a large circle and ask him to canter, once he is in his 'pace' ask him to canter faster - every time he slows send him on again, keep doing it until you really feel he wants to stop, then push him on once more then YOU ask for stop. Overly praise him when he does. Have a break and do it all over again!
Reverse psychology.................
 
Hi!
Schooling/ground work is the best answer I can offer - get him listening and responding to voice commands inparticular....use the reins as a secondary aid if he doesnt stop.....the aim is to start gentle, and get more firm if the horse doesnt respond. The aim is to get him to listen with minimal aids (such as reins and strong bits), and also minimal input from the rider.

When you ask your horse to stop, if you sit really deep, and lean back, pushing your heals down, and bring your legs slightly more forward towards the shoulders (and off the sides [only and inch or so] if need be), then it makes it more difficult for the horse to keep the impulsion going forwards!
It makes it difficult to keep going forward at speed, and makes the work harder for him....hopefully, he'd rather stop, then struggle to carry you in that position :D

Im teaching my 4 year old stop skid to a halt when I lean back.....if he doesnt do it, I shout "aaaand staaaaand", and if that doesnt work, I pull on the reins.......but it all starts with ground work, and getting the horse responsive to voice commands.

ETA - haha, What Wonkeywoody said is what I used to do with various horses in the past.... ones that just wanted to take off at the same spots all the time! It works to a certain degree, and is an option....but on some horses its not so good - especially if they are fit! Some horses just think they get to run, and then get grumpy when they cant stop, lol....they dont always rememeber what has happened the next time round, and try it again, lol.
It might be worth a go - maybe in conjunction with extra schooling to voice aids and obedience.

Changing the bit is also an option if all else fails (not my first choice)....it doesnt have to be a "strong" or "brutal" bit - just one that the horse cannot bite hold of, and run off with....When the horse does that, he cant really feel the rider pulling on the reins, and its effects are futile - the horse will keep going till he decides to stop. If a horse does do this, and other ground work isnt really working, then try a bit that is more of a "chain" (cant remember the names - will come to be soon) - there are many different "chain" bits - use the one with the simple rings at the side, rather than the stronger ones that have straight bars that add more strength.......
This type of bit is supposed to be the same in strength a jointed snaffle, but it is very difficult for the horse to bite hold of and run with (as it has no straight edges to grip)......it just adjusts to the countours of the mouth, and falls away when the horse tries to "bite" it.... the horse cannot push it up with his tongue to bite either :D....in my oppinion, I would think that this bit "squeezes" in the sides of the mouth when pulled (like jointed snaffle).....but, I cant see it being much worse that a jointed bit, and doesnt pull the horses mouth down and round through pushing the tongue.....definately not as strong as a kimerwick, or any other "strong" bits.......its just more difficult to bite and run off with, giving the rider more control.......you will probabl find (if the horse does usually bite the bit and run), that when you swap to a chain, the horse is much more responsive (and surprised)....but you havnt really gone up much in strength....(Im not a bit expert btw)
 
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Im not saying this should be your first choice, but this is the bit I was talkin about above - its a chain mouth ring bit:
Chainbit.jpg


And this is a stronger one...its a chain mouth gag:
chaingag.jpg



I still think that schooling is best option....and also the position of your body (leaning back etc) to make it harder for the horse to keep the impulsion going forwards.

bon chance!
 
I think more schooling should be your first step, he may be used to a rider with a much deeper seat or a rider who asks for more consistant control. I have a pony who I have just changed down to a milder bit from a gag, I find him much more responsive, but the girl who rides him sometimes has less control over his paces. It is early days, don't rush into any big changes if you can avoid it. Good luck. :)
 
I wouldn't be looking to do a lap of canter until he's shown himself worthy.

I'd concentrate on the quality of your upward and downward transitions. Once you have those set then you can gradually increase the number of paces you'll allow before asking for your downward transition.

The other thing you can do is ride a predictable pattern in the school. Something like a lap with a circle in each corner would be ideal. Do this in walk and trot so he knows what you'll be asking for.

