Training Tip: Help for a Horse That Races Down the Trail

The biggest mistake you can make with a horse that’s using the reactive side of his brain and trying to race ahead on the trail is to pull back on the reins and say, “Don’t race!” It’d be like pulling back on a racehorse; the more you say, “Don’t go! Don’t go!” the more he’s going to want to go and the faster and faster he’ll get. Instead, whenever you run into trouble with your horse and he overreacts, always use one rein to regain control. That could mean doing a One Rein Stop or using one rein at a time to move the horse’s feet by bending him in circles or serpentines, doing rollbacks, etc. When you pull on two reins, it’s easy for the horse to get leverage by lifting his head and neck up and pushing against the rein pressure. With just one rein, you can make the horse bend his head and neck laterally, causing him to yield his hindquarters. By disengaging his hindquarters, you can stop his forward motion or redirect his energy in circles or in a series of serpentines.