# One rein stop confusion good or bad?



## HorsesAreMyPassion (Feb 16, 2012)

I see that a lot of people are big believers of the "one rein stop". I think that I have a good idea of what it is all about, why you would teach it and and how, but I honestly don't think it is a good idea. 

My riding interests are dressage, jumping, eventing, hunting and hacking out on roads/fields/trails with my horses. I have never felt that it would be necessary to teach the one rein stop to my own horses or the horses that I ride.

I am a huge believer in the German Training Scale. Rhythm, relaxation/looseness/suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection. I believe that understanding horses and why they are the way they are and why they do what they do and how they learn are very important. I also believe that being able to read your horse and have great feel and timing are extremely important. These are the things that are most important to me.

Am I wrong to think that the one rein stop isn't a great idea? Am I missing something? I really want to hear everyone's opinions on if they use it or not and why. I don't know anyone who uses it, but since joining the horse forum I am seeing that a lot of people are using it. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on it.


----------



## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

HorsesAreMyPassion said:


> Am I wrong to think that the one rein stop isn't a great idea? Am I missing something? I really want to hear everyone's opinions on if they use it or not and why. I don't know anyone who uses it, but since joining the horse forum I am seeing that a lot of people are using it. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on it.


I side with you. I don't teach it to my horses and I don't advise anyone I work with to try it.

For the heck of it, I tried it on one of my mares last night when we were loping out. She gave me her head and dropped her shoulder out of the circle but kept going. Someone here suggested the rein has to come to the thigh and the hindquarters disengaged - so I tried that. She did a turn on the forehand - as she is trained to do.

I then sat and said whoa (no reins) and she stopped.:shock:


----------



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I trained my horse to do to ORS but I don't really use it as the whole "stopping a runaway horse" thing. 
Personally, a favorite activity of my mare (when we're out riding on roads in the middle of neighborhoods) is walking faster and faster then slipping a trot step in, and if I don't correct her, going into a full blown trot. 
Since at those times, I can't make her run until she doesn't want to anymore, I'm forced to take other "shut down" measures. She'll get more worked up if I hold her back so I like to use the ORS whenever she throws in a trot step inappropriately, it seems to really encourage and remind her to rate her own speed according to "the rules".

It's not my favorite thing and it's rather annoying to do but it has been helpful.


Of course, I'd never do it at a speed higher than a trot and I certainly wouldn't do it to a legitimately runaway horse. I've been on runaway horses before and my favorite response to that is to start pushing them harder and harder, making it "my idea". But really, I think any horse that's blindly running away with a person is a horse/rider that needs a ton more schooling.
For instance, my mare will runaway with me, upon occasion, if I allow it. However, I know her triggers (speed+unfamiliar surroundings, sometimes alone) so if she's acting bolt-y and her trigger things are there, we just don't trot/canter. 
Sometimes I do let her go to hone our "emergency coming back to me from runaway land" skills. That has worked well for us because she just doesn't runaway anymore. If she were to, she knows that me sitting up and back in the saddle means "canter! not run!". She's also aware that if I growl at her, she's doing something super bad and she needs to stop. It's very effective.
It just took a bit more training but I think that playing offense and training for a situation is better than defense all the time with the ORS. Of course, there are times for the ORS but I think those times are rarer than some riders think.


----------



## yadlim (Feb 2, 2012)

In the past I watched a 'trainer' work on teaching a one rein stop to a Shire mare who was three. As it was my friend's horse who was so buddied to mine that at the time she could not be worked without mine present, I was riding in the same arena. The 'trainer' did her best to describe to me what she was doing and walk me through teaching it to my 18.3 hand beast - who was a confirmed runaway.

After an hour, the 'trainer' was very happy with the results, and myself and my horse were very confused. Personally, I have always taught my horses that if I pick up one rein and pull their nose to me, I am looking for a nice soft supple bend and stretch - which is occasionally reinforced with a cookie. 

I have never figured out how that translates to a stop. Personally, ALL my horses throw on the brakes with a good "WHOA" - and if they don't, something has gone terribly wrong and one rein is not going to correct it. 

So I guess my input on this is that I have never learned what it is, or how to cue it that is not already a cue for something else that we do all the time. 

I would love to hear from someone who could describe how and what it is.


----------



## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

I only use a one rein stop when a horse is a very heavy stopper an throws themselves into my hands almost like "catch me". I count on the one rein stop to throw the horse off balance. I ask for the whoa, as soon as he drops into my hands i pull him around, forcing him off balancing and making him catch himself. 3 or 4 times of this and the horse no longer stops heavy.


----------



## AndreaSctlnd (Jan 17, 2012)

I have a horse who we use the one rein stop on. It isn't used for the purpose of stopping more than it is used to calm her down if she is not listening like she should be. I have been told to make sure that I do it on both sides. If I do it to the right, I have to do it to the left...I think it is to settle her mind and mine as well. To sync up so that we are back to the same page. Does that make sense?


----------



## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

AndreaSctlnd said:


> I have a horse who we use the one rein stop on. It isn't used for the purpose of stopping more than it is used to calm her down if she is not listening like she should be. I have been told to make sure that I do it on both sides. If I do it to the right, I have to do it to the left...I think it is to settle her mind and mine as well. To sync up so that we are back to the same page. Does that make sense?


