The Importance of Whoa

Curt Pate is the most likable big name clinician I have met. One of his many points of emphasis is not to take the 'go' out of a horse. He gives wonderful instruction on how to create a good ranch horse to be ridden by professional cowboys.

I do not mind taking the "go" out of the horse. I am training horses to be ridden by kids, novices, and my now 51 year old body. I want all of my horses and my riders to know "whoa" and to know it the same way in every situation so that it becomes instinctive for both horse and rider. My goal is to produce horses and riders that will not hurt each other. After a horse is trained I can put all of the "go" back in him that I want to.

We employ the one rein stop. I teach it and train it dogmatically. We ride with our hands low in front of us. Whoa is accomplished by gently tugging the left rein, (yes always the left) toward the left knee while the left calf pushed the hindquarters to the right. This is how I want it done every time so that in the event of a runaway situation the rider will instinctively pull the left rein to the left knee.

Might one achieve greater flexion by drawing the left rein upwards in the general direction of the right arm pit? Certainly. Are there other trainers who execute the stop that way? Yes. Does raising the rein assist in collection? Yes

Does raising the rein increase the possibility that the horse will loose its balance and fall, or even worse, turn over on its back (and its rider). I think so. I saw a solid young rider do exactly that move while I was but a few feet away. She flipped her horse on its back. I never want to see that again. It was one of the few times that fear has made me sick in the horse lot. Watching that horse fall is etched in my mind.

Might I create a more impressive moving horse if I taught otherwise? Most certainly, but like Curt Pate I know for whom I am teaching. I also know that if I taught my little riders to raise the rein ,after I had seen what could happen from the maneuver, and I had a rider seriously injured because they did what I taught them to do I would never ride a horse again or teach another kid to.

Sometimes the teachings of the top clinicians have to be modified before it should be taught to my riders and my horses. It is not my responsibility to win ribbons. It is my responsibility to introduce kids into the world of horses in the safest manner possible.

That is not to say that the other techniques are wrong. It is to say that in my personal observation I saw results that that sickened me.



My little riders' safety is in my hands. I am cognizant of that every moment. I cannot use the best way to train a horse unless I also believe it to be the safest way to train a horse.