Why aren't people taught the one rein stop?

annareeves0

annareeves0

Active Member
Dec 18, 2007
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Bournemouth, Dorset
Q in title. I have often thought this as it has given me loads of confidence knowing that I can stop or at least significantly slow Rosie down if she 'goes'. Certainly slow her down enough to make a safeish exit if thats all I have.

My friend who is very novice (only ever cantered 3 steps in the school as is very unconfident despite having lessons for some time) was taken on a walk hack from the local RS on a very sensible horse who from a complete stop spooked and bolted off with her :eek: She had no idea what to do and eventually leapt off sideways and is now thoroughly battered and bruised with whiplash :cry:

Why not teach all horses and riders the one rein stop as standard and if **** hits fan as least you have something you can try! Its not ideal but in an emergency situation could save people a lot of damage.
I think Parelli teach it really well, but its a common 'cowboy' or NH things - heres a link to just one of the many videos on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpDSbXPtzU

What ARE people taught to do in an emergency (if anything)? Why isnt this taught as standard and possibly the first thing you learn i.e what to do if it all goes wrong!
 
Good point, been riding at RS for about six months now and still haven't been taught anything like that. Wonder if its something to do with them not expecting me to have the balance to cope and as we're in an enclosed area they just think it would be easier to let me fall.:unsure:
Have to say it was actually a fellow livery who taught me - showed me on my own horse if I remember rightly - he chucked me off, she offered to get on and give him a telling off and she showed me how to stop him. Pretty reassuring to know what to do imo.
 
This is something I just don't get, nothing I've read on the one rein stop convinces me it would stop a horse that was truly bolting & I can't imagine that I'd use this method on a horse in normal circumstances. I know a lot of people swear by it though, it just isn't for me & I've never taught it to anyone I've helped with their horses.
 
carthorse said:
This is something I just don't get, nothing I've read on the one rein stop convinces me it would stop a horse that was truly bolting & I can't imagine that I'd use this method on a horse in normal circumstances. I know a lot of people swear by it though, it just isn't for me & I've never taught it to anyone I've helped with their horses.
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It does stop a horse that runs off. Particularly one that runs off as a tantrum. By yielding them round they cannot physically go in a straight line and therefore you will circle, most horses as KV said would choose to slow rather then lose their balance.

It can also (used properly as a slow rather then a stop) be helpful in teaching young horses who don't to start with always understand the aids properly.

When I mean runs off, I mean in that you are going fast and can't stop. True Bolting I'm not sure if it would as the only time I have ever been truly bolted with it was better to bail out as a true bolter is in pure flight mode and therefore dangerous.

Why it isn't taught? Not sure tbh.
 
I just feel there are safer & less brutal ways of stopping a horse that runs off (including having the common sense to avoid certain situations if you know your horse gets strong - now I do wish common sense was taught!), to me yielding the hindquarters at speed is a risky manoeuvre.

I also worry that if you teach someone a one rein stop what they hear is "this will always stop any horse", they feel safe & consequently they do stupid things because they think they have a get out of jail free card. I've seen it happen with bits, I doubt this would be any different.

What I DO wish was taught is common sense, horsemanship & the honesty to realistically assess riding ability. There would be far less need for things like one rein stops or strong tack if people didn't overhorse themselves, accepted that some horses should not be put in certain situations & learnt how to read the horse they're on. Sorry, rant over & I'll stop going off topic :yellowcarded:
 
When I see really good people ride, they are able to control any horse with their position, weight and general riding skills - horses will never run off with these riders because they are in complete control. When I have seen horses run off (not bolting, just going fast) it is generally because the riders skill does not match that of the horse and the rider is at fault. The horse is not listening and he rider is not effective. While the one-rein stop may get a rider out of a sticky situation on a one-off occassion, I do not think that it should be promoted as an act of good practice. I think that riders need to make sure that they can control their horses in all paces before they venture out hacking or sponsored rides etc. This comes from having a very secure position, being confident and generally riding well.

