[Marlea Warlea]

Question: How do I get my horse to stop rushing/breaking gait, and getting her to slow down and listen?

Backstory: I have a five year old Quarter Horse who thinks the only way to go somewhere is to go fast and tense. At a walk, she 'power walks', at a trot, she rushes as fast as she can, and when I try to squeeze her and collect and calm her, she only avoids contact, pulls her head into the air and rushes off, at a canter, she flat out gallops.

If I'm cantering her, it takes a long time to get her to come back to a trot, and when she does, it's extremely rushed and unbalanced.

I've found so far the only thing 'kind of' works is doing rollbacks for about five minutes, and then go back to riding properly. It seems to kick her head into gear and remind her that she has breaks (but even then, it's only for short distances, and then she'll start rushing again). Other than this, I can't find anything that works!
I've tried doing lots of transition work, but it does absolutely nothing.

I've tried doing a one rein stop the moment she breaks into a gait that's faster than I want.
I've also tried turning her in tight circles and forcing her to work when she breaks into a gait faster in hopes that she'll realise that it's going to end up being easier to listen to me from the get-go.
(Do either of those things work for any of you with rushing horses?)

So, my questions are: What's the best way to stop her from rushing, and to slow her down and get her listening?

 

[horseylover1_1]

Do you ever lunge her before you ride? Not to blow off extra steam and wear her out, but to get her mind focused on you and using the "thinking side" of her brain as CA would say. If she's not showing respect to you on the ground there is no reason to think she will under saddle.

Is she kept in a stall a lot or does she get pasture time? What is her diet like?

 

[Smilie]

Ditto to questions above, plus what basics does she have on her?
A horse is not going to slow, by asking to move in frame, if she has never been taught to give softly to a bit, and that legs don't just mean go, but also can mean to drive deeper, while giving in the poll and face.
The horse has to also learn to relax.
You need to go right back to ground work, bit the horse up gradually, while lunging, and while driving her up from behind. Do't move on to the lope, until she is good at the slower gaits
This can also be done riding, but you need to have a lot of feel, know when to hold while driving with legs, then recognize when that horse becomes soft in the face and poll, and reward. Rinse and repeat
You are not going to fix the lope, until you get a good lope transition, where the horse gives in the face and poll, drives up from behind into that lope, versus by trotting faster, dumped on the forehand, resistant in the face, falling into that lope and down right gallop, out of forward motion
There are a lot of holes to fix. work at the walk and trot, getting her soft in her entire body, doing suppling exercises. Spend time after various exercises, just sitting on her, with a loose rein, teaching her to relax, and not anticipate that 'go, go, go!
If she tries to walk off, stop her, back her with legs to where she was, and give her a chance to do the right and easy thing-stand there until asked to move

 

[SilverMaple]

I bend to a stop until they stop rushing.

Now, you can't go out and start this at the canter. First you want the horse soft and supple so you can flex them to either side at the standstill, then the walk until they will walk calmly on a loose rein and bend to a stop easily, then stand. Once that's good, ask for a trot and bend down to a stop after a few strides. Once the horse has the idea, let her trot until you feel her start to think about rushing, then bend down to a walk. If she tries to rush off from the walk, take her down to a standstill. Most horses get the idea within a relatively short period of time, but you may spend a week or so doing nothing else than trotting a few steps, then bending down. Eventually, done correctly, the horse will learn to carry herself calmly on a loose rein without rushing. Once you can trot her all over the place without having to do many reminders, then you can do this at the canter, but only then. At first, you may get two strides before you bend down to a trot or walk, but after a few rides, she'll be calmly loping and rating herself. Done properly, this will also help get the horse off the forehand and carrying herself properly, and she can't pull on your hands if you aren't giving her anything to pull against.

 

[jgnmoose]

I happen to have a horse that is about the same age, Quarter Horse, Cutter/Cow/Race Horse bred and all she wanted to do was go! She would trot maybe 4 strides before a canter and get bored with that and just gallop after a short bit.

These kind of horses are just very athletic. They have a great big engine and a huge gas tank if they are fit and feel good.

