# What to do when a horse is running away with you?



## WolfsongStorm (Feb 14, 2014)

A couple nights ago, I was riding a mare in a bareback pad/vaulting surcingle "just in case". My plan was to be mostly trotting and do some cantering, so the surcingle was for if I got nervous (I'm a beginner at riding bareback/with a bareback pad). What ended up happening was: I mounted, walked around the arena a few times and did some backing, tried to go into a trot. I didn't realize there was a gelding a few stalls down from the arena that the mare had a crush on. We trotted for about two seconds before she started cantering towards the gate. Then she cantered back the other way, and went straight up the mounting ramp which is about four feet off the ground. I had no idea if she was going to try and jump off, or slip off the side. I backed her down with no problems. On the ground she took off again, and turned sharply at the gate. She turned so quickly she nearly fell and I would have gotten slammed between her and the fence. 
Her "brakes" were not working. So, what do I do when a horse is running away with me and I can't get them to slow down or turn? 

My plan was to do trotting with some cantering. She decided we would do cantering with some galloping. I'm just learning cantering without a saddle, needless to say it was a pretty scary experience.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I found this technique helpful. It isn't something I would want to rely on, and it can be harsh, but Julie Goodnight's video has saved my butt a couple of times when my horse gave me the middle hoof salute and decided she would NOT stop:


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## WolfsongStorm (Feb 14, 2014)

bsms said:


> I found this technique helpful. It isn't something I would want to rely on, and it can be harsh, but Julie Goodnight's video has saved my butt a couple of times when my horse gave me the middle hoof salute and decided she would NOT stop:


Thanks a bunch! 
This seems to make a lot more sense than the shorten one rein, turn in circles method when they're moving quickly


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

First thing I would suggest is to not ride her bareback again until you get this issue resolved :wink:. It's hard to get control of a horse that is being obnoxious when you're trying not to slide off their side. Good job for staying with her though, I know stuff like that is scary :clap:.

I generally only use the pulley rein or something similar as a very last resort. I much prefer to take one rein and put them in a decent sized circle (big enough that they can stay balanced, even at a gallop), then just let them go until they get tired......then whip their butt and _make_ them go until you can't lift your arm.

Generally speaking, horses very seldom ignore your stop cues more than twice if you do that every time.


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## WolfsongStorm (Feb 14, 2014)

smrobs said:


> First thing I would suggest is to not ride her bareback again until you get this issue resolved
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha yeah,I don't plan to ride her bareback until this is fixed. The issue was that she wasn't responding to cues to turn either, she was really intent on seeing her buddy. I tried the circle technique first, but when that didn't work I didn't know what to do beside hang on


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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

WolfSongStorm, it all depends who you ask and how you ask. 

What *I* do when a horse is running away with me is already be prepared. I'm a self admitted wimp yet I retrain problem horses, so I am all about safety. I do not mount a horse that I have not taught to flex lateral and disengage on the ground. Then I repeat that in the saddle at the stand still, then bend to a stop from a walk, etc. I also expect my horses to go exactly the speed I like. If a horse so much as tries to walk off when I am mounting, that horse is bolting by my standards. Any time a horse speeds up that doesn't know what two reins means yet, I bend down to a slower speed. All of this ensures that if crap does hit the fan, I can safely bend to a stop with no issues. 

What you should of done in that given situation is another story entirely. You obviously got out of that situation alright, thank goodness, given that you are posting here, so coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn't matter that much. I would recommend that you get prepared for some of the what ifs that may happen. 

I have had to do a pulley rein exactly two times in my life, and with one instance I would have rather been ran away with. Years ago when I was dumb, young kid, I was riding down the road on an OTQH with a friend of mine who's horse spooked at a truck honking at us. The gelding I was riding took off after him, it doesn't matter why he did it. It may have been to follow his buddy, it may have triggered a response to race, who knows. I didn't have room to bend to a stop, which was my fault for riding an unprepared horse somewhere I shouldn't have. The stop itself was terrifying. His head came up so quickly I was whacked in the nose even though I was sitting back. His body followed, he ended up sliding to a stop on the road. Before he had completely quit sliding he was rearing and before I could blink, much less think give him a release, he flipped over with me on the asphalt road. The way he landed saved my butt. He didn't flip over and sort of flop to the side to protect himself like so many do. He went up and straight back. I was tiny enough, combined with a tall enough saddle horn that when I leaned forward as much as I could given the time frame, I wasn't crushed. I did however, lose my stirrup, and somehow caught the toe of my left boot in my latigo when he rolled to get up. I had the breath knocked out of me and didn't realize this until he was up and I was being dragged. My buddy finally got him stopped but I was terrorized and in a lot of pain. She ended up ponying him back to the barn and I laid in the grass and called my grandma to come take me to the ER. 