If a horse truely bolts, nothing will stop it!
 
IMO a true bolter will not be stopped by anything. If your friend is as novicey as you say, the chances of her being able to correctly execute a one rein stop are slim. Chances are, horse would turn so sharply that she would be out the side door anyway. Done incorrectly, all you do is bruise and possibly cut the mouth. I agree with carthorse (thanks for saving me typing :p) and MP though I must say - just because a rider is capable of riding that horse, doesn't mean it won't run off! Horses are animals and hence have a mind of their own! No one on here will argue about Geoff Billington's riding ability I'm sure but at a recent demo he had a horse plant and flat refuse to jump a fence. It didn't do anything other than stand in front of the fence and grunt regardless of what he did. It happens to the best of them!

I think it's good that the one rein stop isn't taught in the RS - it makes people feel they are safe no matter what if they have this "emergency brake" and I believe that if you don't have the riding knowledge to work out for yourself that if you pull the horse on a tight circle it will slow down (ie without someone telling you about it) then you haven't the knowledge or experience to use it correctly. It's a last ditch resort, not an exercise to practise.
It's not rocket science to figure out that it will work, there should be no need to teach it - IMO those with horse sense and common sense have already been "taught" it.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but my understanding is that it's not about the rider knowing the one rein stop, but the horse. Done properly, it should be a conditioned response in the horse which should halt it from any pace with a light flex. Done improperly, or on an untrained horse it can be rough, uncomfortable and possibly dangerous if the horse is bowling on and you pull them round too quickly.

Repeatedly one rein stopping a wound up horse is ugly and in a case I witnessed not so long ago on a sponsored ride seems to do nothing more than wind them up even more.
 
Midnight_Ashes said:
I believe that if you don't have the riding knowledge to work out for yourself that if you pull the horse on a tight circle it will slow down (ie without someone telling you about it) then you haven't the knowledge or experience to use it correctly. It's a last ditch resort, not an exercise to practise.
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I would have to disagree entirely with that. I think it should be an exercise to teach both horse and rider so when its needed the horse too knows whats coming. Its also a great flex :D If you dont practise it you wont feel confident enough to use it or even think of it in an emrgency situation and if not used to it the horse is likely to freak.

I get confused about different riding aids and 'styles' but as we stop on one rein, the lift of one rein tells Rosie what's coming; if she stops to the lift then fab - thats what I want - but we both know theres a next stage if she doesnt. This stop has to be preferable to pulling hard or sawing in a desperate attempt to stop? I think if you practise it on a regular basis it does give you confidence and for the right reasons - knowing you CAN stop is really powerful for us nervous nellies. If shes being particularly gobby I rarely have to get beyond the slide down the rein - we both know whats coming so she complies (dont you love a confident horse :tongue:)

I would not have thought of it myself as would have made the presumption that the horse would fall over and that would be even more dangerous. I know that probably does happen sometimes but isnt usual.

I think the point about it doesnt matter how good a rider you are, is exactly the reason you SHOULD teach the one rein stop. I have no experience of true bolting and I guess that isnt really what Im talking about but on a spooky/windy/grumpy day it can be really hard to slow a keen horse down and if I feel unsafe or she isnt listening I will use a hindquarter disengage or if that doesnt work the stop - it reminds us both that I am in control and in charge. I will however also say that I ride bitless so do not have to worry about yanking her mouth.

I dont think having an emergency brake would make people behave unsafely - quite frankly a small canter can soon dissolve into a '**** I need to but cant stop' situation. I would even say that if the rider AND horse are familiar with the technique, the knowledge its there is enough to not need it?

I have used repeated hindquarter disengages when she was really spooky and I was really nervous - it gave me enough control and confidence to learn to get better very quickly (we only did this for a few weeks when I first got back to riding after a long time). She eventually understood I was in charge regardless of what she thought :giggle:
 
I do think there is a tendency, and you touch on it in your post a couple of times, about the one rein stop often being more for a nervous rider than a strong horse.
 
