# why must my horse randomly stop??



## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

I have a APH.that i've had about 3 years,and just this past coupple of months shes been randomly stopping while i ride her.I usuley ride her bareback. I urge her on my using my leg ques and give her her head,but she still wont move. It takes about 4-5 minutes to get her going again. She just tosses her head.I am afarid to take her on trail rides now:-(. What am i doing wrong? Is thheir any thing i can do to help her?


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## Marecare (Jan 1, 2009)

When she stops try doing a small circle to get her going.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

First have her teeth checked. Maybe somewhere she is hurting. Just have her checked out thoroughly by a vet then you can rule out any pain issues.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

i did a couple weeks ago because she was due.Every thing turned out ok.I really don't wanna use spurs or a whip.Thanks for the answer,i'll check out her legs and back today.Shes acting her normal self.Do you think she's just being lazey??


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## christopher (Feb 11, 2011)

i assume she does the same thing in lunging/groundwork?


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## Trilogy (Jan 25, 2011)

So when she stops you give her her head? That could be implied that it is a reward for her! If you have had her checked over by a vet and done her teeth then I would most certainly say it is bad behavior. Does she only do this on the trail? I would take her back to groundwork and respect, use a round pen or arena and never never never let her stop until you say so. If you don't feel comfortable using a whip correctly on her back, I would still say a lunge whip in the pen is great. If she stops without your say so, then open up a can of whooparse! (not literally though


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

She has your number. Every time she wants to take a break she gets to rest for 4 or 5 minutes. That's quite a nice break from riding! 
To break this habit you need to make sure she never stops unless it is your idea. 
If it were me I'd try a crop first, one with a wide flapper end that makes some noise. When she stopped I'd first try my leg cue, then give her a good smack. I'd try the shoulder first, then if she ignored that I'd swat her butt. Some horses don't respect a crop though, so if this does not work after one try you can move on to turning.
When she tries to stop, turn her to the left. If her feet stop moving after a step or two, turn her back the other way. Keep her feet moving no matter what. She will soon learn that she won't be getting a break and will stop trying. In a turn you can unbalance her enough that she is forced to take a step. It is much harder to force a horse to go forwards or backwards. 
If you get her moving, remove all cues and let her relax at the walk. She needs to be rewarded for doing the proper thing.


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

gottatrot said:


> She has your number. Every time she wants to take a break she gets to rest for 4 or 5 minutes. That's quite a nice break from riding!
> To break this habit you need to make sure she never stops unless it is your idea.
> If it were me I'd try a crop first, one with a wide flapper end that makes some noise. When she stopped I'd first try my leg cue, then give her a good smack. I'd try the shoulder first, then if she ignored that I'd swat her butt. Some horses don't respect a crop though, so if this does not work after one try you can move on to turning.
> When she tries to stop, turn her to the left. If her feet stop moving after a step or two, turn her back the other way. Keep her feet moving no matter what. She will soon learn that she won't be getting a break and will stop trying. In a turn you can unbalance her enough that she is forced to take a step. It is much harder to force a horse to go forwards or backwards.
> If you get her moving, remove all cues and let her relax at the walk. She needs to be rewarded for doing the proper thing.


 ok,i'll deffintley try that.Thanks so much!I didnt think about that.


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## slc (Jan 30, 2011)

"why does she stop?"

because she is not properly trained.

Leg means go. If you use your leg and the horse does not go, it gets punished. Immediately. I don't mean going all medieval on her, I mean just make it clear that you want her to go.

A horse thinks one second ahead. Don't wait one second to punish her. Make it quick. Leg - whip. 

Another old trick is to turn the horse's head way to the left by using one rein to pull the horse's head around toward (NOT all the way to) your knee, then do the same on the other side, and give both reins, and make her go forward straight ahead, from there. It gets their front legs moving. You will probably have to use your whip in this case too.

Make sure that when you use your legs, you are not pulling back on the reins.

when she stops, use your legs, and very quickly, take your whip and use it on her hind quarters until she starts moving again.

A suggestion. Put on the horse - a saddle, bridle, and on you, riding boots, pants and a helmet.

If she leaps forward and gallops, say 'Good girl' and pat her. She did what you told her to do. Good horse.

If she just stands and kicks, keep using the whip. Consider using it in a different way on a different part of her body - higher up or lower down, on the shoulder, behind your leg - try different things.

The INSTANT she moves, praise her. If she WALKS out of it, praise her. If she GALLOPS out of it, praise her. 

Keep it very, very simple.

