Stopping Your Horse

In this blog, I explain the way I teach a horse to stop. I start at the very beginning when the horse knows nothing at all.

Have you ever been on a horse that won't stop?

I have, his name was Josh and he was an off the track TB. It was our first outing eventing, he stopped at the first 2 fences but then it must have "clicked" that he was meant to jump them because he never stopped at a fence again. The problem was on that day he took off and wouldn't stop at all. It felt like the more I pulled on the reins the faster he went! It was scary and I remember just pointing him at each fence and hoping he would run out of puff by the time we got to the finish line.

There is nothing like starting horses under saddle to help you learn how to "explain" to horses what you would like them to do when you give them particular aids. It also teaches you that horse training is not a "one size fits all" approach and you need to adjust your training to each horse.

In today's video, I would like to share with you the steps I use in teaching an unbroken horse how to stop from body language on the ground to using only my seat when ridden. My hope is that like me when you understand the steps involved, you will have a much greater ability to break your training down to basics if things go pear-shaped. This gives you the ability to teach your horse in a methodical manner that helps him understand too.

I have, his name was Josh, and he was on off the track thoroughbred that I bought to take eventing. It was his first-ever cross country run, and he took off as a horse possessed. I had no hope of stopping and no idea of what to do. All I did was point him at the fences and hope he jumped them. He did jump them and eventually became a cross country machine and a very talented 3-day eventer. He was so gifted that the German Equestrian Federation purchased him for one of their Olympic riders, but that's another story.

Starting green horses under saddle has been life-changing for me and I would love every horse owner to teach a horse that knows absolutely nothing and get him to understand what you want him to do. It makes you think about what, why and how you train/teach your horse.

Today's video shows you how I teach a horse to stop. I teach it step by step, starting in the round yard and then it is refined for the horse's entire riding career. I hope you enjoy it, and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.