Whoa and Backing

Splash will whoa. And back. but its not instantaneous who. or backing. i have to do pressure and release for each step of backing. and it taking him a bit to come to a complete stop.

so this summer i want to work on making that quick.... how do reiners start training their horse to come to a complete stop when asked and training for backing? i would just like to put the beginning steps of training him to do that into practice... thanks!

I back my horse every time I ride him and not just a few steps but about a car length. I first teach them to back only a step or two but after that I add distance and speed. Backing and stopping are the same. I hussel a horse to back by bumping him with my spurs. You don't pull harder to get a faster back, you bump his sides just like asking for more speed.
To back I pick up the reins, slightly jiggle them, say the command to back and touch his sides. Since he is asked to move, the reins are saying no to going forward he transmits motion into flowing backwards. The legs again are used to steer him in the line I want.
Backing is not about pulling the reins but redirecting motion in the opposite direction. Legs, jiggle the reins, say the command. You want movement only in reverse

Good advise by Rios.

Thanks for the advice Rios. =] I'll give that a try. Before I wasnt using legs at all, thinking that it would confuse him and make him want to move forward.

Do you guys have any tips on getting a quicker response to whoa? He stops after some steps and then is antsy...

Heya! I want to start trying reining with my gelding too. He stops pretty well, but I need to work on backing also. The thing I have problems with is that he can lope slowly, and he can go faster when I ask him to, but he never wants to slow back down! I need to work on flying lead changes too. . .

I think the easiest way to get your horse to stop/back is to turn him to something, such as a fence or wall, so he has nowhere to go forward. Have him stand, and if he moves, correct him. When he stands for 5 seconds, release all rein pressure and give a pat. Slowly increase the amount of time you want him to stand. After he succesfully stands for however long you would like, you can start backing. Keep him to the wall, and pull back on the reins. Every time he takes a step back reward him, even if it's just one hoof and a small step. He should get the idea, and the wall trick does work wonders.

Good luck.

I worked with a reining trainer for a summer and what he did to get a green horse to woah on a dime was the simple trick of repetition. He would canter in circles, as if warming the horse up and every few times around the arena he would simply ask the horse to stop (with no expectations, whatsoever). He would sit back, put his heels down, pull back on the reins and firmly say "woah" (it helps to keep the sitting back consistant because then the horse learns to feel for the sift of weight, telling him that soon he's going to be asked to stop). Sometimes the horse would stop, sometimes they'd slow to a trot, sometimes it would take a few trys, but it always clicked eventually. Just add this routine to whatever it is you're already doing and I'm sure Splash will pick it up. I guarntee that soon enough you won't even have to pull back on the reins, just a firm "woah" and a slight shift backwards in weight in the saddle is all it will take for him to slam on the brakes.

Here is an article about teaching a sliding stop, for maybe later on after you've perfected Splash's woah.

Horse Training for Reining Horse Sliding Stops