When you use your leg, your horse needs to move. Right away. Don't hang on with your legs all the time, the horse will not be able to tell the difference between 'go' and 'it's just me hanging on with my legs like usual'.

make everything very, very clear and simple.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

check for pain - back pain, teeth (someone said that). if she's stopping head tossing that tells me there's a chance of pain in there esp if she WAS trained enough that this wasn't an issue. bareback can cause back pain just like a saddle can. she if she's just as unwilling to move forward on the longe or in a round pen. palpate her back and check for soreness. she could have tripped, thrown herself out of whack in turn out, or just be generally sore from who knows what. i also find that stretching works WONDERS!


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## horseloverd2 (Jan 23, 2009)

My horse used to do that because she was unsure of the riders cues. If she didn't know what to do, she'd just stop. She was scared to do something wrong and figured stopping would be better than doing [whatever cue] wrong. A trainer (I didnt own her at the time) got on her and whipped her till she had whip markings on her butt and she still didn't move. 

I'm not sure if your horse is having a confidence issue, but it sounds like she has found an easy way to take breaks. If you feel her about to stop, immediately give more leg and release the pressure when she continues walking. If she does manage to stop, get her moving forward. I personally turn them around and start walking a little backwards before turning them around, sort of like a big circle. 

There could be lots of things causing this. It's important to figure out why she is doing it. Is she hurt? Mad? Bored? Tired? Scared? Or just being a butt hole? 

I would recommend brining a whip for sure. First, just squeeze with your legs. Harder and harder until she moves. If she doesn't, give her a little smack. If she still doesn't move, give her a firm smack on the rear. When she moves, immediately praise her and walk slowly and relaxed. 

And I'm sure you know this.... NEVER end the ride when stops on her own!


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

horseloverd2 said:


> My horse used to do that because she was unsure of the riders cues. If she didn't know what to do, she'd just stop. She was scared to do something wrong and figured stopping would be better than doing [whatever cue] wrong. A trainer (I didnt own her at the time) got on her and whipped her till she had whip markings on her butt and she still didn't move.
> 
> I'm not sure if your horse is having a confidence issue, but it sounds like she has found an easy way to take breaks. If you feel her about to stop, immediately give more leg and release the pressure when she continues walking. If she does manage to stop, get her moving forward. I personally turn them around and start walking a little backwards before turning them around, sort of like a big circle.
> 
> ...


im pretty shure she's just being stubborn.I never stop a ride if the horse stops on their own...Im sorry about your horse.I dont get how some one could do that.I know she's probley in good hands now!!!


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

Marecare said:


> When she stops try doing a small circle to get her going.


^ yeah, that! You have to disengage her hind quarters, so she doesn't stay "Stuck"... she has to learn that regardless of direction, if you cue her to move she has to move, and in order to do that, you have to figure out a way to get her to move...the easiest being to disengage her hip. If you keep nagging her when she is stopped like that, she may continue to escalate her behavior, and eventually rear, or buck in an attempt to get you to stop kicking her.


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## HNS101 (Oct 26, 2010)

My mare does this all the time -.- annoying isn't it? I just use a crop or kick her hard or say WALK (she takes voice commands),or it works if u turn her in a circle then push her foward and is she still doesn't go keep repetivg the process


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## perhapsimabandit (Feb 20, 2011)

all good advice above! I had a similar problem with my horse - went through all the regular health check (teeth, back, legs, etc.) but at the root she had really just decided that forward was not for her any longer. Of course I made the problem worse by worrying that she was in pain so I didn't push the issue until I got her checked out, but I digress.

Dunno if this is something you will run into, but my little diva gets really offended if you go straight for a hard smack with a whip or crop; I found that a constant streams of little taps right behind my leg (or on the shoulder) were most effective as it was more annoying for her than something loud/painful. This is not to say that a good hard whack won't be effective at times, but with some horses it seems that several small consistent cues can be more effective than one strong one.

Timing is hugely important as well - you want to reward by releasing pressure as soon as your horse moves forward (at any speed, as mentioned above) but take care not to stop too early. This probably applies more to transitions between gaits (walk --> trot or trot --> canter) than from a halt, but make sure you keep asking until you get a nice clean version of the gait you're asking for. (i.e. if you want to trot from the walk, keep asking until you get a 2 beat trot rather than a shuffling, quick walk)

Best of luck! I know this can be a frustrating issue!