Do you actually stop her or just circle her? I know alot of people who bend their horses to the right an left to get them to calm an focus more.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I think the ORS has it's place, but due to the popularity of it with the whole NH crowd, it is severely overdone by a lot of people. The only time I really use a version of the ORS is if a young horse I'm on decides they want to start pitching....or if they try to bolt. Even on the bolt, it's not actually a ORS that I do. It's more that I circle them down to control their speed and try to get their mind focused again.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

yadlim said:


> In the past I watched a 'trainer' work on teaching a one rein stop to a Shire mare who was three. As it was my friend's horse who was so buddied to mine that at the time she could not be worked without mine present, I was riding in the same arena. The 'trainer' did her best to describe to me what she was doing and walk me through teaching it to my 18.3 hand beast - who was a confirmed runaway.
> 
> After an hour, the 'trainer' was very happy with the results, and myself and my horse were very confused. *Personally, I have always taught my horses that if I pick up one rein and pull their nose to me, I am looking for a nice soft supple bend and stretch - which is occasionally reinforced with a cookie. *
> 
> ...


The one reins stop is not meant to be used once the horse has already picked up a lot of speed. It is meant to shut down the "bolt" before it gets going. Or, to remind a horse not to jig or keep speeding up above the requested gait.

The bending the horse around to touch your knee to supple it can easily get confused with a one rein stop. But, the difference is that the one rein stop should connect the bending with the hind feet. The rider should lift one rein and bend the hrose around AND disengage the hind end. This will stop the horse. if the hind end is not disengaged, the horse certainly can bend around yet still keep going forward. So, while teaching the ORS, it should be an excercize in connecting the bend around with the horse thinking into its' hind end and disengageing there. eventually, a full disenagement will not be necessary but the horse is still connected to his hind end, so that lifting that one rein gets it to shift its' weight back a little and STOP. If it doesn't stop, then you bring it all the way back into the hind end and get the disengagement.

just pulling it around super tight and having it lean forward onto the bit waiting for you to release it does nothing to change the mental focus of the animal. It is still mentally focussed on going blindly forward, or rushing. that's why I see some folks who do a ton of this "suppling" where they pull the horse left, then right, then left result in a hrose that has his neck disconected from his hind; something that dressage riders abhor.

My thinking is that this kind of suppling can be done at a stand still, but if you are doing it while moving forward and you ask the horse to bend it's neck way over and that's all you want (allowing the horse to continue walking forward) you are teaching this disconnect of head to hind legs and building a "rubber" necked horse. Not sure I am describing it well. But such a rubber necked horse is frustrating to ride becasue they can just ignore the bit pretty much.


----------



## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

I agree with tinylily. 

However, the leg aides help the "rubber necking" problem. As a western pleasure rider, I may be different than the dressage folk. I want my horse's neck and head almost completely separate from the body - the horse has to maintain extreme collection without me touching the reins. So I do a lot of "flexing" left and right, up and down, at many gaits because I want his head to be soft, loose, and held by himself. If I can't get my horse to bend his head to the side, he won't collect it down, and if I can't get him to bend his head on a light touch, he won't collect on a draped rein.

So the focus is all about the body. Training a horse through the body when his head is at an acceptable place. I don't train from the nose to the butt, I train from the butt to the nose. All the neck collecting in the world won't cut it to make a horse sit back and lope slow and collected.

Anyway, the one-rein stop is a tool/emergency/training aid. Its intended use is to teach the horse how to stop with no reins. Nobody uses the one-rein stop every time they want to stop. I train my babies with the one-rein stop primarily because I break them in a rope halter - and only have one rein. They stop, supple, and if they move I disengage the hindquarters.

Once a horse knows your body movement, like sitting back = the rider is about to pull my head around, the horse will learn to stop on the movement alone. Then you reinforce with backing up, and the one-rein is saved for emergencies.

I dislike the two-rein pull because A) when I pull both reins, I want a collection and no loss of forward movement and B) in an emergency situation a horse can run right through a two-handed pull, giving him more power and fear.

Anyway. That's what I do, lol. I can explain more detailed if necessary.


----------



## Ink (Sep 25, 2009)

smrobs said:


> I think the ORS has it's place, but due to the popularity of it with the whole NH crowd, it is severely overdone by a lot of people. The only time I really use a version of the ORS is if a young horse I'm on decides they want to start pitching....or if they try to bolt. Even on the bolt, it's not actually a ORS that I do. It's more that I circle them down to control their speed and try to get their mind focused again.



This is the only reason I've ever employed anything resembling a one rein stop. Kind of like an emergency break if you're being run off with and the horse is just plain ignoring your hands. 

At the "Dude Ranch" I worked at for all of a day and a half (the more I saw the more horrified I became until I finally quit lol), all of their horses were "trained" to a one rein stop. This basically translated to none of them had any breaks unless you ran them into a fence or a tree. The fact that they were all ridden in mechanical hackamores with _halters_ on underneath may have had something to do with that as well :lol:


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

That's the thing I am talking about; the horse gets used to just swinging it's head around to its' shoulder, gritting it's teeth, so to speak, and bulldozing forward. YOu have NO connection to the feet at all.


----------



## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

The connection to the feet is in a person's seat and legs isn't it..? At least, that's the end game for me. A horse won't run through the pull if the rider knows how to push with the opposite leg, or correct with a pop.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I think the bit/rein should always be connected to the feet, especially the hind end. Just having the horse flex and drop his head but still fall forward onto the forehand is what one sees a lot of the time. 
But, since I do come from a dressage background (very low level, mind you) I do want to have the horse come TO the bit, not drop behind it, so that he just plows forward with a curled back neck.


