What? Bolting at the standstill? Impossible you say, but if you have a horse that won't stop at the other gaits, I can assure you he is bolting with you at the standstill as well.
How, you ask? What happens when you pick up your reins from the standstill without making contact with the bit and think back up? If it is nothing, your horse is running away with you at the standstill.
Why, you ask? If the horse understands the bridle he will back off the reins from the standstill. He will understand that he is already stopped so when you pick up on the reins at the stop he must backup. So when he does not respond, he is telling you he does not understand fully understand the bridle.
How do fix the stop? We will start teaching the horse the proper response to the stop cue from the walk. The horse is easier to teach when there is movement, we test their understanding of a cue at the standstill.
Ask the horse to walk out on a loose rein. If your horse will not calmly walk out on a loose rein then you need to start here. If and when the horse increases leg speed, start working on changing directions or serpentine. Every time the horse Stops going one way and Starts going another he, at the very least, has to slow down. Using a direct rein to change directions, release the rein when he changes direction and pick up the opposite rein and use the direct rein to change direction. Continue the changes of direction until the horse maintains the correct leg speed. Then let him walk straight until he speeds up again, then repeat the serpentine work and continue until the horse can walk without changing leg speed on the loose rein for 8-10 steps.
Back to the stop exercise. Ask the horse to walk out on a loose rein. You will vary the amount of steps the horse takes before picking up the reins, but get at least 5 steps. We will start with the right hand. Pick up the reins, evenly, at the center with your right hand at the same time place your left hand beneath your right hand and loosely grasp both reins. Hold your left hand in front of and about as high as the pommel of the saddle while removing all slack in the reins with the right hand allowing them to slide through the left hand.
When all slack is removed and you have made contact with the bit, grasp the reins firmly with the left hand. Release the reins with the right hand and firmly grasp the right rein beneath the left hand with the right hand. Release the right rein with the left hand while taking the left rein firmly with the left hand and anchor the left hand solidly to the pommel of the saddle. The anchored rein should be short enough to keep the horses' head no more than 4 inches to the side on the active rein side, in this case to the right. You want a death grip on the reins at this point. Under no circumstance during this lesson do you want the horse to be able to pull the rein through your hands.
As soon as the left hand and rein are solid, start applying pressure to the right rein until the horse stops his feet. In the beginning, you may have to use a lot of pressure, so add it until the horse stops. This will tell you where your horses' stop is located; how much pressure it takes to stop him. We want to teach him to respond to the threat of the pressure or in other words, have him stop when he feels you pick up on the rein. As soon as the feet stop moving, quickly and completely release all pressure on both reins.
You want this to be smooth and fluid movement at about medium speed or about 4 seconds from the time you start picking up on the rein to starting to apply pressure with the active rein to get the stop. You want to alternate the reins and in doing so will discover one side of the horse is harder to stop than the other. One side will pull harder and you need to work that side at about a 3 to 1 ratio to the good side until it becomes the better side. Then the good side becomes the bad side and you will work it about 2 to 1 ratio and so on. When the horse is solid in the exercise you can then feel which side is pulling harder and work that side until it is soft.
When the horse begins to stop before you get your hand anchored, you are ready to advance the lesson. What you will do now is ask the horse to walk, pick up the reins at the center as before, but will hesitate at the place you would like the horse to respond. For example, you have your hand pommel height to walk out and would like the horse to stop when you raise your hand two inches. Raise your hand and hesitate for 2-3 seconds at that spot, wait for the horse to respond. If and when he does not, continue all the steps as before, they are now the correction for not stopping when you raised your hand. You are giving the horse the chance to respond on less and when he 'misses' the cue you follow up with the correction. He will begin to notice the pattern and will be happy to find a place he can respond to you without you getting to the bit.
At this point, the horse stopping before you anchor the hand, I like to ask for a back up on the active rein side until the horse softens on that side as well. When you do this it is important to give the horse small releases in the pressure when he steps back, then immediately take the slack out and back him until he is light. In either case, when the horse stops at your hesitation point release all pressure and reward. To add the backup, pick the reins back up to the cue spot. If and when the horse does not backup, continue with the previous steps, but instead of looking for the stop, you are looking for the backup. Any time the horse roots down when he stops or walks through the stop, follow up with the backup steps.
Jodi Wilson is a recognized authority on the subject of horse training and has spent almost 30 years developing training techniques and solutions for horse owners no matter the discipline or breed.
Jodi is an Accredited Josh Lyons trainer, and is Certified in John Lyons training techniques. Her website, http://Jodi-Wilson.com, provides a wealth of information to improve the relationship between horse and rider. Jodi is also available for clinics and demonstrations as well as lessons, apprenticeships, and horse training.
Jodi has trained and competed in Reining, Sorting, Jumping, Dressage, English and Western Pleasure, Trail and Problem Solving.
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