When a horse is taught correctly even a little tiny girl like this one can ride, guide and stop a horse.
Fail to use a method to teach a horse to stop and it might take a freight train to stop a runaway.
When I say Whoa!, my horse needs to stop immediately. I’m pretty sure I haven’t taught my horse this. He probably thinks it means start thinking about slowing down, or stop and then turn, or it doesn’t mean anything. That’s all my fault. I want to start using the “Whoa!” command to mean just that and immediately like a sliding stop! In order to do that, I have to get it right myself.
I’ve learned that in anything I get ready to do with a horse, if I’ve taken care of the preparation, the rest comes fairly easily. But if the preparation is lacking, I might want to pull my hat down, because what happens next might stir up a little dirt.
Western Horseman
Buster McLaury
McLaury is a cowboy’s horse trainer that learned from the legendary Dorrance brothers and Ray Hunt. It’s not hard to tell just by seeing him and talking to him that he’s the real deal. He’s lived the life and he’s had the practice. He is a thoughtful man and a good communicator. His article is easy to understand and his logic makes a whole lot of sense.
Click the link below to view a McLaury article on One-Rein Stops as it appeared in the May, 2009 article:
I love this article. It explains the use of the one-rein stop in a more useful way than just getting your horse to stop. He also emphasized it’s limited use when you’ve missed your opportunity to use it immediately. Again there’s that feel and timing thing.
I think that’s the first thing people think of when you mention the one-rein stop (heading off a runaway or bucking horse). That’s okay, I guess. At least you’re getting something out of it. But there can be so much more to it if a person is interested in searching and thinking.
Buster McLaury