My horse is all go and no stop!?

Question

This is becoming frustrating. Whenever i ride my 15hh draft mix gelding he loves to go and is a good with reining but when i try to stop him at a canter i have to pull really hard and with a gallop i have to sit as far back as i can and yank constantly to get him to slow down. I have tryed to steer him in circles or turn him but he will NOT turn and just pulls and goes. Currently i have a curb bit on him with a new curb chain but he is still being fussy. Do i need a new bit and how can i improve my riding to stop him. All the bits out now are really expensive do you know any specific bits i could get for him that aren't over $35? Thanks for any help/advice!

Answer 1

Run him until he is tired.

Teach him that if you don't want to stop then you will go non-stop.

Then after you wear him out from running,then pull back on the reins and he will almost positively stop.

Answer 2

I just posted this answer a while ago and will repeat it.

Back in 1970 I had a little gray Quarter Horse mare who had a mouth like a cast iron trap (I got her this way as a 7 yr old). One of the ranch hands spotted me getting run off with more than once and hunted around, found a low ported Quick Bit and a set of curb chain hooks and an english curb chain.

He rigged the curb chain so that the next time she pulled this "running off c**p" I'd have leverage. Sure enough, I put her into a lope to catch up with the group I was bird doggin' and she tried her usual routine and this time when I asked for a "whoa", she whoa'd!

Or, the next time you get run off with, if you can find an open area and take ONE rein and pull it hard so that the horse runs in a circle and just keep making the circle get smaller and smaller. IF he won't turn for you, use the opposite leg from the direction of the circle and NAIL him right in the shoulder!  This will force him to shift his weight and turn for you.  Eventually the horse WILL slow down and subsequently stop.

Keep working at it!

Answer 3

You want to run him until he doesn't want to run anymore and then push him a couple more laps so he wants to stop!  So he is listening to you more so when you ask for a stop he knows it is a good time to rest.

Answer 4

I would suggest, like one of the other responders, that you go back to an enclosed area and return to the basics.  If your horse doesn't know whoa (either by sitting deep or using a verbal cue, or lightly lifting the reins) then you shouldn't be cantering...No amount of manhandling or bit changes are going to work if the horse doesn't want to stop...no gimmicks are going to do any good either, not for long.  Go back and teach your horse to soften and respond to you, beginning at a standstill and proceeding to a walk.  Keep your cues subtle and consistent, and that is all you will have to use, get heavy with your hands or your bits, and you undo everything you have taught your horse.  And yes, you can take a horse with an iron jaw and a dead mouth and "reactivate" it and bring it's sensitivity back...It isn't about power and strength, if it were, none of us could ride a 1000-1500 lb horse and get anything done, we have to use our knowledge, our hands and our patience...Consistency is the key...when you are walking your horse in an enclosed area, sit deep, pick up your reins and ask for a whoa...as soon as you get your response, get off his mouth, give his that reward.  Get this in his head before you ever progress to a trot, then make it a slow, quiet, controlled trot...do the same thing to ask for a halt...have a verbal cue to let your horse that you are going to ask for something, like E-A-S-Y or something that tells him that you are going to ask for something, then ask for it.  When he responds in a positive way, take the time to just sit and rub your hands on him, talk to him, etc...Don't get in a hurry.  Remember to do everything that you are doing to the right, do it to the left as well, keep your horse balanced.  Remember, consistently give your horse a warning that you are going to ask for something, so he can be ready to do it...and don't ask your horse to do something that he isn't physically capable of doing...In all of my years of breeding, raising, riding, showing, teaching, and training...and using horses for a living, I have NEVER found it a necessity to simply gallop or run a horse unless in a timed race or heading off a cow or whatever.  Galloping up to catch up with a group of riders is a display of poor horsemanship and a disregard for the group that you are joining...if you slow your horse down long before you reach the group, he will not only be easier to stop, but display better manners when joining the group. You have to teach your horse to stop when you say whoa at a walk, then a trot, then at a canter, in that order and you need to get one down pat before proceeding to the next stage....

