Stop Fix #1: Straighten the Rundown

The problem: Horse does not run straight to the stop (rundown).

Why does this problem happen? If a horse is not staying straight running to his stops, he has not learned to align his body or the rider is not sending him down straight.

How to correct this problem: If my horse is weaving down the arena when I’m asking him to run straight, I don’t do much stopping until I fix that because stops are all about the rundown. Straight rundown, straight stop. Crooked rundown, crooked stop.

First I want to be confident that my horse is well schooled in basics – give to the reins, give to the legs – so I know I can correct his mistakes. If he is responsive to leg and rein aids, I can fix the rundown.

Exercise 1: I lope straight down one side of the arena (off the rail), around the end, straight down the other side of the arena (off the rail), around the end, etc several times, collecting around the ends and encouraging my horse to run straight lines down the sides. I will probably have two hands on the reins at first with my hands low, wide and in front of the saddle to run the straight lines. If he veers right or left, I correct him like this: When I feel him pushing a shoulder and/or rib out, I lift (not pull) the rein on that side and back it up with leg pressure (or a bump) on the same side until he aligns again. Then I put my hand down. Every time he lets his body drift to one side or the other, I correct but I don’t hold him in line. I want him to be between my reins while I push him forward with my legs and seat.

Note: I would not do this exercise loping around the ends of the arena with a horse that anticipates a stop every time he lopes around the end. Instead, I use the next exercise, correcting alignment mistakes as above.

Exercise 2: Fencing! There is probably no better exercise for straightening the rundown than fencing but the exercise and its purpose is often misunderstood. Read on…

What is fencing? "Fencing" is an exercise whereby the rider lopes his horse in a straight line from one end fence of the arena to the other end fence of the arena.

Why fence a reining horse? I fence my reining horses to improve the rundown – for straightness, gradual acceleration and to teach them to wait for cues.

How I "fence" a reining horse: I stand my horse at the fence on one end of the arena with his hindquarters at the fence. He should be absolutely straight and I should be looking straight down the arena at a point the same distance from the wall on the other end that I am on this end. If he is not relaxed, I stay there until he is. Next, I ask him to lower his neck, depart at a lope in the lead of my choice (another topic) and lope in a straight line all the way to the other end, at all times staying aware of his body alignment. If he veers right or left, I correct him as in the previous exercise.  I want to have all the correcting done by the time I near the fence so I can lower my hand to his neck, sit down for the stop and let the fence stop him. I don't wait until my horse is right at the fence to ask for the stop but I don't want to be too far away either (a mistake that many new reiners make). If I am a long way back from the fence, I have partially defeated the purpose of the exercise – to run all the way to the fence!

I do not usually say "whoa" at the fence – I want the fence to stop him. (The exception to that is if I have added a lot of speed to the rundown and therefore ask for the stop earlier.) If my horse stops crooked at the fence, I straighten him (with legs and/or hands) and then let him rest a few seconds or longer facing the fence. If he stops straight, I rest him. Then I turn him around, straighten him if needed, collect him and lope off (in the lead of my choice again…) to the fence at the other end.

My horse should never crash into the fence – that is not good fencing!

Note: If my horse has not been fenced before, I start the fencing exercise at a trot until he is comfortable with the fence stopping him at that gait. At a lope, his rundown may be quite crooked the first times, especially as I near the fence. I understand – he is a little confused – so I might allow him to break down to a trot. I still try to keep him straight but I don't want to scare him. It doesn't take long at all until he is comfortable loping to the fence if I don't force the issue at first and let him find out that there is a rest (reward) at the fence.

After my horse has learned to lope a straight line fence to fence, I add speed to the rundown. The added speed may magnify little problems, like crookedness or anticipation, so I can correct. I also switch it up lots – sometimes I lope to the fence, sometimes I build speed to the fence, sometimes I pull him down to a walk and walk to the fence and sometimes I just walk the entire line. It's important, too, to alternate leads in the rundown.

Note: I don't overdo fencing or any stopping exercise for that matter. Although my reining horses need to stop enough to build up their muscles, repeatedly stopping often results in the horse making mistakes. I quit on a nice stop (for the level of training) and go back to the barn with a happy horse.