Then when is predicting this you ask for a canter along the long side and then do a downward transition just before you get to the corner so you can get your 10 or 15m circle in trot in.

Hopefully he'll be expecting the transitions down and listening out for them.

Good luck :)
 
What does he actually do when he won't stop? (Aside from not stopping! :eek:) If he's throwing his head in the air it might be worth trying a running martingale, if he opens his mouth & grabs the bit perhaps a drop noseband might help. If he's putting his head down & leaning, a Cheltenham gag can raise his head so you can slow him down. My horse does the head down thing and I ride her in a gag off 2 reins sometimes. I usually slow her down by flexing her neck but it doesn't always work and on greasy ground she can start to lose her balance if I do this, so the gag is the safest option. I have aspirations of having a horse that I can ride in a snaffle & no gadgets and most times that's what I have, but she's a bit keen and silly at the moment and my overriding priority is both of us staying in once piece!

These aren't things you'd necessarily want to ride in all the time, but they can help counteract the immediate problem you have so when you decide you want to canter, you can do so safely and with control. Meanwhile you can school, do groundwork or whatever to address the root cause of the problem :)
 
Not a Tb is he? Mine is a bit like this in the school, just loves to go and go but doesn't go ludicrously fast, and is happy to keep going for an awful long time which makes using the reverse psychology approach difficult.

She's always much better with it when she's doing lots of regular work and I try to keep a careful balance between work, feed and condition which isn't always easy. Look at what you're feeding and your routine and see if you can make any adjustments which will help there :)
 
What does he actually do when he won't stop? (Aside from not stopping! :eek:) If he's throwing his head in the air it might be worth trying a running martingale, if he opens his mouth & grabs the bit perhaps a drop noseband might help.

Hi IM :). Well that is the thing really, he doesn't really do ANYTHING when i try to stop him, he does lift his head a tiny bit as much - as he can as he is already in a running martingale as tight as i can do it without it being too harsh! He just carries on like there is no tomorrow and everything is fine and dandy, cheeky so n so :p. I think he may well be grabbing the bit so i may try a drop noseband, thanks.

Not a Tb is he? Mine is a bit like this in the school, just loves to go and go but doesn't go ludicrously fast, and is happy to keep going for an awful long time which makes using the reverse psychology approach difficult.

As far as i know he doesn't have any TB in him, (hes a little 14.1) and his passport states breeding unknown will add a pic see if any of you can indentify what he may be :)

Thanks for all the helpfull advise also, I think I shall be trying a drop noseband as this doesn't go to the extremes of changing his bit straight away and then lots and lots more groundwork and transitions to really get him listening to me and will lay of the cantering for a while! Shall update if we get any improvement, fingers crossed :)

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(This picture was him being ridden at his previous home.)

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What's done wonders with my gal's brakes over the last couple months is learning the one-rein stop. No kidding. She's been schooled with me and our yard owner maybe 6 or 8 times and had this as part of the lesson. Last lesson I went to stop her using both reins lightly, and *POOF!* she stopped. She didn't take a couple steps like she used to, or try walking through the bit. It was a simple asking on my part, and "Yes, ma'am!" on hers.
We started at a good forward walk, and have progressed to a trot. Lots of transitions. Our YO has started cantering her and getting the stop for the last one or two sessions she's riding for, but there's no indoor arena, and the outdoor is a bit too slick for me to try it. But we're working WONDERFULLY at W/T!
As far as a stronger bit? My limited experience on the subject is this:
we started our now 4 year old mare in a simple o-ring snaffle. She would yawn, shake her head, etc. Just never seemed happy, and would argue when I'd use the reins. Not hugely, but enough for me to want to go to a MILDER bit. I bought a Myler comfort snaffle with a wide barrel (level 1). She started off with the Myler bit (before training the one rein stop) with almost NO brakes. Since riding some more in that bit, and training on stops, she's really coming along nicely.

I'm not saying that what's worked for us will be a cure-all for you...however, in the event that you are able to use less bit and wind up with great results, isn't it worth checking out?
 
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