# how to stop a runaway horse



## trishmcd86 (Mar 28, 2011)

Hello, 
I have been riding horses all my life. I am an experienced rider. I have been training horses for 3 years now, mostly just my own. I received a belgian/quarter horse cross about 9 months ago. He just turned 4 this year. He was 3 months into training. He was doing so well, until this saturday.

I have been riding him with a double band side pull, mostly working on collection at the trot, and stopping. He has only been cantered a hand full of times and only after he mastered the stop at a fast trot. I have good control of his hind quarters at both the trot and the canter. 

This saturday, while training in a large open field, we were working on collecting his trot and stopping at the trot. This horse did not spook. Again, HE DID NOT SPOOK. He made a decision that he wanted to be home. He ran away from the other horse that my friend was riding in the field with me. I mean he galloped as fast as he could. We were over 3 miles away from home. He ran out across well traveled roads (of which i clenched my teeth every time). He ran through several empty corn fields. There was nothing i was able to do to stop this horse. He was going to take me through the swamp to go home. The only reason we didnt make it home was because at an all out gallop he made a 90 degree turn into the swamp and fell ontop of me.

Now i tried every method of stopping this horse. He knows how to tuck his rear under him and come to an immediate hault with no reins, just by simply rocking my weight to the back of the saddle. So it is not as if he did not understand the command. I also tried rocking the reins. Pulling his head around (this is where it gets interesting). I dont know if its because of his size or what, but no matter how hard i pulled or jerked on one rein, i could not get even his nose to budge. It was as if he locked his head, neck and nose in place. I even tried reaching toward his nose and grabbing the rope haulter to pull his head arround. NOTHING worked.

I could not get back up on this horse. We had been running for several minutes and i could not breath. When he fell on me it tore the rotator cuff in my shoulder and injured my knee. I know this horse will do it again, because i could not get back up on him. He now knows what to do to get someone off of him and get back home. 

Please if anyone has any suggestions, please offer them up. This horse put my life in danger as well as the people driving on the roads i crossed. If i cannot fix this, I am not sure of what the outcome will be for this horse.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Wow. Well first of all, kudos for keeping your head and at least trying everything on the planet. Three questions come to mind. What bit were you using? Did he perhaps get his tongue over the bit which rendered all communication useless? Did you try the pulley rein? I've recently seen two incidents with runaway racehorses who were both successfully stopped by the pulley rein. Looks like that horse was going home no matter what. I know I wouldn't be back on. 

Before anyone blasts me about flipping a horse over, the pulley rein involves burying one rein into the horses neck in a tight fist and pulling the other rein up to your shoulder. It is extremely hard on the horse's mouth, can actually cause damage, but does not overly bend the horse and is very effective. It is not the one rein stop. 

Sorry you were injured. Thank goodness he fell on you somewhere that had loves of give in the ground.


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## Horsesdontlie (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm glad to hear that you weren't more hurt. I imagine it would have been terrifying for you going through streets and what not. Scary. =\

The first thing I think of is put a bit in. You don't need something harsh, a snaffle would do. But I have seen my fair share of horses bolting and dumping their riders in a side pull. It merely does not give you the ultimatum of controlling your horse. If the horse locks up against a side pull you are pretty much screwed. I personally do not like side pulls for any situation, I don't like how they ride. I would get a snaffle and work on bending, (or if your stuck with the side pull work on bending in that) work on turning at walk and trot.

Its not just stopping that you need to rely on its being able to get the horse to listen to you. If a horse runs of with me I first have to get the horses attention before I can give the whoa cue, because once they start running everything else goes out the window. I would start a circle, ask to move off leg anything to get the horse thinking about little ol' me on its back.

Also if possible I would work more on the canter in an arena if you have access to one. Even if the horse can stop well at a walk and trot does not mean the horse will know what to do at a canter.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I think what I would have done was whip him on the **** and make him run as absolutely fast as he could. Being half draft and half quarterhorse he wouldn't have made it very far. If the horse could run back to the barn as fast as he could from 3 miles away he would truely be a specimen. The other thing I would do is wad up that sidepull and through it in the garbage. Now that he has ran off in it he won't respect it at all. I would use a regular o-ring snaffle. Not a French link or rubber covered super wonder bit. I would want to make sure that if he ran off again I could not only get his attention but make it as uncomfortable as possible.


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

Wow, that sounds so scary! I've been in similar situations before and it can be terrifying. 

