How do I get my horse to Slow down?

Question

He does great at a trot, he keeps his head down for the most part and is pretty slow. but wen he lopes he just goes all out. i try to do the same tenquine i did with his trot (dressage thing i think, seesaw reins till he slows and drops/collects) but its not working, and circles seem to only make him wat to go faster...

wat to to??!

Answer 1

well i have a pony .i make slow down is,to say stop it.

Answer 2

Well if he is going to fast  pull on his reins hard and say woe, woe. Try to get well keep his head down.

Answer 3

you hold em ... OH YEAH ZING

Answer 4

Maybe try a bit with longer shanks

Answer 5

hey! i just finished my mare in western pleasure. i like to ride in different bits so even though i show in a correction, i like to train in a o-ring or eggbutt snaffle. this is going to help keep your horse soft in the mouth. you NEVER want to "hold" in a strong or even mild bit. this pulls the horse back behind the bit and thats another major problem so put him in a "soft" bit and maybe a martingale. i use draw reins but only if i have the o-ring on her. get your horse prepared to canter before you do it. make sure he understands the see sawing concept and that will really help. i like a martingale to start out with bc it is really easy to use and for most horses, that is all you need. bump your hands back and forth a minute and then ask for a canter. this will bring your horse's body up and make it easier to slow down. good luck and email me if you have any more questions about cadence or anythin. Good Luck and keep ridin!!!!!!

Answer 6

Ok, first off - DON'T SWITCH TO A HARSHER BIT!!!

-sigh- I'm a dressage rider, I ride some very hot off the track thoroughbreds and one serious hyped up Quarter Horse. The TB I now own the first time I got on her she absolutely ran away with me, they put her in a huge bit with a martingale so they could control her.

This is what you need to do, you need to establish that your horse has the balance to canter by lounging him first. You need to work with sidereins (long enough that he can drop low and deep and put them LOW down, on the girth of your saddle so it encourages him to go low and deep which engages the hindquarters and back muscles giving him more balance).

Never NEVER seesaw the reins. The proper way to get a horse to collect is to be elastic in your elbows or do half-halts (which are much better thought of as half-goes, go to Youtube.com and type in Jane Savoie and look for her half-halt video, you'll know what half-halts are then :))

Definately lounge the horse first, then when you go into some loping, you should expect your horse (assuming that they are balanced in the trot and canter) to go into the canter immediately from a relatively collected trot, not to run into it from the trot. If a horse runs into the canter, it will begin by being unbalanced. To help the horse be balanced, don't lean forward but instead rock slowly backwards.

I've had one horse that was not hot, but decided to threaten to run away with me, I knew it was a fairly lazy horse, so what I did was just let him run. In fact, I just let him go. We had a big pasture and he ran and ran and ran and ran, until he went "oh god, this isn't fun!" and I made him go just a bit more, then we returned to arena work and did a nice slow relaxed canter, and he got the point. :3.

Basically, make sure he has balance first, then make sure he's jumping into the canter balanced. I'm not sure how trained he is or anything, but if you need anymore help at all or want to give me more information, you (or anyone else who needs help [i'll try to help]) can email me at [e-mail]

Good luck, sweety.

Answer 7

I had a horse that did this and for no reason.  Nothing I tried worked.  People kept telling me to see saw, sit down deep in the saddle, do circles.  None of the above helped so I decided to buy a bit with a very high port.  

I was very careful when I used it and when he started to "take off" with me, I very gently and softly pulled the reins and when he felt the pressure of the high port, he responded by slowing down.  I used it several times after that and then I went back to his mild bit.  I had no problem after that.  

Peopel kept telling me "you put that thing in his mouth?  That is so severe"   It worked for me. My therory is ....Any bit can ruin a horse's mouth.  It is how you use your hands that is important!

Answer 8

PLZ dont seesaw the reins! that is a common misconception and it does not work. ppl just use that to try to get their horses heads down, when all it really does is crank their chin to their chest. not goooood. =P

Answer 9

The reason a horse canters or lopes fast is because they are unbalanced, especially in circles. Try, if you have a round pen bitting your horse, either using side-reins and a surcingle or your reins to your saddle. some long lining or ground driving will help too. If you are not already, switch to a plain smooth or copper mouth snaffle and start teaching your horse to flex and give to pressure. If you have ever watched Clinton Anderson work. He has great softening exercises that create responsive, supple horses.

Answer 10

actually, it is not a dressage technique to "see-saw" the reins.. it has been a common misconception. at least this is what i have been taught by some international trainers.. A great article in last months, (June, i beleive) is from Clinton Anderson, it is called something to the effect of, "how to bring a high-headed horse down".. it will work wonders for you horse. it is all about lateral and vertical flexion with your horse. not see-sawing, or bumping on the reins.

i beleive you can find the article in your local tack store or on equisearch.com under HorseandRider

Answer 11

Do  one reign stops. Let your horse go into a lope and immediately pull one reign to stop him. Do this several times. Then let him lope further.  If he goes faster than you want, that is without leg pressure, stop him again. He will eventually get the message to not go faster that you want him to.

Answer 12

do u have the right bit for him??? drop ur legs, talk to him in a qiuet voice, and lean back.

Answer 13

use less leg pressure

Answer 14

you might have to change your bit to something a little more harsh.

it might be pain associated, maybe the canter is uncomfortable for him and his reaction is to try and run away from it so you might need to check you saddle to see if it fits properly. otherwise he might just need a good run. you could take him to a large thick sand area and just let him go round and round til he doesnt want to go fast anymore then continue to work him for another 20mins at the lope. you could do the same thing in a roundyard too.

