Dooziebelle knew perfectly well which of the two of them was in control, and it sure wasn't Janie. It wasn't that Janie was weak or inexperienced. Doozie was just a whole lot stronger and knew a whole lot more. When the little mare decided it was time to head home-fast-Janie's cues intensified as Doozie's speed increased.
"No! Stop! Turn! Slow down! Omigosh, here comes the drop off!"
Bracing her feet in the stirrups, Janie grabbed the left rein in both hands, leaned back in the saddle and hauled on the curb with all her strength.
Two good things came from this action. First, it gave Janie something to balance against as they actually accelerated, barreling down a very steep hill. Secondly, that particular curb bit had been kept at the barn as a teaching tool for other riders for a long time. The left shank literally bent outward from the force of a pull that did nothing whatsoever to slow Doozie down.
Just Pull the Head Around and He'll Stop, Right?
There are a lot of misconceptions on websites, in barn aisles, in Internet chat rooms, and in training pens about what the "one-rein stop" is and when and how to use it, much less how to teach it. Some say that it's just circling, so you can't do it on a narrow trail. Others will tell you that a "one-rein stop" will flip your horse over if you are going faster than a slow jog. There are a surprising number of folks who seem quite sure that all you have to do is haul your horse's head around and he's going to stop.
The first statement is wrong. The second is incomplete. The third can be downright dangerous.
Simply circling a horse will not necessarily slow him down. Remember that racetrack horses and tornadoes move in circles. There is no stop or end in a circle. You might eventually tire your horse out by circling, but that could take a while. Sometimes your horse will get frustrated by circling and simply give it up. In the meantime, he's not listening to you.
In fact, bending the horse's neck is not really even enough to slow him down, much less stop him. Given practice, some horses can become limber enough to touch your stirrup with their nose and still keep plowing straight ahead-at a walk, at a trot, at a canter, or at a dead run. This maneuver is not something you want to encourage. It causes your horse to become over-supple and disconnects the rein from his feet. Every time we touch that rein, we want the horse to know that he's going to have to change what his feet are doing. This is one reason why we never want to have the horse stand still while we bend his neck.
The Endless Circle
• Keep in mind that racetrack traffic and tornadoes move in circles-but this doesn't slow them down.
• One-rein stops are about moving the hips over, not bending the neck back.
• Release the pressure only when the horse gives with his jaw as well as moving his hips over.
If the horse's head is bent around on his neck while his body continues to move forward, you have no control. Your horse's balance is completely off and his legs can get tangled up. It's like having the steering wheel of a vehicle that isn't connected to the front wheels. If you do this at a gallop, it's like you're in that vehicle going 100 mph when you spin the steering wheel sharply to one side to turn it. The car is going to flip end over end. That's exactly what can happen if you yank your horse's head around attempting to immediately go to a full stop from high speed on an untrained horse. You might just "roll the vehicle."
So What Exactly Is a One-Rein Stop?
The "one-rein stop" is also known as "hips over" or "connecting the rein to the hip." This is a fine stop, but it is not the only way to stop a horse and-in some circumstances-it may not be the best way. It is, however, such a vital exercise that we begin teaching the "one-rein stop" in the form of "hips over" from the ground on the very first day we work with an unbroken horse, then we repeat it on that same unbroken horse when we first climb on his back. After that, we reinforce it every time we ride.
Using one rein, the rider controls the hindquarters so that one hind leg steps to the side. The other leg reaches underneath the horse's belly, crossing in front of the leg that moved over. The horse's hips swing over and he pivots on one front foot. All of this very effectively stops all forward motion, giving us a tremendously useful tool for our horseman's workbox, but the situation must be right for it. The rider must know what he is doing, he must know why he is doing it, and he must have prepared the horse with solid training.
Remember, in any emergency, what you do at the time may not be as important as what you did to prepare for it ahead of time.