----------



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

It's always been an emergency measure for me. I probably don't do a "formal" one rein stop when I do it either, but if my horse is about to take off or is popping a few bucks etc, I shorten one rein, pull them around and disengage that hind end quick as I can. As soon as the threat of insanity is over, I give back their head and resume business as usual.

I honestly don't know how else I'd be able to save my booty from some nasty falls or accidents if I didn't do this. I'd be interested to know how those who don't utilize a one rein stop respond to a horse having a meltdown. Sure, you can say "MY" horse is trained better than that and any horse _ought_ to be trained better than that, but when the sh*t hits the fan and you have a horse going berserk under you, how on earth do you regain control of the situation?


----------



## AndreaSctlnd (Jan 17, 2012)

.Delete. said:


> Do you actually stop her or just circle her? I know alot of people who bend their horses to the right an left to get them to calm an focus more.


I stop her. But I only have to do this when she gets full of herself. She sometimes forgets that a trot does NOT have to be done at full speed AND she is a tad flighty. But she was highly abused before she came to be where she is, so her flightiness is to be expected.

She was more or less a pasture potato for 5 years and then it was decided to sell her so they tried cramming 5 years of training in to a two week period. Needless to say, she did not sell. So when she was found she was in a kill pen.

She's come a long way in the last few years. She really needs stability and someone who can work with just her one on one so her rescuer offered her to me.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I've ridden lots of green horses, started several, and retrained many ottb's. It, when taught correctly, can calm a horse down, stop a bolter or bucker. Like many NH fad techniques, it it is often over done/not done correctly. a horse has to understand that asking for a one rein stop = disengaging the hindquarters and coming to a stop.


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I think y'all are confused about what a one rein stop is...

Like smrobs, I have and will continue to keep it as an option IF it is defined as "turn them in a slowly tightening circle until they slow down". That can be useful a lot of times, and sometimes has been the only way to slow down my mare in a mindless bolt. And BTW, Mia & I have spent 5 months now working on her fears, and she is doing much better - so it IS a training issue, but not always one you know about until it is too late.

Not all horses, in a bolt, respond to having their heads turned. 30 years ago, visiting a ranch, I rode a bombproof horse who, that day, wasn't bombproof. As he bolted, and we got closer to a barbed wire fence, I brought his head around until his nose was inches from my knee, and he was STILL in a full gallop toward the fence. Happily, some months before an old cowboy told me you could sometimes turn a bolting horse by hammering their shoulder with your boot. It worked that day, although I don't think very many 'natural horsemanship' folks teach it...

However, the woman I took lessons from last summer had a different idea of a one rein stop. On the horses she trained, if you tipped their nose in significantly, they would stop. With my horses, if they don't start walking, I sometimes tip their nose in and their balance encourages them to start walking. Got scolded for that, because in her system of training, it was important that when you tipped the nose to one side, they understood "Stop!"

Now, how does that cue improve over pulling back on the reins? I don't know. Maybe it was less likely to result in a rider gripping tight with the knees. Maybe it was supposed to get the horse back in touch with the rider. I don't know. My horses are not trained that way, so it wouldn't 'work' for me.

But tightening a circle, and if need be, disengaging them at the end? That will work on most horses if there is room, trained or not. I did it with Mia this morning, when we were cantering & she saw Trooper cantering ahead and decided, "DAMMIT! I can outrun him!" So we started turning in a tightening circle until she slowed and agreed to let me set the speed.

But I think that is the poor boy's version of a one rein stop. The 'right way' involves training, and I don't do the training for it.

But I do NOT see how it hurts anyone to have a ORS in their bag of tricks. I don't use a pulley rein all the time, but it is a good trick to know. I don't haul back and kick horses on the shoulder to turn them, but it worked the one time I needed it to work.
_"I have never felt that it would be necessary to teach the one rein stop to my own horses or the horses that I ride."_​Must be nice. Mia & I have done lots of bolting together. Working on retraining an 11 year old horse who was sold to me 4 years ago as 'perfect for a beginner' has made an interesting 5 months. 
_"I also believe that being able to read your horse and have great feel and timing are extremely important."_​Agreed. Part of what I've worked on hard for 5 months now is reading Mia's moods, and learning when to let her have her head and when to restrain her. But in the world where many of us live, perfect knowledge and reading of one's horse isn't always an option. There are a variety of ways of calming a horse that is starting to get worked up. There are also times a Full-Bore Panic Bolt (FBPB) hits rather quickly, and without a lot of warning. When it does is NOT the time to start thinking about what to do now. Having a big bag of tricks, with a variety of options to choose from, is what I want!


----------



## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

ORS has saved my butt quite a few times, so I do use it. It helped me out just 2 weeks ago when my horse turned into a fire breathing dragon and decided he wanted to turn around and go home NOW. Instead a going home at a dead run, we went safely at a jigging walk. 

However, I use it solely for bolt prevention. Once a horse is in a full bolt, that just isn't a good option. I did spend quite a bit of time teaching it to my horse, and we have since refined it into a much less pronounced hind end disengagement. He feels me start to take up one rein and gives up on following through. I am also not a fan of the overbending rubber neck thing, so the less I have to use the full blown version the better.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

The way that lots of the NH gurus teach it, I don't like how much it limits the maneuvers you can put on your horse later on. I like to be able to bend their nose to my knee, apply leg to that side, and have them move sideways so all a true "ORS" would accomplish on one of my more finished horses would be to get them to bolt sideways instead of forward.......:?