Exercise 3: If the horse is persistent about running crooked, I try this: When his shoulder bulges (causing him to be out of alignment), I steer him in the opposite direction with both reins and outside leg. Example: If he is veering right, I steer him to the left with both reins to the left and right leg pressure – an exaggeration of the correction.

Any time I feel my horse running crooked to a stop in a schooling session, I fix it, even if I have planned a big stop! If I fix the crooked rundown problem, the stop will improve a whole bunch – just because the rundown did!

The goal of a good rundown is a good stop and the best stops are those where the horse’s body is perfectly aligned and in balance; therefore his body must be aligned and balanced in the rundown. A sliding stop is only as good as the rundown to the stop.

Note: When a horse can stay straight, he is better in all maneuvers! A straight horse is a balanced horse!

Spin Fixes is an EBook!

Just released! Spin Fixes in Kindle format for computer, smart phones, pads and Kindle readers! Two day introductory offer - download free January 12-13, 2013 at http://www.amazon.ca/Spin-Fixes-Handbooks-Reiners-ebook/dp/B00AZORZ90/ref=pd_ys_iyr_img This link is for Amazon.ca. If you live in another country, find the Amazon site in your country to purchase.
( You will need the reader for this. If you don't already have the Kindle reader for your device of choice you can download free on Amazon Kindle)

Spin Fixes is a reference manual for riders of reining horses. Fifteen common spin problems are listed with a clear explanation of each problem and detailed solutions. It is the goal of the author to give riders the tools to help their horses achieve a higher level of  performance. If a rider does not have access to or cannot afford a coach, the Kindle edition of Spin Fixes can offer immediate help - in the arena, at the show or at home. If his horse having a problem with a spin, he can bring up Spin Fixes on his smart phone or pad, find on the appropriate chapter, read the exercise (possibly while still sitting on his horse) and improve the maneuver.

Several photos are included and a quick reference included for ease of use.

Spin Fixes is the first of a series of Handbooks for Reiners. The second in the series is Stop Fixes, to be released spring 2013.


Amazon requires that the content of this book not be made available in digital format while enrolled in KDP Select. Therefore I have removed most of the previous posts titled, "Spin Fixes" until this book is out of KDP program. I have left the last post, Spin Fix #14: Eliminate Freeze Up, as a sample of what is in the book.

The good news is that you can get all the information and it will be at your finger tips any where, any time by downloading this ebook. It's free until Sunday at midnight at the above link. Happy spinning!

Spin Fix #15: Overspinning and Underspinning

Spin Fix #14: Eliminate Freeze Up

The problem: Horse stops all lateral movement in a spin.

Why does this problem happen?

1. If a horse in basic spin training quits (freezes up) in schooling sessions, he is being asked too much too soon.

2. If the freeze up occurs with a well-trained horse that has not quit before, he is not accepting increased mental pressure or he is hurting.

3. If a horse freezes up in competition and he is not in the habit of doing that, it is probably rider error.

Note: A true “freeze up” is when a horse simply will not move away from the outside rein but any ceasing of motion in a spin will be designated a “freeze up” even if the horse has made a mental mistake and only stops motion for a second. The first is more of a training problem; the second is probably rider error.

How to correct this problem: If the horse is not sore anywhere, the next thing I check if my horse quits is me, especially in a schooling situation. Does he need more basic training? Did I ask for more speed too soon? Did I change something about the way I am sitting? Did I move my hand too quickly?  Or too much? If none of those things have happened, the only thing to do is re-introduce the spin slowly with close attention to correctness. Heavy pressure on the outside rein can cause a horse to freeze up. E.g. In competition, the horse is not spinning as fast as I would like and I pull harder in an attempt to speed him up. (This does not work at all but under pressure, any rider might pull!)

One of the most important things to keep in mind while spinning is not to make quick movements with either hands or body because the horse may interpret that movement as a request to stop. If he stops and starts again, he will still get a ‘freeze up’ penalty. If I bring my hand in the direction of the spin to start it and want to put it back in the middle for the spin, I can’t “drop” it suddenly in the middle or he will surely stop. After all, he is looking for “whoa”. Penalty time.

A horse can get in the habit of quitting as well if it happens much. With consistent signals he will learn to stop only when I ask him to and that is crucial in the pen. I switch it up lots – sometimes only a spin or two, sometimes six or eight. He must wait for the word.

