Teaching an ex racehorse to halt

P

Purdey33

New Member
Feb 8, 2005
213
0
0
52
Carmarthenshire, Wales
Visit site
I have an ex racehorse who is so good to hack out, not bothered by anything at all :) The only problem I have is getting him to halt! Walking in hand or ridden, he just wont stop and stand :( Which is dangerous and difficult on the roads - stopping at junctions, pulling in for traffic etc. He's ridden in a snaffle - I'm not going down the route of changing bits as I don't think this will help. I am considering going bitless though as I have read of many racehorses being ridden successfully in bitless bridles.

What I would like to learn are training methods which I can use to teach him. Any ideas? I don't have a school, but have just aquired new grazing with an enclosed forestry to ride in (safer than the roads for now).

Thanks in advance for any advice :)
 
if you think about it, he#s never been asked to before, generally they are kept on the move, and in circles - as a compromise you could circle him at junctions - does he back up at all?

they tend to be mounted on the move and the only time they tend to stand is in the winners enclosure! could you try exercises such as walk 4 steps, halt, 4 again etc to get him used to the idea - plus they are often responsive to voice - if you 'grab' them they see that as a signal to go faster rather than stop.

how about a bit of NH with a halter to back him off, etc - that could then transfer to being led, then ridden. Rosie isn't wonderful at junctions so i tend to halt her a distance from it, then walk her on, halt her again, then walk on then halt about 15 ft insdie the junction.
 
Percy's an ex steeple-chaser and luckily for me he's good with aids especially halt. there are times though when he decides to do the opposite and if he bolts etc i tend to cross my reins over.

like, say you're holding your reins as usual and then put your right hand over the top of your left hand. it helped me to feel more confident and also he really did start to listen more attentively!
 
Thanks.

Yes, he will back up in a stable or in the field, but out and about he does forget his manners and is very forward going to the point he doesn't seem to notice you are there, almost like he will step over you. He doesn't have the inclination to bolt or anything - he just walks. Its as if once he is off, his mind is just thinking on walking ahead. We do circle him at junctions, but the traffic can be unforgiving :(

I think I will practice walking short distances and halting etc (in the woods!). Thanks both :)
 
hi

This is the only problem most of the time with race horses. what you need to do is play games with him and this way he will know he is doing somthing good. I.E every time he halts giv him a stroke and a pat or give him a treat.

this way he will enjoy it. other wise you may want to change the bit or add a greckle/nose band to keep his mouth shut whilst you are asking him to stand.


good luck:) :)
 
my x racer used to be a nightmare to halt, she used to dance around a bit and try to keep going, not really sure what i did as now she stands ok, but she is ridden bitless.
i do have this problem with my idxtb tho, nothing you do will teach her how to stop, shes really impatient, and if she doesnt get her own way she rears, so its not the best fight to have:(
 
How we taught Chevy to stop is the same way we taught him to stop breaking out of the walk and going into the trot endlessly.

What we did is simply taught him to enjoy it, that walk/halt was a break and a treat.

The walk, we would work him pretty hard, then ask him to walk. As soon as he did it, we'd drop the reins and the contact and let him just walk around with lots of pets, scritches etc. He soon began to figure out that walk meant he did a good job and the work would stop if he did it.

Once he had that breakthrough, the walk became a refuge and a comfy place to be so he was more than happy to do it on a very light cue. Once we reintroduced work into walking (collection, lateral movements etc), as long as when he did a good job we dropped all contact and let him have an break he still took it as a good thing.

As for the halt, it used to suck. He'd barge right through it, especially on the longe. The last time I was at a longing clinic it was with my now current instructor. She saw him do it, and stopped the clinic and had me repeat. She then commented that this was a horse who'd never been taught that whoa is a good thing, a treat and a chance to stand around, smell the roses and take a break.

So we on the longe with a voice cue. We'd longe him in the end of the arena so we had walls on three sides (works with just one) but does require effective communication between you and the horse to work as it's a body language cue.

I'd ask for a whoa when he was at one of the walls, if he didn't halt immediately I stepped over a couple steps towards the wall in front of him basically 'crowding' him between me and the wall. This usually stops him immediately.

Then I'd walk up to him, scratch him and let him stop working and stand there. No work, pets and attention. After a few minutes, I'd go back to longing him. Do it again, stop all work, walk up to him and scritch and kiss and cuddle him. Soon I stopped walking up to him to teach him to stand where he is at all times wether or not I move around or come up to him.

He started consistantly stopping, letting out a sigh and relaxing. So we introduced it under saddle, using the voice cue. And that's where we are now :) He's still not 100%, but he consistantly will do canter to halt on the voice cue and just stand there.

So the way we did it wasn't by training that a cue meant what (he knew damn well), we taught him that that cue means work stops and he can do nothing. And my horse is a serious fan of doing nothing!
 
The good thing is you can teach your horse new things,and teach him the old way of prancing,running over you is Wrong. Tell him halt and if he doesn't (on ground first) back him up 4 steps, each time he stands longer he has to work less. I did this with my friends crazy worked up arabian,and now he respects his handler. If they don't respect you on the ground,its dangerous to ride, you will have even less control on top! Perfect ground manners = the perfect riding horse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back