Yann said:
I do think there is a tendency, and you touch on it in your post a couple of times, about the one rein stop often being more for a nervous rider than a strong horse.
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Yes, thats a point. Many many riders are nervous/lack confidence and one of the most common fears is the horse running away with them.

I also think my novice friend a) might have been spared the worst of her bruises and b) might be persuaded to get back on a horse knowing if it happens again she has another option than bail out at speed. Surely knowing it is better than not knowing?
 
I was never taught it and to be honest I cannot really say that it would help Storm and myself. I think it would be more likely to provoke her into a serious bucking fit causing more damage - either that or she would fall over and take me with her! I have been helped by people on here on the explanation of it over the years but I still don't gel with it, maybe if somebody were to actually show me in person then I'd learn it - I don't sometimes get with stuff in writing (hope that makes sense). It would be nice to know there were emergency brakes but sadly, I think if Storm wanted to bolt then nothing and nobody would stop her. Perhaps with the right rider? NOt sure on this one.
 
If it's not a bolt then I personally think you're usually better off staying on the horse than bailing out, they invariably slow and stop when they get to where they want to go, or run out of puff.
 
I must be on my own here as a novice I'd rather stick a run out ( as opposed to genuine bolt) than throw myself off. Partly out of fear of hurting myself (such a baby :giggle:) and partly because in the back of my mind I don't want the horse to connect running away with dumping their rider.

Without being taught an emergency stop technique, when my RS horse spooked at a quad bike (illegally ridden down track) and took off, I steered her towards some trees that she couldn't fit through. I realise this probably wouldn't work if she was in full bolt! But it was the only thing I could think of.

Can anyone explain for me what a one-rein-stop is, exectured 'properly'? I'm not going to use it (I hope!!) I'm just curious about this secretive thing.
 
I don't see how a one rein stop is brutal, or is hard?

But then I might be viewing it and the circumstanced differently.

I agree a one rein stop should only really be used on a horse that has been taught to flex to the rein.

When I do a one rein stop on Harvey it is by raising my hand and then running my hand down the rope closing my fingers slowly on the one rein, he then normally stops or slows and flexes his head round. It is something I practise at all paces.

Indeed we spent a lot of time riding in a halter and just one rein.

Yanking back with two hands to stop is something I see often that just isn't effective along with the horrible thing of 'sawing' that a lot of people do if their horse won't stop.
 
Yann said:
If it's not a bolt then I personally think you're usually better off staying on the horse than bailing out, they invariably slow and stop when they get to where they want to go, or run out of puff.
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Agreed. They'll stop eventually!! If it's a true bolt, I think we've all established you're stuffed either way but they are pretty rare.

annareeves0 said:
Yeah but that takes some big cajones especially when you're quite novice!
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I agree with this, but I'm afraid my view of this is that we all go through it! In order to become an experienced rider, you have to start off as a novice. I was taught by experience - I learnt to sit a buck or a bronc by falling off, I learnt how to stop (or better still, prevent) a running horse the hard way, and I learnt what to do when they rear, again the hard way. It's a case of taking the rough with the smooth, horse riding is and always will be a risk sport, but it's all about risk management. I do wonder why the RS took her out on this hack - a horse safe for a novice to go on a walk hack on is not one that will give it legs after a spook; your friend was sent out on the wrong horse IMO. I hope your friend is ok - we all take knocks and I can understand that she will be nursing her confidence as well as her bruises but I really don't think whether or not she was taught a one reined stop, or any other last ditch resort, would've made much difference. She was obviously terrified, as she bailed out, which is a last ditch resort (I'd rather take my chances and hang on!). Whether or not, in the situation, she would've had the clarity of mind to think "I need to do XYZ to stop this horse" is something I don't know, as I don't know what was going through her mind. I doubt it, to be honest. I know last year my car spun on ice and all I thought was "OMG I'M GOING TO DIE" (or words to the effect of), not "well I need to counteract the spin by....."
Again, I hope she's ok.
 
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