Stopping horses

["Kathy Mayeda" <Kathy_Mayeda@atce.com>]

Title: Stopping horses

Jim, Jim, Jim – you are so busy giving advice that you don’t listen to what others have to say……  use your BUTT!  That’s how reiners get their sliding stops…

k.

I had no problem stopping my horse...but I was not about to ask him to do a quick stop from a full gallop downhill. IMHO, it's more dangerous to try to pull up from a gallop downhill that it is to just stay balanced and help the HORSE stay balanced, then stop on safer terrain. If you are stopping the horse with bit and rein pressure on his mouth, it's even MORE likely that you affect his balance. Yanking on his head is asking for a butt over teakettle roll...so I let him continue on down the hill and I guess he thought, "Well, must be still racing". I've done a few forward rolls in my younger (and more stupid) days riding in western game and probably should have died. It also leads to suspensory injuries. You should always slow gradually when you race to the finish, even on the flat. A gentle rein pressure and a soft """whoaaaaaa, Boy, Whoaaaaa, Boy"" is all he needs...and he knows the difference between THAT kind of "coast to a stop" and a regular stop. You can actually PRACTICE that kind of stop from a full gallop in training.