Honestly, the first thing I would do would be to get that horse in an enclosed arena with a bit in his mouth. Even partial drafts are incredibly strong and pulling on his nose can be fruitless, as you found out. A bit will not be a miracle worker, but it is harder for a horse to resist a bit than it is to resist a sidepull. 

It's also a good idea to ride him in a more enclosed area, if you have access to one. When a horse doesn't have definite boundaries it's easier for them to misbehave. 

The one-rein stop is an incredible tool, but must be taught. There is another thread that was recently posted that tells exactly how to do it. 

Good luck, I know from first hand experience just how hard it is to get back on after a ride like that.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Hair-raising tale! I'm glad that no one got hurt worse than you did. It could definitely have been much worse. With your injury you may not be able to do anything except ground work with him for now. I would do as much as you can, including have someone else ride him in an enclosed area, or on a lunge. Maybe the time spent reinforcing this stuff will help him to forget what he got away with.

Also, take him for walks far away from the barn. Pack a lunch and tack him all up as though you're going to ride, but don't. Walk out that 3 miles. Have lunch and walk back.

You say that it's not that he didn't understand the commands; I think at the time, he likely didn't. His mind was elsewhere and you were a non-issue. The moment he forgot about you was where the trouble started. After that, you've got to get that attention back to be able to remind him of who's up there!

I agree -- switch out the bitless for a bit. Be sure to put a curb strap on. And I also agree that you don't need a harsh bit. It's a leverage thing -- it's easier to bring the nose around than the whole head. 

Practice the pullley stop at a walk, then trot then canter. I wasn't a believer in the pulley stop until I actually went out and tried it on my quiet mare first 

I have used the one-rein stop as well, but when I use it, it's not about smaller and smaller circles, it's about stop or you're going to fall over, run into the poplar shrubs or the 8' snowbank!

Good luck and good health.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

No! I would never recommend practicing the pulley rein. It's a very violent last ditch leverage maneuver done to save your butt. It's very harsh on the horse's mouth and can cause serious bar damage. Sure know how to do it and maybe practice just the movements of it, but definitely not in the actual leverage scenario it involves.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Kevin has a point in that sometimes when you can't get them to listen to "slow down!" you through "speed up " at them to break out of the log jam.
I can just imagin how strong a half Belgian's neck is and once it's on a dircect line away from the pull, no bend, not the strongest man in the world could force a bend without the help of a bit.

I am so glad you were not hurt. I would have nightmares for weeks. I don't have any real advice except to comment on Kevin's comment.

Hopefully you will find the way with him and your shoulder will come back to normal (having damaged mine, it took over a year to heal and is still occasionally painful).


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

MyBoyPuck said:


> No! I would never recommend practicing the pulley rein. It's a very violent last ditch leverage maneuver done to save your butt. It's very harsh on the horse's mouth and can cause serious bar damage. Sure know how to do it and maybe practice just the movements of it, but definitely not in the actual leverage scenario it involves.


You don't need to be harsh or rough about it, but if you don't practice BEFORE you need it in an emergency, you won't know how to do it or maybe even remember when you do need it. When I practiced it, it was not violent at all.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

MyBoyPuck said:


> No! I would never recommend practicing the pulley rein. It's a very violent last ditch leverage maneuver done to save your butt. It's very harsh on the horse's mouth and can cause serious bar damage. Sure know how to do it and maybe practice just the movements of it, but definitely not in the actual leverage scenario it involves.


I have used it quite a lot and it is only as violent as you make it. The OP was in a last ditch effort to save her butt. It won't cause any serious bar damage unless you choose to. If you use it and teach your horse to respond to it when it is not a panic situation then the horse will respond better when you really need it to.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Agreed Northern and Kevin. Just wanted to stress how harsh it can be if you use it too aggressively. Some people just get up there and yank away. 

Glad to see you back Kevin. Haven't heard from you in awhile.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Thanks, I've been pretty busy.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

In a situation like this, your horse is risking your life and it's own, I would not worry about being too harsh. 

You said about grabbing the rope halter, where you riding in just a halter or was it under the bridle?

Sorry you are hurt, glad you are not more hurt! Heal up quickly. 

Don't blame yourself for not getting back on, you were hurt. I would not have got back on either.


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## trishmcd86 (Mar 28, 2011)

thank you everyone for your responses!. Im not sure what a pulley rein is though. I will work on the one rein stop and see how that goes. To AlexS- i had the rope halter on under the bridle. In regards to the nightmares, that is all i had last night. I have been going through what went wrong over and over in my mind and i cant see where i went wrong with his training. I am definatly going to put a bit in his mouth next time, though it will be a while. I think i am going to have to build my trust in him up, from the ground first, before i think i can get back on without being nervous.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I would say it is time to ditch the side pull and train in a snaffle at least. 

