Who knows what the one rein stop is?

Question

I keep putting this down in my answers and I know there are other names for it. I would just like to hear others knowledge of it and maybe put it out there because its a huge training method that will save your life.

Do you teach your horses how to do it and what are your methods for preforming one?

Thanks!

Wonderfully put JHG, thank you!!

TY can76chaser!!

rabbit mage-- for your harness training.

You can one rein them ground driving and have done it many times with my show mule prior to hooking him. They bolt you grab one rein and hold on. They should give to the pressure and wind themselves up in the lines pretty tight so they can't move.

However, my mule learned that trick and went laterally away from me, against bit pressure and did get away. Once that happened, my friend and I took him out ground driving, she stayed behind the blinders, he would try to bolt home, she would grab him while I wound the reins around him and held him again. It took 3times that day of doing that to break him of it. But it did work.

He has never bolted since.

In a run off situation once you are hooked to cart, you look for an area to circle them down in as much as you can. You can't one rein once in cart.

In a show situation, all carts move to the inside if you can and allow that person the outside to slow them down.

Answer 1

Yes, the one rein stop to me is an essential part of the training that I do. This is when you slide one hand down the rein and bend your horses neck so that his nose bends towards your leg. At the same time as bending your horse bend your body, not in half, but mirrorr what you want him to do in his body with yours. Looking at his tail and turning your body to accomplish such, not so severe that you lose your seet, but enough so that your body will help his body disengage. In doing this it will disengage your horses hindquarters and a horse can't keep the forward movement happening if his hindquarters are being disengaged.
It really makes a huge differance if you teach your horse vertical flexion. When all it takes is a gentle feel in the rein and your horse will offer thier head to the side. Then even if your horse is freaked out and your have to stop NOW, it is easier to get your horse to disengage and give his head when it has been taught to him as second nature.
It is essential and can save your life! A horse being claustrophobic by nature, if you pull back on both reins, the general tendency for your body is to get brassy and tighten up...legs and all. This causes pressure which makes two things happen. First it causes the claustrophobic horse to feel trapped between your gripping legs and the grip on the mouth. And secondly it actually will cause more forward motion. Generally when someone wants thier horse to go forward they squeeze with thier legs to ask them to go forward. So if you want your horse to stop but are squeezing with your legs that gives mixed signals.
In my opinion the one rein stop is the only way to go.

Answer 2

I know it and every horse I've ridden has known it or learned how to do it, thankfully I've never had to use it in an emergency!

I actually need to consult with some driving trainers about an alternative for when I start my Minis in harness. I'm not sure how well it'll work when they've got a cart behind them.

Thanks for the details about one-reining in harness, Mule! I figured ground driving it would pose no issues, but those shafts take a bit out of the bending aspect. Circles it is, and hopefully we won't have many runaways.

Answer 3

Great question Mulereiner! You've already got some great descriptions on the board. I was taught to do this at a very young age & have luckily only used it a few times when I was being run off with. It is something I like to teach young horses and use as a strategic distraction when trouble looms on the horizon lol. I don't know of another name for it other than the one rein stop either.

Answer 4

The one rein stop is disengagement of the hindquarters.The one-rein stop performed correctly begins with you reaching down until the rein is quite short. You then bring that hand upward while dropping your elbow towards your hip on the same side, and place your same leg on the horse's side with just enough pressure to get him crossing his hind legs on the tiny circle you will be describing. It is extremely important that you don't cross your hand in front of your body. Not only will the horse bend in his neck instead of his withers, but if done suddenly, you run the risk of flipping the horse over.
Once you are circling, and are certain that your horse is crossing his hind legs if you're not sure keep the pressure with leg and rope on until the horse yields to the rope. You will feel like the rope is suddenly light, or it will have slack in it. IMMEDIATELY take your leg off the horse. Hopefully, the horse will stop circling and end up standing balanced with a soft back. If he just keeps circling, try saying "whoa" to help him understand what you want. If he just keeps going on and on, put your leg back on, then remove it again and repeat "whoa". DO NOT pull on the rope. He must stop from the removal of pressure from your leg, and the balance of your seat. Most horses at this point will stop, but will go back to leaning on the rope. There are two yielding motions that the horse must make. The first is in the head and neck. When he makes the first motion to give to your hand, you reward him by removing the pressure of your leg. He must give his head again at the halt to earn the reward of your totally giving that rope a lot of slack. Once he understands this, you must make sure that he doesn't just bend his neck around and still stay braced somewhere in his body. You can tell if he's doing this if he feels rigid anywhere. If that happens, no matter if he has his nose on your knee, use that inside leg to get those hind legs crossing again until he softens that rigid part. Then repeat removing the leg, waiting for the halt and the give of head, and immediately give that rein freely. Doing this at the walk is fairly simple, but can take a lot of trust to do at the trot and canter. Well that is my method.


**** Edit**** I don't know what TY is...... LOL sorry

Answer 5

I was taught this as a kid, in another century. I then taught it to my cousin who had a horse who loved to run away with her. She hugged me and kissed me as this horse was driving her crazy and she didn't want to sell it, she wanted to enjoy it more. I never knew it had a name, I have always taught it without calling it anything except an emergency stop for a runaway. Just reach down with one hand take hold of the onside rein closer to the head. Bring the horse's head around to the side. He has to follow it and the circle will untrack him. Never used fancy words, just showed how to do it.

Answer 6

This saved my life on a runaway ex race horse. I shouldn't have ever been on that horse to begin with ( I was new to riding) but after running across an 80 acre field and heading towards trees with no stirrups I remembered One rein stop!!!

Answer 7

My parents trained horses for a living for over 15 years and we never used the "one rein stop" I have heard of it but have never seen it done. I guess to each there own.

Answer 8

In a short description, a one rein stop is where you put one hand, usually your inside, on your horse's crest and use your outside hand to pull his head until he stops. Basically, it is used as a last resort for a runaway horse.

I learned it was called "pulley rein", though.

Answer 9

bless you mulereiner, I never knew the term for this although I use it in hot green horses that try and do their own thing all the time. I always called it spinning (as in you spin the head around and hope to God the body follows) which of course applies more to stationary bikes than horses...

Answer 10

Yes, I learned it as an essential tool in case your horse bolted on cross country! I learned it as "pulley rein"....but same thing.