If my horse does stop spinning and I have not asked him to, I have to correct with my outside leg (a bump or kick) to get him started again. If I’m schooling, I can pick the point I want to stop with no compromises; in competition, it’s not so easy unless I want to turn the run into a schooling run, which is not a bad idea if I’ve already incurred a two-point penalty for a ‘freeze up’. On the other hand, if it wasn’t the horse’s fault but mine…

‘Freezing up’ should not happen if the horse is trained to continue spinning as long as the rider is asking as in the photo below.

Spin Fix #13: Speeding Up the Spin

The problem: Horse will not spin faster when he is asked.

Why does this problem happen? If a horse will not speed up in the spin, he is either not correct enough to feel good about trying to spin faster or he does not “believe” the rider when asked for an increase in speed.

How to correct this problem: A horse must be able to spin correctly BEFORE he is asked to spin fast. If he is not comfortable turning around, he will not be willing to spin faster. If he’s schooled well in the basic spin – body aligned, responding to reins and legs – and he will start the spin quietly and turn almost on his own, then it’s time to ask for more.

Exercise: I “cluck” to ask for more. If I don’t feel an increase in speed, I bump with my leg. As soon as I feel him pick up the pace, I say “whoa” (that’s a reward) and release all body aids, then repeat. I want to instill in him right from the beginning that if he responds to my request for a faster turn around, he is rewarded. After only a few times, he will almost for sure spin faster with only a cluck. In a class, of course, I need four spins but if I have built my horse’s confidence by not asking too much in training and if he believes the voice command, he will be happy to spin until I ask him to shut down.

Exercise: I push my horse up in the bridle in a small circle, keeping him as straight as possible, until I feel him want to ‘find’the spin. Then I lower my hands, take my legs off of him, and ask. Usually he will gladly spin because the spin is more comfortable than the exercise.

Exercise: I let my horse spin a revolution or so, then pick up my reins to hold him straight and push him straight out of the spin – aggressively – stop him, settle him, and ask for spin again. After a few times, he will always try harder.

When I start teaching a horse to speed up his spin, I don’t try to accomplish everything in the first lesson. I push him a little more each day, always rewarding for his success. One thing that happens a lot is when a horse first tries to spin faster is that he might “hop” around. (See Spin With Cadence.) If that happens, I do not stop the spin when he is hopping; instead, I slow it down until he is stepping around again, then stop. It’s important to end the spin with correct movement.

Note: I don’t overdo fast spin schooling. Once my horse complies with my request, that’s all I want. If I concentrate more on schooling correctness, the speed will be easy! A reiner with a great spinning horse once told me his horse loved to spin fast because he had it figured out that the faster he did it, the faster it was over! That's what a good spin training program inspires - a horse that wants to spin.

Walking With Wolves

 

Spin Fix #12: Improving Front Leg Cross-Over

The problem: Horse hits himself when he spins or crosses behind.

Why does this problem happen?

1. The horse lacks forward motion (Yes, there is forward motion in the spin!) If he is sucking back, there is just no way he can cross over in front.

2. The horse steps directly to the side instead of stepping back.

3. The rider is pulling too much on the reins.

How to correct this problem: If my horse is hitting himself, I concentrate on getting forward motion in the spin which means pushing him out of the spin many, many times. All the basic rules for a turn around apply, of course, but I only turn maybe one turn (sit down, inside leg off, light outside rein contact against neck, wide opening inside rein, outside leg if needed). When he has completed one turn, I push him forward with both legs for a few steps, then ask for a turn around again. As soon as I feel him sucking back I push him out of it again, etc. If he has forward motion but is hitting himself because he is not bringing the inside leg back, I work on that by 'helping' him place that leg. I might have to break the spin down to a very basic level to fix it.

Splint boots are mandatory!

Note: When a horse hits himself in a spin (instead of stepping over the inside leg with the outside leg), he can hurt himself which, in turn, makes him not want to spin – kind of counter-productive! Also, he will never spin fast if he is hitting himself – he can actually get tangled up. A correct spin will begin with a step to the inside and back a bit (out of the way of the outside leg), and the outside leg crossing in front of the inside. I work on this before I worry about locking down on a pivot foot when I train the spin. If I spend time with this part of the spin, my horse is comfortable and the rest will take care of itself with time.

An example of  a horse stepping over his inside leg in a spin.