Want to take a guess at what bit my young, dumb self was riding in? A tom thumb. I don't know if it was the pulley rein itself, the tom thumb or how much leverage was exerted so quickly on it because of the pulley rein that caused the flip. 

Now, one rein stops, can be dangerous too if you attempt them on a horse who hasn't been trained for them or if you're too rough. It's because a horse can get unbalanced and fall. When you properly teach them, it's a lifesaver.

The point of that, wasn't to scare you. It was to stress the importance of being prepared. Emergency stops are all fine and dandy if you're in a place where you can execute them without the emergency stop being what hurts you. 

You know she's barn sour now. Fix that problem first before you ride bareback where you are less stable. Work on bending to a stop and ride in areas that are safe to execute one in.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I generally think of a pulley rein as a stopping technique with a snaffle. A curb bit works differently than a snaffle, and I cannot imagine trying a pulley rein combined with a curb. It is harsh enough with a snaffle...but like a curb, it is good for a straight line stop.

If there is room, then gradual circles work great. Hitting the outside shoulder can turn a horse who isn't turning from the reins. The time I did it, I was using my heel because the horse's nose was already at my left knee. He wasn't turning and a barbed wire fence was ahead of us. I suspect a crop or leather strap would work better.

There isn't one answer. You needs lots of options in your bag of clues so you can pull out something that makes sense for that horse in that situation.


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## DreaMy (Jul 1, 2014)

I always use a one rein stop, actually I've never seen a "pulley rein" stop before, it looks a little terrifying though. You have to know how big or how small you can make your circles on the horse you are riding though. My mare, well I can pull her into a less than 10 feet circle on the wrong lead and she will switch and keep on going, or counter canter the whole way if she feels like it. Yeah, I'm not too worried about her losing her balance. Still I just pull her around and wait for her to STOP and GIVE. A lot of people do a one rein stop and quit when the horse gives them a walk. As soon as I start the circle I ask her to move her hip over and pivot on the front until she starts to give and _then_ I let her stop and take a deep breathe before I give her head back. If she is leaning on my hand, then I make her pivot more. Rinse and repeat.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I've tripped two horses over onto their sides using the one-rein stop. 

I'll go with the pulley rein technique. Even in a western curb or pelham.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

The most common reaction of riders on runaway horses is to squeeze with their legs in an effort to stay on while at the same time pulling backward on both reins.

While we can seldom keep ourselves from reacting this way initially, it is important to counter this urge as soon as possible. It is very hard to fall off a horse if the rider is balanced, relaxed, and has a low center of gravity. Practice riding in this way helps it become more natural even in panicky situations. Knowing how hard it is to fall off the horse, the rider can relax his legs which had been telling the horse to run faster. 

If the horse does not respond to halt cues, the best thing to do is to turn the horse. The faster the horse is going, the more gradual the turn should be. Unless the horse turns well with usual cues, I recommend pulling one rein to the side (not backward) while relieving tension on the other rein. If you don't release tension on the second rein, you end up pulling on both reins and the horse may simply grip the bit in its mouth, lean forward while you hold it up, and run faster.

After beginning the turn, simply continue reducing the radius of the turn until the horse gradually slows and comes to a stop. This is much like what the cowboys did with stampeding cattle. Remember those cowboy movies?

In the few situations where wide turns are not possible, turning the horse into a barrier is usually effective. If this is not possible, about the only choices would be the pulley-stop or one-rein stop.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

I may be wrong but I get the feeling that there are a lot of things in your riding and handling techniques that are lacking.

This horse is doing completely what it wants too, and eventually, you are going to get hurt.

Are you taking any lessons from someone that is qualified?

How much real experience do you have with horses and how gotten?


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