# Using the reins to correct a horse?



## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

*sorry for the second post today*
I've seen some girls at the riding club I'm in who use their reins to correct their horses. Like say their horse rears a little bit when entering the arena for a barrel run or tries to bite another horse on the trail-- they'll like, pop them in the mouth with the reins, which tends to make their horses raise their head and kind of flinch their heads and stuff... Is it okay?
Today Specs was being stubborn and wouldn't go away from the trailer when we were heading out for the trails, and one of the girls was like "Just pop him in the mouth and give him an extra kick" ...I hesitated at first, because it seems against my horsey-morals to use the bit like that, but they were waiting up for me and he was doing his classic stubborn-horse shenanigans (when I'll cueing him to go forward and he just stops and raises his head, backs up like he's threatening to rear...) So, long story short, I was pressured into using the bit to correct him. The worst part was: he listened to it and continued on...
Idk if I'm overreacting, maybe it's actually fine to discipline with the reins, but something tells me that it's wrong and is ruining his mouth :-|
Idk. What's your take on it?


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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

If you are only using their mouth for every single no-no, then shame on you. Ill stick a bit in your mouth and yank around... 

But you've only done it once  Your just fine. Sometimes, they need an extra snap, and that's fine. Its when that's the only punishment they get id where it becomes a problem. But you? Just chill  You haven't done anything bad


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Hummmmmmmmmmmmm, I would not knowingly hurt his mouth in that way. Just is wrong IMO. Do you have a riding whip or crop???

Biting another horse, maybe. But not heading out, use something else to pop them on the butt.


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## ligoleth (Sep 9, 2011)

One thing you can do, if you don't have a crop or whip or whatever, is, if your reins are long enough, to just take the ends of them and give a smack on the buttock. 

It doesn't have to be hard, just enough to gain their attention. Or get something that makes noise enough to urge them on.


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## oobiedoo (Apr 28, 2012)

*using reins to correct horse*

personally wouldn't do it because I want a horse with a nice mouth that responds to just a change in hand position or slight pressure, I don't like constant head tossing or a horse that lugs on a bit like a freight train. I have read that when a horse balks and refuses to go forward then make him back up instead. Havent tried this while riding yet but it worked great with a stubborn pony on a leadline. They don't normally like to go backwards so they will gladly go forward next time you ask. Try it next time and follow your instincts to stay out of his mouth.


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

I won't lie- I have lost my temper and done this before, in situations like the one you described. People are waiting on you, your horse is being a brat, you're feeling frustrated, and bam- yank the bit, kick him hard in the sides. It gets their attention alright, but that's about it.
It is not an acceptable way of disciplining, in my book- it's confusing, it's hurtful, and not necessary. But if you just got caught up in the moment and it happened, like the situation was for me whenever I did it, learn from it and move on. You just have to realize that it's more important to keep a bunch of people waiting for you, or stay behind, to catch your breath and do the right thing with your horse in the long run than it is to let them rush you into doing something like this.
If you have long enough reins, you can pick them up and smack their butt or their shoulders. I think this is a better alternative because then you can keep the horse from tossing their head up with the other hand, and you're not going to give them mixed signals or potentially lose their sensitivity to the bit.


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## cowboy bowhunter (Mar 15, 2012)

I like my horses to be light in the bit. But if they go and bit another horse or person ill give them a pull on the bit to get they thinking about me. But I never give them a hard jank.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Never ever. Don't ever do it. You want the horse to be accepting the bit, not afraid of it. The bit should be associated with cues the horse has learned to understand, not tantrums of the rider (I know, you were peer pressured etc, this isn't directed at you specifically, please don't be offended) that the horse has no idea how to respond to.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Deschutes said:


> One thing you can do, if you don't have a crop or whip or whatever, is, if your reins are long enough, to just take the ends of them and give a smack on the buttock.
> 
> It doesn't have to be hard, just enough to gain their attention. Or get something that makes noise enough to urge them on.


Sans crop, I have actually used my open palm and SMACKED her on the butt and it worked pretty well for us! :wink:


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## ligoleth (Sep 9, 2011)

Oooh, hands work nicely, too. I generally try not to use my hands because they end up hurting usually upon impact in any means of discipline. But then again, i'm a wuss when it comes to pain.


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## Joidigm (May 8, 2012)

You were in a rush and took the short cut way out. You could have told your friends to continue on and taken the opportunity to work with your horse, and then caught up in a few minutes.

Next time, if he won't move away from the trailer, dismount and see if you can get him moving from the ground, lunge him in circles and send him away from the trailer.