Work on gaining a one rein stop on him. Since he already responds to your seat, this may come fairly easy, its just you will take up one rein, to bring the halt rather than both. It sounds to me, you have worked on more verticle flexion than lateral flexion...time to back it up a bit and pick up the lateral flexion, and gain that peice of training that could save your butt on ANY horse you train.


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## shmurmer4 (Dec 27, 2008)

My solution isn't safe.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

You need to be riding him in a bit, for sure. 

I have a lazy and dumb horse who would never run, but I always ride in a bit. 

For you with this horse, you need that level of control. What bit would you use? Or something like a hackamore, it doesn't matter, but you need some control. 

I am not surprised you had nightmares, you had a terrible experience. To get you over that, can you ride another horse, or have a friend lunge you next time you are ready to ride?


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## Chiefsgirl (Mar 26, 2011)

i think you tried this but just to make sure ive gotten this advice from several people of reaching down and pulling his head to touch your knee. my farrier told me to practice it at any speed just to see how far he could reach and to see what hed do. other wise im not that experienced so i dont know. my horse did close to the same thing to me so now when i get on him i ask God to make him not act stupid.


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## Luvs2jump (Oct 11, 2010)

Sorry that you were hurt and hope you're doing better.
I gotta agree with everyone else on putting a bit in his mouth, a nice plain as mild as possible snaffle in his mouth and teach a one rein stop, I've used this but not the pully rein. I just read about it in this month's of Particle Horseman.


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## Makoda (Jan 17, 2011)

One technique I know of when riding with a halter is to grab one rein with both hands let the horse have its head for a little bit and when it is not ready for it pull as hard as you can to try and break the head to the side. 

Or plan B find the softest spot you can say a pray and jump off. No just kidding


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## jwells84 (Mar 29, 2011)

I agree. put a bit in that horses mouth! teach him to give to it. You want him to be soft and supple in it. flex, flex flex, and practice one rein stops(aka emergency break) with a horse that big you'll need to make him think he cant run off with you. that's what the flexing and one rein stops are for. the more soft and supple he is in his mouth and neck the more control you will have. also see how his ground work is. will he move his shoulders without pushing/leaning on you. shoulder control is a great thing. oh one more thing. when you advance with him enough to take him out to a field make sure it has a SAFE fence and a gate that way if he attempts to run off he can't completely leave.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

kevinshorses said:


> I think what I would have done was whip him on the **** and make him run as absolutely fast as he could. Being half draft and half quarterhorse he wouldn't have made it very far. If the horse could run back to the barn as fast as he could from 3 miles away he would truely be a specimen. The other thing I would do is wad up that sidepull and through it in the garbage. Now that he has ran off in it he won't respect it at all. I would use a regular o-ring snaffle. Not a French link or rubber covered super wonder bit. I would want to make sure that if he ran off again I could not only get his attention but make it as uncomfortable as possible.


Yep. He wants to run - make him.

At this point with your injury - put him in a large outdoor arena. Lope, lope, lope. When he wants to stop - lope some more.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Here is a video that will help with the pulley rein.





 
AlexS -- _In a situation like this, your horse is risking your life and it's own, I would not worry about being too harsh._ The harshness factor came up in practicing, not in an emergency situation.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Good video. Thanks for posting that NM. Glad she mentions that it's hard on the horse at the end and to take that into consideration while practicing. The only thing she didn't mention was that the pulley rein is not just a one pull action. Normally it takes a few rhythmic pulls to get the horse stopped. She made it look like you just pull back once and you're done. 

I'm a little touchy on the pulley rein since Practical Horseman recently had an article about it suggesting it was a good tool for riding a XC course. I was very disappointed to see it being used by the rider in place of applying half halts to keep the horse in good rhythm, like cranking on the horse's mouth was a shortcut to good training. My blood pressure still rises when I think about it.

OP, by all means, if it's you, a bolting horse and only a cliff or highway in your path, yank away. It'll probably be the only time you ever use it. Most horses probably would never think of bolting ever again after having their mouth cranked on in that manner.