BUT, on one of my finished horses, they likely wouldn't be bolting in the first place and as I finish a young horse out, I don't like the idea of having to go back in and teach them than "bend+leg does _not_ equal stop, even though that's what I did teach you at first, now I'm changing it" :?

In all my years of riding, almost every horse I've ever rode that bolted was lacking in his basic training to begin with. If you teach them a good solid stop from the start, then a ORS as defined by NH gurus shouldn't be needed. Over the years, I've only ever had 2 horses fly into a straight blind panic where no amount of training could have prevented them from running off.


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

smrobs said:


> ...In all my years of riding, almost every horse I've ever rode that bolted was lacking in his basic training to begin with. If you teach them a good solid stop from the start, then a ORS as defined by NH gurus shouldn't be needed...


After 3 1/2 years of bolts with Mia, I hired a trainer. After 4 sessions, she was worried that Mia might never be safe, because she reacted oddly. On session 5, she concluded that Mia had never been broke to ride, or taught to respond to a bit.

The implication was that instead of having a very spooky horse, I had one that tried very hard to make things work even tho she didn't understand. So her training started over at the very beginning. It took two months of ground work to get her to where the trainer thought she would be safe to mount. A few days later, I started riding her again.

I'm not saying she will never bolt again, but the odds seem to have gone way down. We're trying to teach her confidence, and that if things get scary, stop! Rode her today around the block and out into the desert. There was another horse, but Mia opened up about a 100-150 yard gap, so it was the closest we've come to riding out by ourselves. We aren't 'there' yet, but it looks likely that this summer will include a lot of riding by ourselves out in the desert.

However, I still believe in having as many tricks as possible in your bag of skill. For military flying, I was taught we all start off with a bag of luck and an empty bag of skill. Our bag of luck cannot be refilled, and we never know how much we start off with. When things go wrong, you can reach into your bag of luck, or your bag of skill...but if you reach one time too often into your bag of luck, you will come up empty - and SCREWED. So the goal is to fill up the bag of skill BEFORE your bag of luck runs out, and then rely on the bag of skill...:wink:

I want my bag of skill to include as many ideas as possible on how to handle a bolting, freaking horse. Training may prevent a bolt, but I may not be on a well-trained horse. After all, Mia was supposed to be great for a beginning rider!

But if someone tells me they HAVE a bolting horse, my first reaction will be to ask how much training she has. Both horse AND rider!


----------



## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

bsms said:


> I was taught we all start off with a bag of luck and an empty bag of skill. Our bag of luck cannot be refilled, and we never know how much we start off with. When things go wrong, you can reach into your bag of luck, or your bag of skill...but if you reach one time too often into your bag of luck, you will come up empty - and SCREWED. So the goal is to fill up the bag of skill BEFORE your bag of luck runs out, and then rely on the bag of skill...:wink:


This is fantastic!! What a great way of summing up riding horses.


----------



## HorsesAreMyPassion (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks so much everyone for sharing your opinions and thoughts. It looks like everyone has their own variation of the ORS, what works best for them and their horse. I'm definitely not saying it shouldn't be done or used, I think that people need to use what works best for themselves and their horses. I'm kind of like an information sponge, I want to soak up all the information I can get my hands on, you never know what you may learn that could make a huge difference!

I think that I will keep on with what works for me. It isn't a ORS, but if a horse that I ride starts into a bucking fit, for example, I will take up a stronger contact with one rein, it is kind of a very strong elastic resistant feeling and then I will give squeezes like squeezing out a sponge if that doesn't quite do the trick I will bring my elbow back ever so slightly and, but still keep that elastic feeling with the horses mouth, it is NOT pulling it is a strong elastic resisting feeling, and of course most importantly keep a strong deep and secure seat looking up and forwards to where I want to go and stay determined in what it is I want to accomplish. I already described how I deal with a horse that takes off in the question about bolting thread. I can usually "hold" the horse until I can get it back under control if there is no room to start a large turn or circle, but if it is safe to start the turn or circle I do so and this usually brings them back under control. Maybe I've just been lucky so far! I will keep everyone's ideas in mind, thank you again for sharing, and if anyone else has something more to add, please do so, I would love to hear about it!


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I guess to sum up my experience, its a great tool for use when retraining horses, working with very green horses and horses with a very strong flight response. If you teach it correctly, the horse realizes that a rider sitting deep in the saddle(like how you would ask for a stop just using your seat), and pulling the rein to their hip = disengage hindquarters, come to a stop and calm down, not bend neck=stop. 

It should be there as an e-brake. Just because you have a great car that is well maintained doesn't mean you would tell the manufacturer to leave out the emergency brake because you were sure you wouldn't need it. Likely you could drive that car for ten years and never have to use it, but you would be really thankful if you ever were in a situation that required it.


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I've been lucky I have never ridden a true runaway horse or actually needed a one-rein stop. I've been pretty blessed I guess!

When my horses spook, they bolt maybe 10 feet and then I am able to bring them back under control either by pulling back on the reins or neck reining them in a circle. I sometimes have my reins so slack that neck reining is all I can do, because I don't have enough slack taken up to actually pull straight back. Yeah, I ride pretty loose!