Answer 5

I'd have a trainer work with you and your horse to increase his responsiveness.  You should not have to pull on him at all to stop him, a responsive horse will stop with a deepening of your seat, slight pick up of the reins (with no pressure), and a verbal cue.  So, either your horse was not properly taught his whoa, or you are not giving the right cues.  Some lessons with a professional will help either way.  A harsher bit is no substitute for training, and not a solution to your problem.  A properly trained horse should not need a bit cue to stop at all.

Answer 6

I have a 17h gelding that we rescued that used to be a runaway as well. All the tricks in the world wouldn't stop him. He has been used as a trail horse for rank beginners before we got him and I just believe his mouth was shot and all the pulling in the world meant nothing to him. I switched him over to a mechanical hackamore. Not a gag hack or anything. The first ride with that was night and day. He started stopping and turning when asked. The ride was no longer a constant tug o war. I have been using it for over 2 years now and am very happy with it.

My 28y/o mare wears one as well. Basically because she wasn't saddle trained until she was 21 and never liked a bit in her mouth. Since they are both pleasure horses I don't have to worry with showing rules or anything like that.

I would have his teeth looked at and if they are fine consider going to a hackamore. If used and fitted properly they are comfortable for the horse and playing tug of war or runaway with a bit in the mouth probably isn't much fun for either of you.

Oh and for an oversized one I paid like 35.00 out of a catalogue and got the regular sized one for my mare for 24.95 at TSC.

Good luck!

Answer 7

BITS DON'T FIX A HORSE'S BAD BEHAVIOR!!! If anything, I would put a snaffle bit back in his mouth and start at the beginning again. He's not ready for a curb bit if he can't even stop! Put a snaffle in his mouth and do a lot of flexing side to side at the stand still. Don't release him until his nose touches your boot. Get him to where he is absolutely flawless at this then move on to the trot.

Go to the sidewall of an arena and go straight down it at the trot. If he goes faster than the trot one-rein stop him (he should be flexible at this point since you've been flexing with him). Try again by trotting down the arena wall, sit way down in your seat and say, "whoa!" WITHOUT TOUCHING OR PULLING ON THE REINS. If he doesn't stop, work his butt in 6-7 small circles then try it again at the trot. If you practice this enough, he will start responding to your body language and wanting to stop when you sit and say whoa because if he doesn't he has to work his butt off!

If he takes off and you just cannot possibly one-rein stop him (hopefully this is in an arena) RUN HIS BUTT OFF! Run him for hours if you have to, run him until he never wants to run again!! No kidding, it works. The above method is just a lot easier on both of you if you have the choice. Hope that helps!

Answer 8

The saying is "all go and no whoa"!!! Just thought I'd point that out. Before you do anything, read everything you can find on the physics and use of the curb bit.  I'd backtrack and put him in a simple snaffle bit and work on him in an arena. Work him on leg yields until you can side pass and two track with ease. The more severe bitting you use, the more dangerous this horse will become, since he'll have everything to gain by getting away from the intense pain you inflict, and since he's already being tortured by the gear, he has nothing to lose by trying to dump you.  I've seen horse's jaws broken by riders who try to strongarm horses in severe headgear. If you are "yanking" on a curb bit you have not been educated in how it is used. Once you have mastered some lateral control of him, work on backing him with a helper if available...do as much as you can without using the reins...back him on the ground and in the saddle. Then start at a walk and ask for stops.  If he ignores you, go to your lateral work and try again. Every time you do get a stop release any rein pressure and rest a moment...then back him up. Don;t work him at the canter again until he is responding at the walk and trot.  Good luck.

Answer 9

Do circles...tight circles. Your horse can't gallop a small circle, so he'll slow to a canter, then a trot, then a walk. Or, try the give-and-take method. When he's cantering (or galloping) pull back a bit, then give him the reins. Repeat until he slows to the desired speed. Or, you could swap horses with Cassy... she has the opposite problem!http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...