How do you halt your horse?

Boxers

Boxers

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OK. What aids do you give to halt your horse?

I have always been taught to shorten both reins and close my legs around the horse.

My daughter does this and sometimes has to give and take her reins as her pony leans on her.

Anyway, my OH had his first riding lesson today and was told to pull on the outside rein only. Of course the horse turned to the wall. She told him that a straight halt would come with practice.

Eventually I got fed up of seeing this and challenged her. I have NEVER heard of halting a horse by pulling the outside rein only. She just said this was the way she was taught and it worked for her horse.

Was I wrong to query this? I asked my OH to walk the horse and halt using both reins and closing his legs and the horse halted in a nice straight line. Even though he is a complete beginner he could see that this appeared more correct
 
Throw the anchor out and hold on tight
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I only pull on the outside rein when I'm slowing my pony down in canter(possibly trot but he gets fast and excited in canter). It's how he's been schooled and responds. For halting, I don't do that. I lein back, pull on the reins, and squeeze with my knees. I also dig my heels down and 'make myself 90 stone'. I didn't even know that you could stop a horse by just using the outside rein...like you said, they'd turn to the wall =/
 
On any horse to halt I squeeze and hold with my seat and legs and then close both reins - not pull.

That said, I do think you could halt a horse with just the outside rein - regularly I will half halt or slow a horse with my outside rein and they don't go sideways - I think the thing is that you shouldn't be pulling and you shouldn't just be using your reins. If you use a combination of seat and leg aids to balance the horse and keep it straight and just the rein to close at the end then I see no reason you couldn't halt with just the outside rein. However that isn't the way I would teach someone, particularly if they are a beginner!
 
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I only pull on the outside rein when I'm slowing my pony down in canter

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Yews, my daughter is taught this too for her whizzy boy!
 
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I've been told to do nothing, sounds strange but it works on most horses

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I guess this is similar to 'making yourself tall and making your legs longer' this halts a horse effectively too
 
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I'm afraid it depends on the horse

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I agree - if this is the way the horse has been taught, then obviously it works - but wouldn't you agree that 'most' horse have been taught to halt in the 'traditional' way? ie, shortening of both reins etc?
 
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OK. What aids do you give to halt your horse?

I have always been taught to shorten both reins and close my legs around the horse.


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That way!
 
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That said, I do think you could halt a horse with just the outside rein - regularly I will half halt or slow a horse with my outside rein and they don't go sideways - I think the thing is that you shouldn't be pulling and you shouldn't just be using your reins. If you use a combination of seat and leg aids to balance the horse and keep it straight and just the rein to close at the end then I see no reason you couldn't halt with just the outside rein. However that isn't the way I would teach someone, particularly if they are a beginner

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Agree with that. She definately told him to 'pull' the rein. And as I replied to someone else, shortening the outside rein for a half halt or steadying.

But for a beginner who's never been on a horse before? No - now how I would teach it.
 
outside rein controls the pace, inside rein controls the bend.

so theoritically, instructor is right - pull on outside and horse should stop. however, it may not halt correctly
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but in reality, the way to halt a horse is to "hold and push" forward whilst not allowing the horse foward with both reins
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i tend to sit very very straight and squeeze as he likes to throw his quarters out
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I'm afraid it depends on the horse

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I agree - if this is the way the horse has been taught, then obviously it works - but wouldn't you agree that 'most' horse have been taught to halt in the 'traditional' way? ie, shortening of both reins etc?

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Well I've been riding over 40 years and have seen some quite different styles of riding and interpretations of riding
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I have done as you say and shorten both reins but on some horses you will find they go faster
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on others closing the legs and squeezing buttocks also can slow some down although some find the closong the legs encourages the horse more forward. For a horse that tanks off some stand up in stirrups and see saw the mouth (then change the bit to stronger one) others will cross reins in front on horses neck so it pulls against himself (must admit have done this and it works for emergencies (ie heading onto a main road). So there you go.

As I said it depends on the bobo
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I have been taught to use the half halt and ride forwards into the halt. So one rein (squeeze not pull) and close legs around...
 
Depends on the situation and the horse's schooling.

My youngster who has been retrained classically from the age of 5, you just have to sit up and he halts (he goes off seat aids).

With my other one, he was very BHS so only just been retrained in the last 12 months. I used to have to haul back on both reins at the same time. Now I sit up, block forward movement with seat, squezze leg into the halt and alternate the squeeze of reins. I use my leg to make sure he doesnt fall in/turn away.

If out and horse bit silly/out of control and was dangerous I would do whatever it took to stop the horse - I find a one rein stop works wonders (throwback to western riding).