Or if you refuse to dismount, flex him. Bring his nose, _kindly_, to your knee. Flex him, left side, right side, left side, right side, back and forth. After a few repetitions, start his feet moving while you flex. Ask him to engage his hind end and yield his butt away when you bring his nose to your knee. If he doesn't want to leave the trailer, you _make him work_ at the trailer, and relax off of him when he moves away. It's pressure release, and much more effective for both of you instead of painful punishment of his mouth.

If you need a punishment, open hand smack to the neck, shoulder, or rump will work. Or if you have long reins, a lead line, or crop. Don't whip him, but give him a good smack. Personally, I only resort to a spank or smack when they misbehave, like throwing a crow hop, buck, cow kick in response to a request. Refusing to move forward isn't necessarily misbehavior or deserving of punishment.


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## HarleyWood (Oct 14, 2011)

i do this if theres no other way my QH you cant use anything on him like a bat/whip/spurs. so theres no other choice. if he rears he gets a little bump if hes acting up that nothing else works he gets another. my paint i use a whip in his sensitive area because it gets his attention back to me (gets too distracted) and he knows its time to work i do it once to twice everytime i ride and it works very well! my moms horse if you whip him you get a rocket and if you spur him he knows to go faster. so he will get bumped a bit. 

i really dont care what people think every horse is different and works better with different things. you dont know how my horses were trained..


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## Wallee (Mar 7, 2012)

Joidigm said:


> Refusing to move forward isn't necessarily misbehavior or deserving of punishment.


 
After receiving a cue to move forward and the horse objects.... That is misbehavior imo. You cant let a horse choose everything they do.


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## Joidigm (May 8, 2012)

Giving a bit bump or tug on a rearing horse is a dangerous situation, because you will never know if they decide to back down, or escalate and flip over because you pulled to hard. That is something severely recommended against in most cases.

And there is a difference between a half halt and an unnecessarily harsh tug of the bit when trying to slow a horses gait down.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Joidigm said:


> Bring his nose, _kindly_, to your knee. Flex him, left side, right side, left side, right side, back and forth. After a few repetitions, start his feet moving while you flex. Ask him to engage his hind end and yield his butt away when you bring his nose to your knee. If he doesn't want to leave the trailer, you _make him work_ at the trailer, and relax off of him when he moves away. It's pressure release, and much more effective for both of you instead of painful punishment of his mouth.


I've done something like this before and it definitely worked. She was refusing to move forward onto a tarp (we were just starting to introduce it), she would plant her hooves in front of it and even back up. So I started working her in small circles near it, getting closer and closer, until she had a hoof on it for a second, then two, and eventually I let her off the circle and she walked straight over it. After that, she realized there was nothing to fear and now she just plays with tarps when she sees them :lol:




Joidigm said:


> If you need a punishment, open hand smack to the neck, shoulder, or rump will work. Or if you have long reins, a lead line, or crop. Don't whip him, but give him a good smack. Personally, I only resort to a spank or smack when they misbehave, like throwing a crow hop, buck, cow kick in response to a request. Refusing to move forward isn't necessarily misbehavior or deserving of punishment.


I respectfully disagree about this one...to me, if I'm asking her to move forward and she's deliberately disobeying my legs (given I'm not asking anything of her that she can't handle/not putting her in any danger), that's misbehaving and she WILL get poked with my spurs, smacked with a crop behind my leg or on the rump, etc. until she listens to me. You start to develop some bad habits when you let a horse just decide that it's ok not to listen. My horse NEVER rears or bucks, but by not going forward that IS her way of misbehaving :wink:


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## Joidigm (May 8, 2012)

Refusing to move forward is not necessarily deserving of punishment. I will stand by that statement. Refusal is not always as simple as not obeying. It is up to the rider to decide when it is or isn't. There is a difference between a horse fearing going forward, and out right refusing to go forward. Fear shouldn't be punished, but worked with.

Edit/Add: And you can't always say that because you know you aren't making them do something they are incapable of, doesn't mean they don't fear doing something. A horse can go down a trail perfectly safe, yes. A new trail, or an uncommonly visited trail, or even something as just the change in scenery (hey that bush looks different!) doesn't mean it isn't something they are afraid of. I have considered many horses irrationally fearful, but it isn't up to me to decide it is something my horse shouldn't be afraid of. I have to show my horse that it is something to not be afraid of, and then the horse has to decide to not be afraid.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Fearing and "refusing" are 99.9% of the time the same thing to a horse, IMO.


