Bit Of Knowledge for Sliding Stops

by Patrick Hooks

Stopping your horse at a lope can be very rewarding if you fix it up for the horse so he can learn to stop. It can be a nightmare if you force it! Also consider the ground. Please, don’t try a 15-foot sliding stop on hard ground! About three times of that and you will have no stop at all. Remember, professional reiners spend much time and effort just preparing their dirt.

Hands and Seat
Be sure your hands and seat are in time with your horse’s head as it travels up and down. As the horse's head and ears go up and down, so should your hand and seat. Reason being, if the rider is out of time with the horse's head movement, he or she will bump against the horse's face, which sends signals of "stop" or "slow" to the horse. Too many rounds of that and your hand cue will mean nothing.

This is also where your speed control comes into play. Hand and seat forward = more speed. Hand and seat back = less speed. Keep an active leg and a supporting leg at the lope. If my horse is in the left lead, my right leg will be active, bumping in time with the horse's stride. My left leg will be supporting, helping to guide the leading shoulder.

Footfall
Learning to be in time with the horse’s feet will take you the most time and effort in teaching a nice stop. A quick look at the three beat lope:
· The leading rear foot strikes the ground first.
· Next, the leading rear foot and its front foot diagonal are on the ground together as the horse balances its stride.
· The rear end and front diagonal start traveling up, and the leading front foot is last on the ground.
· Last, the horse's leading front leg will lift up off the ground and gather with the other feet. In this last portion of the stride, all four legs will be off the ground.

When all four feet are off the ground at a lope or gallop, that piece of the stride is called suspension. The stride starts over again as the trailing rear leg travels down for the first step in the next count. For a more detailed look at the footfall, see the diagram at right.

Training for the Stop
To teach a nice stop, I start just as the horse's head begins its downward motion. I want to ask the trailing rear leg to come up and stop by the leading rear leg while the horse is in suspension. To place myself in time with the suspension, I start my cues for the stop as the horse's head begins traveling down. Human reactions are slower than a horse's movement. Cues need to be smooth, so you must start your cues ahead of the horse's movement in order to be in time and to prevent any quick, hard jerking motions.

What has worked for me is to first let the horse think about stopping before I ask him to stop. Let the horse be a little tired and want to stop before you ask for the stop.

This would be my thought pattern for the stop at the lope or gallop on the left lead (see photo):

1. I’m in time with my horse's head as it starts down. All four of my horse’s legs are about to be off the ground.
2. As the horse's head starts down, I say "Whoa."
3. I take the life out of my body and sit down (don’t rear back).
4. I take my right rein, connecting it to the trailing rear leg (in this case the right) and make a pull back to the right side of my belly. My left hand supports asking the horse to stay tucked at the poll.
5. I put slack back into the reins as the slide ends.

The biggest tip I can give you is that after my horse, Newt, has stopped, we will visit for a while. This lets Newt know it was a good thing to stop. Take a break or read a little text while you're letting the horse rest and get his wind back. This will keep your patience in check and truly let the horse rest.

I’ve enjoyed doing this article. I truly hope it has you thinking. Please remember: “Only one bit works on all horses. A bit of knowledge.” Until I see you again...

God Bless,
Patrick Hooks