I have always wondered about this shortening of the reins. I never shorten my reins and keep them the same length, but I have heard at riding schools "shortern reins to prepare to trot" and also "short reins to prepare to halt". I never do either of these things.
 
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OK. What aids do you give to halt your horse?


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Haul, head for a wall and hope for the best
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You weren't wrong to question it at all - you've got to be happy with what she's being taught and know the reasons why yourself if you want to help her outside of lessons.

How old is your daughter? It might be that the instructor thought the word pull was the most suitable and easy for your daughter to be able to understand at her age. She'll probably progress to squeeze, close, jiggle and possibly do nothing but use your seat in time
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But to answer your original question, yes, I was taught to slow a horse is to use the outside rein, and as another poster has said outside rein controlls speed, not just in transitions but also within paces and through movements too. I think I was also taught two reins at some point too though, but the one rein allows you to progress and do other things with the inside one!

I'd have probably explained it a little differently to your daughter, telling her to squeeze with her legs and sit tall then keep a feel on the inside rein but close her fingers around the outside rein (as in make a fist) and depending on how pony responds it may need her to take and give (poor imagine she is sawing a piece of wood with that arm - that motion) until s/he comes to a halt.
 
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I have always wondered about this shortening of the reins. I never shorten my reins and keep them the same length, but I have heard at riding schools "shortern reins to prepare to trot" and also "short reins to prepare to halt". I never do either of these things.

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Ooh thats really interesting. I was taught "shorten your reins to prepare to..." and I do so out of habit of how many years of doing it now. However, it does result in occasionally having to remind F that shorten reins doesn't ACTUALLY mean go go go UNTIL I TELL YOU
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I don't - my horse refuses to halt, ever, under saddle. We are getting there very very slowly but I will try all the ideas in this thread - so thanks to OP for posting it
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I have to sit deep, close my legs, squeeze with both reins and then give a little on my horse. Cant keep squeezing because she will lean and when halted I have to be careful she doesnt quickly think I mean reinback! Previous owners must have done reinback as a party trick I think.
 
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I don't - my horse refuses to halt, ever, under saddle. We are getting there very very slowly but I will try all the ideas in this thread - so thanks to OP for posting it
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How do you get off her?
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Visions of you bailing out at various speeds....
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I deepen my seat and very slightly sqeeze both reins, enough to halt my big driving cob, no need to pull! I think i would get a different reaction if i pulled on her mouth, prob end up on my butt!!!!
Depends on how horse is schooled, my ex drassage horse will halt with seat only, and a very slight sqeeze on outside rein, so yes in theory this works, but not for a beginner or a horse that has not been schooled that way.
 
Block your arm movent and sit up a little more, close your legs and clinch your bub up a bit (if that is the right way to explain it) is the way I was taught but like other have said, find what works and practice on making less discreat if your doing dressage lol
 
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you've got to be happy with what she's being taught and know the reasons why yourself if you want to help her outside of lessons.



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No, no - you've got it wrong. My daughter is an experienced and competent rider - competing every weekend.

This lesson was for my complete beginner husband.

I know there are various methods used to halt a horse - but what I'm trying to get at is the basic way you would teach a complete beginner - and in my opinion that would be to close legs around the horse and shorten reins.
 
Well, initially, I used to have to point her at the school fence and bail out as she screeched to a nearly-halt
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These days we can stop, but have to go straight into reverse or prance on the spot - actually keeping all four feet still is apparently out of the question. We practise 'piaffe' at road junctions and dressage tests and pretend its deliberate
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I can't remember exactly but the mantra is inside leg to outside rein.... using only the outside rein to control speed I think, being backed up by pressure from your leg(s) depending on what action you require. All I know is that when I half halt on my outside rein with my pony, I really do have to back it up with my leg if I don't want her to break her pace, be it from canter to trot, trot to walk, or trot to halt. Its all about using the aids effectively and quietly... too much and I get...trot no problem, I can do trot... too little and ...welll there never is too little...that's usually when she sticks her nose out and says no can't possibly go round that corner. Half halt is also used to prepare to ask the horse/pony to do something else. I wish I had been taught all this 30 years ago...I might find it all a little easier now and have fewer bad habits like drifting elbows...we are going to try velcro soon. Sometimes I feel I am being very heavy handed.
 
deepen and still with the seat, squeeze my abdominal muscles,still but allowing with the reins and close my legs to make it an active halt not a dift into a halt and leave the legs all over the place.mine halt with no contact at all if i want
i may have to move one leg back if the horse is prone to the quarters difting one way.
i dont take one rein into more of a firm contact the the other as i want the head and neck to be straight in halt, although ni will feel down the outside rein if they dont halt straight away from the seat.
 
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