That actually happened to me yesterday. We were riding past a house and a dog ran out from somewhere and neither me and my horse saw it ahead of time. She spooked and ran maybe 12 feet and I spun her in a circle with one rein because I was riding two handed and dropped the other rein! So in effect I spun her to a stop, but that is just sort of the way it worked out. I have never trained for a one-rein stop or tried to employ it on purpose. I guess I am more worried about keeping my seat and bringing the horse under control then worrying about HOW I will stop the horse.

I do have a friend who is always flexing her horses heads side to side while riding in a straight line. She is pretty sure I should do it too and she has more horse training experience than me, but I don't like the idea of the head going to the side while the body goes straight. I want the body to follow the head, know what I mean? 

I've watched some NH gurus training students to do the one-rein-stop on TV. It looks really bizarre and I am not so sure you couldn't just throw a horse off balance and cause it to fall if you did that at speed. 

I guess I've just never had a need for it (knock on wood).

Now I DO believe in disengaging the hindquarters on a jiggy horse. I will pull them around in figure-eights and such. But I'm not bringing them to a stop, just trying to bring their focus back on me. 

But I'm not going to worry about a one-rein-stop unless I find I have need for it. My guys will just neck rein in a circle if they bolt and catch me off-guard.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> I do have a friend who is always flexing her horses heads side to side while riding in a straight line


 
EEK!! please don't do this. With few exceptions I beleive a horses head should be conected to its feet. having ridden a horse that learned that its head and feet were not connected, I would never teach my horse this. She(my cousins mare) decided to run home in a thunder storm. At various points in the uncontrolled gallop I had her nose touching her chest and both of my legs, while running flat out in a straight line.:shock:


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

BlueSpark said:


> EEK!! please don't do this. With few exceptions I beleive a horses head should be conected to its feet. having ridden a horse that learned that its head and feet were not connected, I would never teach my horse this. She(my cousins mare) decided to run home in a thunder storm. At various points in the uncontrolled gallop I had her nose touching her chest and both of my legs, while running flat out in a straight line.:shock:


I don't think it's a good idea either! I guess she feels it makes them "soft." I think she may have seen a big name trainer doing this, but I don't want to say with 100% certainty. I *think* it _might_ be Clinton Anderson that does this? 

Flexing their heads around is all well and good. I will sometimes do that when they are standing still. Or if I am asking them to disengage the hindquarters. But I don't think I want my horse going down the trail walking a straight line with their head flexed to my knee. She does this. :?


----------



## boldstart (Oct 11, 2009)

Eolith said:


> It's always been an emergency measure for me. I probably don't do a "formal" one rein stop when I do it either, but if my horse is about to take off or is popping a few bucks etc, I shorten one rein, pull them around and disengage that hind end quick as I can. As soon as the threat of insanity is over, I give back their head and resume business as usual.
> 
> I honestly don't know how else I'd be able to save my booty from some nasty falls or accidents if I didn't do this. I'd be interested to know how those who don't utilize a one rein stop respond to a horse having a meltdown. Sure, you can say "MY" horse is trained better than that and any horse _ought_ to be trained better than that, but when the sh*t hits the fan and you have a horse going berserk under you, how on earth do you regain control of the situation?


Ride them forward - get their mind on what the task at hand is.
Hate one rein stops, would never do it.

Had one young one working behind two other young ones this morning and during our canter lap, she shoved her head down between her knees and tried to have a go. You just kick them forward. If i had tried a one rein stop she would have been sepearted from her mates and made things so much worst, plus getting on that filly mouths results in her going up.


----------



## corymbia (Jul 6, 2011)

smrobs said:


> In all my years of riding, almost every horse I've ever rode that bolted was lacking in his basic training to begin with. If you teach them a good solid stop from the start, then a ORS as defined by NH gurus shouldn't be needed. Over the years, I've only ever had 2 horses fly into a straight blind panic where no amount of training could have prevented them from running off.





In my experience, I've found horses taught the ORS have had crappy turns and need leg aids to initiate the turn. Horses without the ORS have good turns and it only needs a light rein aid to start the turn. Keeps things very simple for the horse- lateral rein aid means turn the forelegs, leg behind the girth means turn the hind legs. Horse never has to guess what I am asking for (neck flexion or turn forelegs?). Training a light, relaxed and immediate stop without bending the neck gives the tools for a bolt stop in all but the most extreme circumstances. A good bolt stop from two reins has less chance of hauling the horse over in a really sticky situation.

Have seen it used well on some kids ponies, esp the real tiny riders, so am not totally against it, but think smrobs is spot on.


----------



## HorsesAreMyPassion (Feb 16, 2012)

Boldstart, I completely agree, get them moving forwards out of a bucking fit is the first and most important thing to do. I always keep my legs on to get them going forward when I feel a buck coming on. Sometimes if they continue going forwards while still bucking and with their head down between their knees, I will take up a stronger contact with one rein to try and get them to think about bringing it back up again. I'm a quiet rider, I like to leave my horses alone so when I do have something to "say" they "listen" because they are not dull and tuned out because they aren't nagged all the time, it also keeps them relaxed. I can usually accomplish a lot very softly and quietly with my horses.

My youngest ottb had a bad reputation at the track for bucking and kicking out and throwing a tantrum. He was an extremely difficult horse when I got him. He had serious issues. His very first reaction to things he either a) didn't agree with or b) startled him from behind would be to kick out and then maybe start into bucking and then maybe throwing himself around in a fit, so if this happened while leading him it was like flying a horse kite! It probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to take him on, but he has turned in to a very nice horse, he is one of my favourite horse of all time now. He really tries for me now and will look to me before even thinking about starting anything, this is huge for this horse. He was extremely reactive before. With him I think a bit of it was dominance, but also there was that quick almost instinctive/defensive reaction thing he had going on, react first by kicking out before thinking. He now thinks first and usually doesn't follow through with anything any more. If he does get a bit full of himself or on his adrenaline or whatever now, you can really see that he tries hard for me and tries to contain himself and I can usually keep it from escalating. He has been teaching me a lot!