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## jwells84 (Mar 29, 2011)

Wow thats a good video. thanks for posting. i've only heard of a pulley rein never seen it done or used it. I think i'll remember that. I worked a barrel horse a while back that I could've used that on. come to find out she wasnt sound,but bucking at full speed wasnt the best way to find that out.lol. i did manage to stop her but we went about 100yds before i got it done.If i tried to bring her head around (the emergency stop i was taught) she just pushed right through the turn and went faster. i figure that was becuase that what she was taught as a barrel horse. anywho. thanks again for the video


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

What many people forget is that a One Rein Stop has to be taught to a horse and practiced for there to be any chance of it working. A horse can run just about as fast with its head cranked around as it can with it straight it just can't see very well. The way people get hurt in runaways is by falling off when the horse gets to a fence and turns suddenly or when the horse falls down or crashes into something. I have ridden horses that can flat out RUN and as long as they stayed standing and I stayed on I was perfectly safe. If I get a horse that likes to run off I want fairly easy terrain preferebly uphill and no fences in front of me for at least a half mile. Very few horses are fit enough to run more than a quarter mile full out without running out of steam. I would bet most draft crosses wouldn't make it 500 yards if they were really giving it thier all.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

kevinshorses said:


> What many people forget is that a One Rein Stop has to be taught to a horse and practiced for there to be any chance of it working. A horse can run just about as fast with its head cranked around as it can with it straight it just can't see very well.



Geez Kevin. We're talking pulley rein on this thread. Please don't confuse her with the one rein stop. Two very different manuevers.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

MyBoyPuck said:


> Geez Kevin. We're talking pulley rein on this thread. Please don't confuse her with the one rein stop. Two very different manuevers.


 
others have suggested teaching the one rein stop as well, so there is not confusion here...there are indeed two different methods being discussed in this thread. ;-) 

And I agree with Kevin; regardless of which method the OP chooses, it has to be 'taught' in order to work (I would go with ORS myself, not the pulley...)


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

I just get worried when I see to two methods being used interchangeably. One rein stop and pulley rein are for very different circumstances. One is for a horse who has not yet gotten into full gear involves substantial bend while the other is for a bolt in progress and keeps the horse straight while being applied. Using the wrong one can result in disaster. I just hope people are clear that they are not both for the same purpose.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

A ORS can be used to stop a buck or bolt before it even happens, so not necessarily for 'different circumstances'. I don't know how many times an effective ORS has saved my butt on a green horse, simply because he understands what grabbing up that one rein means, even when he is in 'mid flight mode'. 

I have used ORS for a bolt in progress as well, too, but obviously you don't grab the rein right to the hip immediately; you MUST slow the horse down some by getting him into a circle first, then get him to use the ORS once he is slowed some; again, I have used it for the bolt too, but it has to be used differently than when you are executing in a controlled environment where the horse is calm and for the most part collected in his gaits. HOWEVER...if it is life or death we are talking about, as in this thread (where the horse is crossing roads in his flight), I would rather execute the ORS as quickly as I could, than to have the horse continue running and kill us both.

IF I am in an area where it is safe to make the horse run...then by all means, I will make him run, and make him wish he'd never taken off in the first place; but this is not always possible, so you HAVE to have a 'stop' procedure you can rely on as well.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

My rule of thumb is, if you can catch the bolt within 3 strides, ORS is safe. If the horse is already up to speed, then you're in pulley rein land. I would never bring a horse's neck out of line with it's body while it's going 35 mph. Didn't mean to hijack your thread OP.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

So you're saying people shouldn't barrel race, or anything that involves turning a horse at higher speeds? Just trying to understand your line of thinking here, especially since horses will turn and burn even in turn out...


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

mom2pride said:


> So you're saying people shouldn't barrel race, or anything that involves turning a horse at higher speeds? Just trying to understand your line of thinking here, especially since horses will turn and burn even in turn out...


When did I say that? How can you equate a horse trained to run barrels within the confines of an arena with a horse that is in a dead run and determined to get straight home whether there's a highway in the way or not? The barrel horse knows he's going to be turning 3 times in the span of his run. I'm not a western rider, but I'm assuming he is taught to do this at slower speeds and knows to anticipate slowing down and balancing himself before the turns. I'm also hoping that most of the turning is done on his haunches and not being pulled around on an inside rein. 

A horse who is bolting isn't anticipating squat. He's just running as fast as he can. No, I wouldn't dream of pulling of bolting horse's head all the way around to my hip. Below is a pic of my horse traveling at roughly 38 mph. Which technique would you use to stop him? Pull his neck around or straight line leverage?