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## Joidigm (May 8, 2012)

I disagree that they are the same. It is something that should be recognized, and then dealt with accordingly. Punishment shouldn't be automatic for it. :wink:


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

Prepare to be slightly detoured by some good ol' ramblin'. 
When I first got my gelding and we were still working out the "who's the boss? I'm the boss" deal, he liked to do stuff like randomly stop and refuse to go just to test how far I would let him take it... lol. He's only done that once out of fear or concern, and let me tell you, the second I saw Gerri-bopper tensed, I was on the lookout and taking my little sister home. There was a group of illegal men walking right through the desert heading for us, and without Gerronimo, we'd have never know until they were right there.
Needless to say, some horses are just doing it to get your goat. On the other hand, my friend's little arabian was like a scared little bunny on the trail, lol- he would truly be too afraid to move sometimes... He's a very timid, submissive horse while Gerronimo had all the horses in our herd whipped the minute he pranced his chubby butt into the pen, so I think dealing with this kind of problem has a lot to do with the horse- if your horse is a dominant type, there's more of a chance of them just pushing your buttons, and you may need to be stricter, but if the horse is more of a timid one, you should approach the problem in a much more soothing way.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Had your friends continued riding away he'd have likely wanted to catch up. In a horse's mind, if he's way behind the others he could easily become dinner so there's considerable incentive for him to catch up.


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## Island Horselover (Apr 4, 2012)

Well you kind of have weired friends if they tell you to pull on the reins and kick at the same time... so they think telling your horse to stop and go at the same time is the right thing to do.... hmmm, instread of using the reins to much I prefer using a crob or stick to correct minor or even major mistakes.... If my horse does not want to move forward I squeeze my heels in and if there is no reaction to that (which is really rare) than they get a good tap on the butt and you will see how my horses move forward! I am not a big fan of people only using the bit and reins to correct their horses... I totally avoid that kind of riding in only using rope halters....


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## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

The ONLY time I ever correct horses using the bit is on trail rides. When the horse I'm riding attempts to eat I pop him in the mouth. I wouldn't use it any other time, especially not as a correction when they rear, that just seems unnecessary and cruel.


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

OP, out of curiosity... do your friends barrel race?


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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

I have given broke horses who should know better a pop in the mouth as a form of discipline. Just one little pop. and they smarten up and move on. It also depends on what they're doing too. Like, if they're being hot and trying to take off, I'll give them a good pop in the face, because they more than likely know better. 

I would never do that to a greenie though, I have all the patience if the world for greenies, not so much horses that have been around the block.


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

I wouldn't use the reins, or at least I have not been pressured into doing it ;-) If it makes you uncomfortable that you did it, then just don't do it again. I like the post about backing them up and flexing them, it usually works with mine. 
I know how you feel though when you get in a group and there is pressure to get going or people are telling you this is how you do it, it can get uncomfortable.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

soenjer55 said:


> OP, out of curiosity... do your friends barrel race?


 Yes it is a barrel racing-based girl's club and we all do it for fun. (we're all in middle or high school) We also do trail rides, parades, and other stuff on the side but we mostly just go to rodeos together and hold our own barrel race and playdays  It's really fun, but as always with teenage girls, there's some drama and disagreement among us :/... 

Not all of my friends at the club are bad riders, but I will say some of them are :/... A few of them are really respectable riders, though. But a lot of the younger girls think they know what they're doing but really don't... lol


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

Ah, I see. I just asked because the majority of the people I see doing that are barrel racers... lol. I wish I had a group like that, though- I can barely find one horsey friend, much less a group who does the same discipline!
Lol, I've noticed the younger the rider and the less experience, the more of an expert they are


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

soenjer55 said:


> Ah, I see. I just asked because the majority of the people I see doing that are barrel racers... lol. I wish I had a group like that, though- I can barely find one horsey friend, much less a group who does the same discipline!
> Lol, I've noticed the younger the rider and the less experience, the more of an expert they are


 Yes I love them for the most part  We don't all live in the same town. There are girls from as far as an hour away, but they haul their horses in anyway because it's really fun! We meet once a month somewhere (like somebody's house that has an arena or a park with trails or something like that) and we get together and go to shows and rodeos together too every once in a while.  It's fun!

And yes, most definitely! The experienced riders OBVIOUSLY ride wrong, and their own beginner antics are totally correct and the best way to ride!! Duhh! :lol: (not...)


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

Ugh, I'm jealous. My parents got divorced when I was 12, and then my mom went to nursing school, and then the economy happened, so we've never had the time or money to even think about that kind of thing :/
I used to be a beginner know-it-all... Now, the more I learn, the more I don't know. It's difficult to deal with those 'experts', lol- I end up hitting my head against the nearest wall, which I need to stop doing seeing as I happen to live with one who likes to have expert beginner talks with all her expert beginner friends... lol.


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