As for the ORS, I really don't feel a need to teach it to my horses, I think so far I've done ok without it.


----------



## HorsesAreMyPassion (Feb 16, 2012)

I just did some serious thinking. I think posting this has helped me come to the conclusion that my own confidence in my instincts and my way of doing things isn't to where it needs to be, I tend to question myself sometimes, is what I am doing right, is there something else that would be better, things like that, but I am starting to see that my first instincts are usually correct and my horses are proving it. I am in no way saying that I know it all and have nothing to learn, I'm always up for learning new things and hearing other about other people's experiences, but I just think that I need to start to feel more confident in my own methods and instincts and not question myself as much. I think that by posting this it has helped me to see that. Does that make any sense at all. Sorry for going on and on here, but it has made me feel better to write it and share.


----------



## boldstart (Oct 11, 2009)

HorsesAreMyPassion said:


> Boldstart, I completely agree, get them moving forwards out of a bucking fit is the first and most important thing to do. I always keep my legs on to get them going forward when I feel a buck coming on. Sometimes if they continue going forwards while still bucking and with their head down between their knees, I will take up a stronger contact with one rein to try and get them to think about bringing it back up again. I'm a quiet rider, I like to leave my horses alone so when I do have something to "say" they "listen" because they are not dull and tuned out because they aren't nagged all the time, it also keeps them relaxed. I can usually accomplish a lot very softly and quietly with my horses.
> 
> My youngest ottb had a bad reputation at the track for bucking and kicking out and throwing a tantrum. He was an extremely difficult horse when I got him. He had serious issues. His very first reaction to things he either a) didn't agree with or b) startled him from behind would be to kick out and then maybe start into bucking and then maybe throwing himself around in a fit, so if this happened while leading him it was like flying a horse kite! It probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to take him on, but he has turned in to a very nice horse, he is one of my favourite horse of all time now. He really tries for me now and will look to me before even thinking about starting anything, this is huge for this horse. He was extremely reactive before. With him I think a bit of it was dominance, but also there was that quick almost instinctive/defensive reaction thing he had going on, react first by kicking out before thinking. He now thinks first and usually doesn't follow through with anything any more. If he does get a bit full of himself or on his adrenaline or whatever now, you can really see that he tries hard for me and tries to contain himself and I can usually keep it from escalating. He has been teaching me a lot!
> 
> As for the ORS, I really don't feel a need to teach it to my horses, I think so far I've done ok without it.


Yes, when I ride breakers if they go to have a buck forward motion is the best. But what also helps with young horses (or any for that matter) that tried to have a buck, is that I always keep one hand locked down on the wither holding the breastplate while the other is up off the wither ready if they try. I still keep quiet in their mouths, but when they try I already ahve an advangte up on them.


----------



## digggin (Mar 15, 2012)

AndreaSctlnd said:


> I have a horse who we use the one rein stop on. It isn't used for the purpose of stopping more than it is used to calm her down if she is not listening like she should be. I have been told to make sure that I do it on both sides. If I do it to the right, I have to do it to the left...I think it is to settle her mind and mine as well. To sync up so that we are back to the same page. Does that make sense?


Ditto for me on this post. While my little girls horse is not a major problem for me he doesn't like to listen to my daughter on occasion. I taught him the ORS for her to gain control. He gives his head to her on both sides, she doesn't have to fight him. Sometimes he wants to go faster than she asks or (her mom wants her to go in open fields and I remind her to make him listen by doing the ORS. However, he's a trail and pleasure horse, not a performance horse where I could see confusion being a problem.


----------



## bettyb (Mar 13, 2012)

I think the one rein stop is more of an American thing. Though when I worked in Australia at a cattle ranch the stockmen there used it. But really as far as I could see it was just a load of guys trying to use brute strength when it wasn't needed if there was a bit more skill.

I can't help thinking it's more of a dire emergency thing if there's a real bolt going on and those who feel the need to use it might run the risk of pulling the horse's face off and taking it off balance rather than disengaging and then there's a real risk of going out the side door.

I've never felt the need to teach or use it.


----------



## Katyusha (Jan 24, 2012)

bettyb said:


> I think the one rein stop is more of an American thing. Though when I worked in Australia at a cattle ranch the stockmen there used it. But really as far as I could see it was just a load of guys trying to use brute strength when it wasn't needed if there was a bit more skill.
> 
> I can't help thinking it's more of a dire emergency thing if there's a real bolt going on and those who feel the need to use it might run the risk of pulling the horse's face off and taking it off balance rather than disengaging and then there's a real risk of going out the side door.
> 
> I've never felt the need to teach or use it.


I might've missed it in this entire post, but for the people who feel the ORS isn't necessary, how do you stop a bolting horse that's already at a full gallop?

I guess the point is to stop him before he gets to that point, but I missed that boat. So what do you do when you've completely lost control of a galloping horse? Aside from training that the horse/rider may need, sometimes they bolt before they have the necessary training.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

If a bolting horse is already at a full gallop, then the ORS is a perfect way to unbalance them enough at high speed to get them to fall on you :?.