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

Since he was a race horse, pulling on him wouldn't have done any good anyway, am I correct? They use something like the pulley rein to slow them down I think, right? This is not your normal runaway horse, though, but one that is trained to run a certain way, so again, a different thing than highlighted in the OP's original post

I mainly stated what I said since you said you would never turn a horse at high speed; trust me, I have seen alot of barrel horses who have not been taught how to turn properly, and they are still able to turn without slipping and falling...so there is still risk even there. 

I still think it comes down to that "life or death" instance, and what you can actually get the horse to do, in order to get him TO slow down or stop. 

As I've mentioned, I have slowed horses by slowly turning them into a circle, and then being able to utilize the ORS effectively on a runaway horse. BUT I also know how to ensure that the horse remains balanced as well. I've never had to use the pulley rein to get a horse to slow down or stop, but I do know how to implement it if I have to. I'm not trying to argue over this, either, so please don't take it that way.


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## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

Unless you have a special reason for keeping him in a side pull, I'd pitch it and put him in a bridle. At 4, in my experience anyway, horses enter what I call the "what-will-happen-if-I-decide" stage and this is when they start testing you. They are over the "I'm-not-sure-about-this" cautious stage, through the routine "I-get-it" stage and into the figuring out what they can and cannot do with what they know stage. And this horse has just learned that, if he chooses to, he can out-horse you - and he's likely to try it again - not because you didn't get back on, but because you couldn't control or stop him. Unless he's a psychic there is no way he could know that you couldn't get back on, only that you didn't. And let's face it, if you had of been able to get back on, would you have had any better control of him than you did before he bolted? I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not always a good thing to "get back up there" if nothing has changed. Did he take off after the fall, or did you lead him home? If you led him home, then he still didn't get home on his terms, but yours. If he took off and left you, then he made it home on his own terms, without you. Most horses don't realize how their riders got on the ground, they don't make the immediate connection between dethroning riders by bucking or bolting until it happens again. Because of this, I don't blindly subscribe to the "get back on them" mentality. I judge whether or not I can address what went wrong and work the horse through it if I remount. If I was badly shaken or hurt I usually won't remount as I don't want to risk a repeat performance which would be worse! The last thing I want to do after losing control or being thrown is remount simply to "show him whose boss" or because I "can't let him get away with that". If at any time I feel like I have to prove something to the horse, I step back and address it another day…on my terms and my time, not his. At other times I may know what went wrong, remount and work through it at that time.


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## searle gord (Mar 31, 2011)

Just a thought, why don't we go back in the horses training and see what is broken. Everyone seems to want to look for a mechanical fix to the situation. I do not want to take anything away from the person that trained this horse, but something in the foundation is lacking.
I have been training for years, and to blame the horse is human nature. We all have time constraints, "Git her done" but that usually comes back and bites us on the ***. This is an example and I am very sorry you got hurt.
What if we go back and look at the basic training, something there is slightly out. Maybe the horse got the idea was not pushed hard enough to make it go pop so we could fix it. When we train we need to push our horses to find out what sets them off. This does not need to be mean or nasty, it is more about setting them up so we can correct.
Years ago I had a mustang gelding I was training, he was a huge brute that was well trained. What he was was a ticking time bomb. So long as he wanted to do what you wanted to do he was a great horse. The instant he got bored, he headed home and there was nothing anyone could do.
Gor three days I rode this horse in a corral, doing the exact oppisite of what it wanted to do. If it wanted to walk we went to the trott, or lope. It wanted to go left we went right. You get the idea.
At the end of the three days this big old boy lost it, it5 was the explosion from hell. He reared, took off on his back feet and I was not sure if he was going all the way. When he decided to come back down, he was the nicest boy you could want. To this day those folk still think I created some miracle. All I did was **** their horse off and showed him that I was still there. Soon as he realized I was not going away he stopped all the attitude.


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## searle gord (Mar 31, 2011)

PS Bits are for enhanced communication, not brakes.


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## goldilockz (Aug 1, 2008)

Question about the pulley rein. I'm assuming by practicing and starting off slow, this prevents the horse from learning to rear? Watching the video, I was almost expecting him to rear. Is this a common reaction or was I over-anticipating what he would do?


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

I thought it would make them rear too, which is why I tried it. I have a mare that has reared on me and I didn't want to encourage it. It doesn't. And if you think about it, when you use it, you are in forward motion. For the horse to rear, he has to come to a stop and then rear. Well before he stops you release the pulley rein anyway as you have accomplished what was needed. Having tried it, I don't think even at a stop that the PR would encourage a rear.


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