Months of driving, lunging, running over poles, riding her until she is tired (which took a LONG time). She had to learn that there are other gears and that she might as well go the speed she is asked because she doesn't know when she will get to quit.

Now this horse has the speed when you ask for it, but wants to go as slow as you will let her go.

If you don't have the time for this, I highly recommend finding a good trainer who can spend the time it takes. Very worth it to have a horse that is athletic as you could want but can do a soft jog and be happy with that too.

 

[Marlea Warlea]

By bending, do you mean bending her into a tight circle?
This is exactly the sort of help/exercise I was looking for, thank you!

 

[SilverMaple]

Pick up the inside rein, tip her nose, and bend her around until she stops or slows, whichever you want. Make sure she's working off the hind end and disengaging the inside rear leg up under her body rather than stepping back or bogging down and turning on her forelegs. It's easier to get a nice turn from a hard trot by going along and then turning into the fence if you're finding she's getting 'sticky' on her turns, then once she knows what you want, you can get a nice turn from any speed, and bend her around to teach her to rate herself and as a reminder that you're in control.

 

[Marlea Warlea]

I've done hard one rein stops when she breaks into a faster gait, and I've also tried turning her in super tight circles and forcing her to work before I stop her and get her back on track again. Do you reccomend either of those things?
Or is doing small but relaxed circles going to be the best?

 

[4horses]

Well, i feel your pain. My Paso Fino is the same way. He was previously beaten for not gaiting and he is a nervous mess. Riding to him means rushing at a fast trot in circles. We ride half a circle, whoa. Then half a circle whoa. Ride to the corner, whoa. Stand in the corner while i rub his sides with my leg. Repeat the above a million times. I give treats to reinforce the whoa.

He will now stand still under saddle and his whoa is coming along. I cantered him today and while he started off at a gallop after a circle or two he started thinking can i slow down? And did stop well.

But his walk is almost non existent. Walk to him means a very slow jog. But a slow jog is progress... Baby steps.

He will occasionally walk for a few steps. I'm planning on putting him on a lead and getting a pony ride. See if that helps him realize walking is allowed.

He is a very nervous horse. Part of this is nervous energy, part is fear of the leg. He hates having his sides touched.

 

[Smilie]

I am all for getting a horse soft in his entire body, as I mentioned, far a flexing exercises, BUT this horse has a bigger problem more basic problem then just wanting to be fast.
She has no respect for that bit, thus throwing head up and charging off, versus giving to that bit correctly
One very successful working cowhorse trainer, told me always to get that face first, then ask for that maneuver
Yes, the softer you get a horse in his entire body, the softer he will also become in the face and poll, but when you pick up those reins, the horse should give his face and poll, ready to work off his hind end, versus resisting, throwing head up
If the horse is pushing against the bit, he is also dumped on his forehnad
Correctness before speed
Bringing the horse down into a slow circle, to get him to slow, works, done correctly. You do NOT pick up strong rein contact, but instead turn him in a slow circle, which is hard work, but don't let him break, when he slows, let him back out as a reward
The more you hold on to a horse to slow him, the more uptight he gets, and it only gives him something to lean against. Race hroses run on the bit, and on their forehand.
Far as slowing the lope, teach the fundamentals for good transitions. Horse should know how to give hip, poll, face and shoulders. Ask for a lope from a standstill, while expecting the hrose to keep frame. Lope one or tow circles. Stop. Do a turn on the haunches to the outside of that circle, just until hip is slightly in the new direction. Lope off, no trotting steps
There is a place for the one rein stop, but not endlessly, as the main focus should be teaching a correct hind end stop
If a horse charges off, throwing head in air-shut him down. Back him up hard with legs, until he feels soft in the face and poll, then ask for that transition again

 

[Marlea Warlea]

So I do slow circles if she gradually picks up her speed, but a hard stop if she speeds up fast?
She's great at coming to a full stop when she's doing rollbacks, and she moves a lot slower and more controlled when we're working on them too! It's when we're working in a large arena/paddock that she begins to speed up and forget about her control.

 

[Marlea Warlea]

Update: I rode her for two hours today, turning her in small circles as soon as she sped up. It took nearly an hour and a half, but she eventually began to trot slow, and I even got a super slow lope out of her!!!