For me, it greatly depends on where the bolt happens. If it is alongside a road or down a dirt back road, I will generally just ride it out, let the horse run until they are tired, then whip their *** and _make_ them run until I can't lift my arm.

If I am in a large area like a pasture, I will take up one rein and spiral them down to smaller and smaller circles. By the time I get them down to a manageable circle, they are usually wanting to stop. That's when I spend the next 30 minutes-1 hour making them lope circles out in that pasture.

Never had a horse that didn't stop trying to bolt completely after 2-3 sessions of that.


----------



## Katyusha (Jan 24, 2012)

smrobs said:


> If a bolting horse is already at a full gallop, then the ORS is a perfect way to unbalance them enough at high speed to get them to fall on you :?.
> 
> For me, it greatly depends on where the bolt happens. If it is alongside a road or down a dirt back road, I will generally just ride it out, let the horse run until they are tired, then whip their *** and _make_ them run until I can't lift my arm.
> 
> ...



I'm going to throw a wrench into your plans - just because this wasn't covered; what if he's bolting through the woods?

My horse has never bolted through the woods because cyclists are the only things thus far, that's flipped him out.

But I'm really curious - what would you do in a really dangerous situation like that? If you bail out, you risk getting whacked by a tree; if you stay on, you risk getting whacked by a tree. So, which is the lesser of two evils?


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I have been "studying" the tv NH trainers for about 3 years now. I have used a one-rein stop as an emergency measure, sparingly. The first time I used it was some 25 years ago, when one of my horses, who needed work, wasn't listening to a halt. I'm surprised that I didn't flip him on his side bc I slammed his head to the side by yanking the (short) rein to my hip. He stopped. Yes, NH lovers, I KNOW that the NH don't recommend a violent one-rein stop, so don't comment.
IMO using a one-rein stop is a culmination to flexing a horse's head for obedience. This is the one thing that puzzles me about NH bc I see no purpose for it beyond initial training. =/
IM_*Humble*_O you should break your horse with skills that are built upon, such as teaching your colt to walk-on with a leg cue and a weight cue, and halting and half-halting with your weight, as well. However, I still think it's a good idea to teach yourself how to do it, just in the case that you ride somebody's little monster who won't stop any other way. Your seasoned horse won't mind you practicing it once in a while at the walk in an arena.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Katyusha said:


> I'm going to throw a wrench into your plans - just because this wasn't covered; what if he's bolting through the woods?
> 
> My horse has never bolted through the woods because cyclists are the only things thus far, that's flipped him out.
> 
> But I'm really curious - what would you do in a really dangerous situation like that? If you bail out, you risk getting whacked by a tree; if you stay on, you risk getting whacked by a tree. So, which is the lesser of two evils?


There are just too many variables to say one way or the other for sure. It would greatly depend on the individual situation, what the horse's mindset was, what their responsiveness to the reins was (if I could still steer just not stop them or if they were completely running blind), how dense the trees were, what the actual terrain in the forest was, etc.

If I thought I would be safer trying to find a place to bail, then that's what I'd do. If I thought the horse still had the sense to avoid hitting the trees, then I'd stick with him and try to guide him as well as I could with the reins.

But, to go on deeper than that, a horse that has the good training to re-gain the control of him within a very short amount of time probably wouldn't be running _completely_ blind. If the horse didn't have the training to retain at least a modicum of sensibility, then he isn't ready to be ridden in the woods anyway.


----------



## Katyusha (Jan 24, 2012)

smrobs said:


> There are just too many variables to say one way or the other for sure. It would greatly depend on the individual situation, what the horse's mindset was, what their responsiveness to the reins was (if I could still steer just not stop them or if they were completely running blind), how dense the trees were, what the actual terrain in the forest was, etc.
> 
> If I thought I would be safer trying to find a place to bail, then that's what I'd do. If I thought the horse still had the sense to avoid hitting the trees, then I'd stick with him and try to guide him as well as I could with the reins.
> 
> But, to go on deeper than that, a horse that has the good training to re-gain the control of him within a very short amount of time probably wouldn't be running _completely_ blind. If the horse didn't have the training to retain at least a modicum of sensibility, then he isn't ready to be ridden in the woods anyway.



Great points, thanks for your insight - smart.


----------



## Nevreme (Feb 23, 2012)

Now, I have only skimmed the posts after the first page so if anything I say has already been covered then just ignore me 



oh vair oh said:


> Anyway, the one-rein stop is a tool/emergency/training aid. Its intended use is to teach the horse how to stop with no reins. *Nobody uses the one-rein stop every time they want to stop*. I train my babies with the one-rein stop primarily because I break them in a rope halter - and only have one rein. They stop, supple, and if they move I disengage the hindquarters.


I actually rode with a NH trainer for a couple months who had multiple horses whose *only *woah button was a one-rein stop. I was warned before going on out a five mile trail ride that the horse I was riding would buck if I used a traditional pull-back-on-both-reins halt, but that was okay because 'she is a perfect beginners horse'. Yeah right. In what world does a perfect beginners horse bolt up even the slightest incline? It's a lucky thing I'm not (and wasn't at the time) a beginner.

Needless to say I did not stay there for long.

