Imagine that feeling we all get when you want your horse to stop, or transition down a gear, and you just know in your mind that it’s gonna be difficult. It’s gonna take some effort, and muscle, to transition down. Pulling on the reins is the only option you have to muscle your heavy horse down to the halt or walk.
You’ve probably heard your trainer say it a thousand times, that you should not pull on the reins to transition down. You know that pulling on the reins is bad, and you know that you shouldn’t do it. But you think, “My horse is different, he just won’t stop!!!!!!!!“
But you see, your horse is not different, and when you pull on the reins to stop him, you are actually making the problem worse, making it harder for him to be able to stop!
What Really Happens When You Pull On The Reins?
Did you ever notice that when you pull on the reins to stop, or transition down, it takes a long time for the end result to happen? It’s because you are hindering your horse from being able to properly stop on his own. I know the feeling, and I know the feeling of the “need” to pull.
Imagine it: Your are cantering around and planning a transition to walk. When you ask for the walk, you feel like the horse is barreling through you, so you pull and hang on the reins until you’ve muscled the horse to a walk.
Pull, pull, pull…hold it, hold it, hang on it…and finally you get a walk. Then you finally release your death grip on the reins. The entire transition takes about 5-10 seconds. But you see, a transition should only take about one second, and, from a light aid.
So why does this transition take so long? Because you are pulling!
When you are pulling on the reins, you are giving the horse something to pull back on. And you are also giving him something to lean on. And when you give a horse something to lean on, he will gladly take up that offer.
Why would he take such an offer, you ask? Because when your horse has something to lean on, he doesn’t have to work as hard. He doesn’t have to use his hind end as he should be. He doesn’t have to use his hind end to properly stop himself, because you are doing all the work for him by pulling him to a stop.
Pulling a Thousand Pounds to a Stop is Hard Work
So when you pull, you are inviting the horse to lean on your hands. So the horse is basically taking all his weight and dumping it onto his front end for you to carry. Why would he carry himself when you are just going to do it for him?
So you are basically hauling around a thousand pounds, with downward momentum working against you. So yes, you will have to pull this kind of force to stop it, and you’ll have to pull hard. The horse can’t possibly stop himself with that downward gravity. You have to pull him.
And so that’s what we do. We pull. It’s a viscous cycle. The horse comes onto the forehand, we take grip, and then the horse says, “I think it would be super comfy if I just leaned a bit,” and then we say, “Ok, I’ll carry you!” and then the horse takes more and more as we continue to accommodate.
But when we enter this cycle, the horse has no chance of stopping properly. Once he starts leaning, that downward gravity will keep him snowballing. Imagine if you were running very fast down a steep hill. How easily could you stop on a dime? Not very easily! You are barreling down the hill, the front of your body falling forward while your legs are trying to keep up with your body, but the can’t, so they are flailing out behind. That’s what happens to the horse. And so we pull.
So how do we stop pulling when we really really feel like we have to, but know it’s wrong, and yet we are sitting on a thousand pounds of cantering power that needs to transition to a walk?
The Horse Needs To Do It, Not You
You only need to ask the horse to stop, and help him to stop, but he needs to do the work. Go back to the scenario of imagining yourself running down a steep hill. You are trying not to flip over forward as your legs scurry to try catch up to your upper body. You obviously couldn’t suddenly come to a prompt halt! (stop)
But now imagine that you are running on a flat terrain. How easily could you suddenly stop? Much more easily. Because you are not literally falling down a hill. You are upright and level. Your legs are working under your body, not falling out behind.
The same goes for your horse. He will be able to easily bring himself to a stop if he is not downhill and on the forehand. When he is leaning on your reins, he is on the forehand and downhill. And how does he get that way? Because you are pulling on the reins to try to stop him!
So, pulling on the reins in downward transitions doesn’t work because it gives the horse something to lean on, which puts his body snowballing, and therefore, it’s too hard for him to stop himself against that momentum.
The Key to a Good Downward Transition
So in order to get a prompt and floating downward transition, the horse needs to do it himself, and he needs to be off the forehand and uphill. And then it’s easy peasy.
So how do you get the horse off the forehand? First-Don’t pull on the reins!
There are a multitude of ways to get a horse off the forehand, but the key is this; get the hind end working and reaching underneath the body. Power and engagement in the hind end will put more of the horse’s weight in the back and lift the front. Check out my article about engaging the hind end here.
Have you ever heard your instructor ask you to add more leg when you are trying to halt? You may have been confused because, why would add your leg to the horse when you are trying to stop the horse!!! Your leg makes the horse go forward, but you are trying to halt!!!???
Well, this article solves that puzzle too. You absolutely want to add leg when halting, and also when you do any downward transition. When you are giving an aid to halt, and adding leg at the same time, you are making the horse step under his body and lighten the front end. That’s how you get those lofty, soft transitions instead of the jerky transitions that jolt your own upper body forward, crashing into the withers and mane -like a car slamming on the breaks, launching you into the dashboard.
Just Stop Pulling on the Reins
Pulling on the reins will create a whole host of problems, much more than discussed here. Check out my article about why you need to stop pulling on your inside rein here.
So next time you try a downward transition, make sure you are not engaging in heavy contact, get the hind end working and then ask for your transition. And just to experiment, try releasing the reins a bit just to see what happens. You just may get the best downward transition you’ve ever had!
Keep Riding, Keep Refining
The Refined Rider
