How to Stop Your Horse

For safety's sake you would not drive a car that has no brakes and you should not ride a horse if you do not know how to make it stop or slow down for the very same reason. Be familiar with the way a horse has been trained to stop before riding her. The following steps will show you the basic way to stop a trained horse.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Horse
• Reins

1. Let the horse walk or run as you hold onto the reins.

2. Tighten the reins by pulling on the strap gently toward your belly button. This takes the slack out of the strap and tightens it. The motion will pull the bit in the horse's mouth, which will cause her to slow down.

3. Say "Whoa" or "Stop" or whatever words the horse has been trained to respond to.

4. Release the pressure on the reins once the horse has slowed down or stopped as you've asked her to.

Tips & Warnings

• A horse must be trained to stop for this method to work.
• To stop a runaway horse that will not respond to the reins, pull on one rein to make the horse's head turn to the side. A horse can not push against the bit while its head is to the side. This method serves as your emergency brake.
• Do not keep pulling on the reins once the horse has minded and stopped or slowed down as you have asked her to. The reins pull on the metal in the horse's mouth, which could injure the horse if you keep pulling on the reins. Do not yank hard on the reins or you can injure the horse.

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