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

ok......i have been ground training her for the past coupple of days now and it has been going good...............i rode her and had to break out the riding crop..and just a little smack got her going


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## christopher (Feb 11, 2011)

mom2pride said:


> ^ yeah, that! You have to disengage her hind quarters, so she doesn't stay "Stuck"... she has to learn that regardless of direction, if you cue her to move she has to move, and in order to do that, you have to figure out a way to get her to move...the easiest being to disengage her hip. If you keep nagging her when she is stopped like that, she may continue to escalate her behavior, and eventually rear, or buck in an attempt to get you to stop kicking her.


i'm not being judgemental and i'm relatively open to new things, but i use a disengagement of the hindquarters as an emergency stop if the horse were being silly, and i also use it to establish lateral manouvers.

i've seen lots of people do this and i always ask myself why do people use the emergency brakes and the basis of laterals in order to go forward?

imho it's much easier to establish a good voice cue on the ground then use the voice cue to back up a light/moderate squeeze of the legs, or move the forehand which usually leads to forward movement. but i don't really see the logic in moving the hind, which forces the weight onto the forehand - which restricts their forward movement even further.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Christopher, in this situation, it isn't a cue to go forward. The mare has her feet stuck and that's why she isn't moving. Doing a small circle gets her feet going again and then you can let her straighten back out into the walk. It is often a much better solution than just kicking harder or taking a whip to them when they don't move out.

I have seen (and had it happen to me a couple of times long ago) when a horse sticks and refuses to move, the rider just continues to escalate pressure by either kicking or whipping and when the horse has been overwhelmed to the point that their feet do come unstuck, they don't go forward, they go up either in a rear or a bucking fit.


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## christopher (Feb 11, 2011)

i've no doubt it's far better than simply kicking harder


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## touchofsleep (Mar 9, 2011)

If you are still using a bit or hackamore, grab it around the mouth area. Pull her head towards your knee and make her do a few small circles. It will get her attention. Be consistant with it and she should stop doing that


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

smrobs said:


> Christopher, in this situation, it isn't a cue to go forward. The mare has her feet stuck and that's why she isn't moving. Doing a small circle gets her feet going again and then you can let her straighten back out into the walk. It is often a much better solution than just kicking harder or taking a whip to them when they don't move out.
> 
> I have seen (and had it happen to me a couple of times long ago) when a horse sticks and refuses to move, the rider just continues to escalate pressure by either kicking or whipping and when the horse has been overwhelmed to the point that their feet do come unstuck, they don't go forward, they go up either in a rear or a bucking fit.


I have also seen the horror of a rider doing this. My parents have a farm with people that board and i've seen them escalateing pressure with the whip. The one time the horse went in a full out buck and ran off into the 100 acer field. My father a i had to rope the horse and we found bloody marks on the stallions rear end....The problem was because of a medical issue....why are people so mean?i was raised to NEVER hit a horse to the point of blood or injury.


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

My horse sometimes does this, he decides he's had enough of work and would like to stop. He does have back issues so i tend to be a bit lenient until i know his back isn't bothering him too badly; but once i know it's not then he gets 1 chance to move off my leg and if he doesn't move he gets 3 strong kicks with both legs as a correction. Then i bring him back to either halt or walk and ask him again with my 1 kick, i repeat this until he gets it right and then praise him.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

smrobs said:


> Christopher, in this situation, it isn't a cue to go forward. The mare has her feet stuck and that's why she isn't moving. Doing a small circle gets her feet going again and then you can let her straighten back out into the walk. It is often a much better solution than just kicking harder or taking a whip to them when they don't move out.
> 
> I have seen (and had it happen to me a couple of times long ago) when a horse sticks and refuses to move, the rider just continues to escalate pressure by either kicking or whipping and when the horse has been overwhelmed to the point that their feet do come unstuck, they don't go forward, they go up either in a rear or a bucking fit.


^ That's exactly why

And disengaging isn't 'just' something you have to use for one rein stops, either...atleast not how I was taught. Better to get the horse moving, period, rather than continue cueing and wind up on your butt, or worse, because the horse decides he just has no where to "go" but up in the air (either via rearing, or bucking). As long as he is stopped and ignoring your cues, he is 'winning' the battle; just get his feet moving, then concentrate on your direction once he is focused again.


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## touchofsleep (Mar 9, 2011)

She could be in pain somewhere. Have her looked at. She could also be testing your limits. Try making her do 1 or 2 small circles.


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## flicka101 (Dec 31, 2010)

touchofsleep said:


> She could be in pain somewhere. Have her looked at. She could also be testing your limits. Try making her do 1 or 2 small circles.


I already got her looked at and it's all clear...she is just being stubborn...i got it fixed though!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Keep in mind that unless you're a professional or in a lesson, MOST riders have a terrible habit of sending mixed signals to a stuck horse - we kick harder, and what automatically happens? We lean forward, we lift ourselves from the saddle, and basically every OTHER signal we're giving the horse says "no, stay here" except our kicking leg.

The horse relies on our seat just as much as our legs, so make sure you're sitting deep and urging her on with your seat just as much as your legs and not allowing yourself to be knocked out of position by your kicking.


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