In my opinion a one-rein stop is just a crutch at best, and dangerous at worst. I use something similar to keep a horse from walking off while mounting, but I start with a horse that is hesitantly taking a step forward and simply redirect their momentum so that they are still lined up for me to mount. Eventually they get sick of it and just stand still :lol:


----------



## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

*Coming off at the bolt - painful*

The last time a bolting horse carried me off, I wound up in the accident and emergency department of the local hospital with severe bruising and concussion.. The ugly pink blue and black photos of the bruising which I suffered are not fit for publication on a forum visited by young folks.

On one summer’s day, having climbed up a winding country lane, we had reached the top of the hill at a junction with a minor road between two villages. My horse was well known to me but suddenly at the junction he unexpectedly whirled off his hind quarters to the left. I was unprepared for the move and at the time I had been looking around to check for traffic. I was caught completely off balance and left in the saddle tilting over to the right. 

I jerked the left rein and managed to pull the horse round to the right on his hind quarters but it was not enough. The horse was still facing down the hill. He took off. I pulled sharply on the left rein and I kicked him in the left side by the hind quarter and I brought in my right leg in an attempt to force him into the bank. But he was ready to resist and he worked his way off to the right and thereby evaded merely by an inch or two the side of the high earth bank. He was now free to gallop home which was back down the hill along a tarmacced surface. By now he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to and he didn’t want to. 

I lent forward and tried to shorten the reins to restrict his head movement but he had the thick neck of a cart horse. I looked for another bush in the bank to direct him into but he was settling into his stride and I did not have a hope to restrain him. The saddle was flat topped and had been engineered with neither cantle, nor a pommel nor knee rolls. It was a design for use in the dressage arena, to be fitted on a flat backed Icelandic horse and was not for use by my cobby mount when being ridden cross country. 

At this point I made a fatal mistake. Instead of leaning back in the saddle and pushing my feet out forwards in the stirrups, I leant forwards in the style of forward riding. I was thinking to use my legs to steer the powerful devil between my thighs. Suddenly I realised that I was also fighting the forces of both gravity and motion. I was slipping forwards on the saddle and there was nothing to stop me. Gripping the flanks of the horse with my thighs just didn’t help and sawing at the horse’s mouth through the reins did not throw him off course. I did not have the leverage to restrict the movement of his head. If anything by pulling on the reins I was pulling myself off the horse. Plus the action of his front legs was vibrating me relentlessly up towards his neck until finally I slipped over the front edge of the saddle onto his wither Then he simply tossed me off. As I fell I made a grab for his neck with my arms. I even got a handful of mane but too much of my body weight was already out of the saddle. By this time horse and rider were motoring downhill fast. 

Finally I lost my grip on his neck and I fell and hit the road on my shoulder blades. Subsequently the base of my spine came down and slammed into the road surface. My head followed in a whiplash reaction and the rear of my riding helmet banged into the stones of the road surface. Those small stones remain embedded in the plastic rim of the helmet to this day. I seem to remember facing upwards towards the branches of the trees but later I discovered that all of the impact had been taken by my upper rear torso. There were even graze marks in my skin created under the various layers of clothing up by my shoulders. Unbeknown at the time, a football sized haematoma was beginning to form over my spine just above the sacrum. I was lucky the impact did not break my back.

The horse, ran on until the hill levelled out and it was physically possible for the horse to slow its frenzied gallop. Later I found it grazing peacefully on the grass down by the lake.

Put simply, I had been completely unaware that the horse was going to bolt. It had no reason to do so. Actually we both paid the price. I was to stay bruised for months but the horse had torn a check ligament which eventually led to his euthanasia. 

However if a car had been coming up that lane, we would both have died along with the occupants of the vehicle. Horse and rider would have collided head on with the car at a combined speed of at least 40 mph.

Moral : don’t let your horse bolt - ever.


----------



## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Not a fan of a one-rein stop. 

If a horse runs the bit and won't turn in response to seat and leg cues, and I feel like I am going to lose him, I'll pulley rein him to shut him down.


----------



## Army wife (Apr 29, 2012)

In my opinion, it should be used for starting babies, or runaway horses. Grabbing a handful of rein and pulling either into the ground would not be a good idea. Esp, if the runaway is panicking, pulling back can cause them to become more claustrophobic. As far as babies, I think it would be helpful to teach them, if it is followed up with using your seat and later grabbing both reins. It's not meant to be used all the time or on finished horses. I don't think so many ppl would like it if it did not work, when used correctly. But, thats just my opinion


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I used on today. my horse was overly focussed on home, i asked for a trot and he started into the most braced out trot and was just about ready to step into to a cnater. it wasn't the speed, but his rigidity and obvious desire to bolt. I slowed and turned him sharp right, disengage the hind, and then offered himn a chance to try again and be good. The ORS was more of a disengage, turn around, think back to the rider, and try again. and I only did this after I felt him tuning out both reins.


----------



## Army wife (Apr 29, 2012)

ORS isn't just to pull the head around. Many here are right, that will cause them to fall on you. The hip has to be disengaged, I think that's the purpose. Not just pulling their face around.


----------



## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I don't think anyone argues that impulsion, relaxation etc aren't better than a ORS. Nor do many people advocate pulling a bolting horse in a tight circle. 

I've also understood that the one rein stop is for preventing a bad situation. When your horse is really worked up and not responding to the reins you ask for the one rein stop. You don't just turn a horse who hasn't learned the one rein stop, you have one that has been trained to stop when you give those commands, and stand still. When they have settled or whatever you keep going. 

I don't think anyone should rely on it, nor do people with horses with refined training need it. I think it's just a bit of an emergency button that is good to have.


----------