Answer 15

my mare is the same way. her trot is pretty much like a western jog but when she canters she does get all sloppy and cuts corners and goes a lot faster.

there are a lot of ways that you can slow a horse down. first off make sure you are sitting aback in your saddle. then there is this exercise. im not sure what it is called but you take your inside hand and put it at 12 o'clock and your outside hand at 3 o'clock then use your inside leg and push him in. it will feel like he is tripping a little but it will slow him down a lot. it might take a few tries before you get it but once you do it is definately worth it.

hopee this helped =]

Answer 16

Here is the easiest solution that I can tell you. Do a lot of changing directions.  Really use the middle of your arena as opposed to using the outside ring. Start out at the trot and constantly ask him to make 90º turns in another direction (this will also help him respond to your legs and neck rein).  Then do the same at the canter...bring him back down to a trot at when you change leads.  Hope this helps! I also talk to my horse when he speeds up...don't use WHOA, unless you are asking him to stop, but calm EASY usually works well.

(Half-halt is a technique in collection, it's a brief pressure on the reins and squeeze with the legs)

Answer 17

ok, try leaning back a little in your saddle because that's the natural way of slowing down a horse, keep a firm grip on the reins, and turn his head towards the rail any time he starts going faster. If he tries to run off, just aim him at the railing and he will stop. This worked really well on my 3 year old thoroughbred/ quarter horse!

Answer 18

Well, the reins are your last resort. If you keep see-sawing on the reins, rather than resorting to leg aids and breathing... your horse will just learn to run right through your reins.

Do a lot of half-halts, even if you're doing them every other stride. And don't keep constant pressure on the reins, for most horses, that's like an invitation to keep going. They want to run out of the pressure, so they'll just go faster. Make sure you keep your leg on, and just ride a slower canter with your seat. Keep in your center, and don't let him pull you out or jog you out.

EDIT!

Ah, just looking at Jacie B's answer makes me cringe. I really hope you don't give your horse a hard yank on the mouth when he gets a bit quick.

Answer 19

Ok  i dont like to go fast but my horse does, to get him to slow down I simply lean back not all the way but enough for them to know that you dont want them to go fast.have the reins at a good length meaning that he knows from the pressure of u pulling back he knows, ii am supossed to slow down. Also be relaxed, even though there is a saddle on him he can sense u r nervous, scared, or a little jumpy and that makes them excited which makes them walk faster or go faster! :)

Answer 20

please dont see-saw, it really doesnt work unless thats how they were trained. when you ask for a lope, allow him to go just as fast as he pleases for about 3 strides. then pull him back with 'bump and release' until he gets to the speed you want him to go. then release. when he starts to go faster than what you want him to, pull him back to the desired speed again for three strides before releasing again. he might stay slow for a stride, maybe two, maybe none, but as soon as he speeds, pull him back. do this over and over and over and over (as long as he's in shape to lope for that long) and eventually he'll start to stay slow for a longer period of time. when he does, stop and praise him like he just moved the earth for you. then do it again. he'll learn that its alot easier to stay slow. thats how i trained my horses. also what you can do is ask for the lope, then stop three strides later. do it over and over, but vary the strides of lope from two to about five strides. this will help transitions and will shift his weight to his hind end. if you go to my profile and look through my answered questions, you'll see that i've answered a very similar question about slowness and headset. you might find it helpful. this WILL work, you just have to have patience. =]

Answer 21

seesaw reins is bad, bad, bad it counteracts their natural bend. i would recommend instead constant half halts, just make sure you give once he does so that he gets proper reward and reassurance. and please don't get a harsher bit that's not the right action to take he and you need to work together to get through it, changing the bit will just be more pain full and upsetting to him and he will be less likely to want to work with you.

Answer 22

Seesawing on your reins is NOT what your are supposed to do. It is sort of the concept of that technique, but not what you do, thats how you confuse him. You are softly massaging the bit around in his mouth to make him flex down with a slight bend in his neck to keep him listening to you and working his whole body. He should be bending around your leg (his whole body), when there is a bend in his neck (to the inside) you should be able to see a small part of the cheekpiece on your bridle, then you're good, if you see his eye, thats too much bend. But his nose should not be to his chest, too much flexion. This will also get him to relax at the bit, you should feel some weight in your hands, when you do release for half a second, then go back to work on the bit. If he isn't listening, be stronger, use the strength in your whole arm instead of your hands and wrists. If he still doesnt listen, halt and get him to flex down. If he speeds up, sit up and half halt, half halt, half halt!! When you half halt dont let him halt all the way though, you need to give leg when you half halt, it also increases impulsion. Its all about regulating hand and leg. Use the exercise where you do small circles all the way up one side of the arena and back down the other. Make really small circles if he speeds up, just keep making them smaller until he slows down, this is an exercise they use with race horses and excited horses. You are boss, show him, dont just sit up there and let him run through your hands. If he really isnt listening, then halt him right on the spot, and make him back up about ten feet, tell him to get off your hands, and make him back up, if he doesnt, get aggressive about it, tell him to back up and kick him. Once he backs up and gets off your hands. Then release the pressure and pat him, tell him good boy. Then continue moving forward. If he doesnt listen get aggressive, make your aids stronger, make him listen to you, let him know hes not allowed to race like that. If hes really stubborn backing up, then have someone help you and grab his reins and push him back. Half halts and halts will work, so will lots of small circles. Dont let him walk all over you. Work with him on those exercises, if he still doesnt listen, swtich to a slightly stronger bit, then work on those exercises.

good luck!