How to slow your horse down without pulling the reins:

How To Slow a Speedy Horse Down?

My coach used to tell me this little saying..."How to make a race horse? Pull back with two reins!"

Instead, try to slow a speedy horse down without pulling on two reins (which only serves to impede the forward motion of the hind legs, which creates a vicious circle that puts him more on the forehand, which can make him feel a bit like he's running downhill, which can cause him to go faster, which causes us to pull back more...and round & round we go! 😂)

Also, pulling back on two reins can make your horse feel a bit trapped, which can cause him to lean into the rein to try to escape the pull & also makes him speed up or jig out of anxiety.

Try instead some of the following exercises, which can be very useful tools for your training toolbox:

1)You can use small circles which makes him slow down (as it is too physically challenging for most horses to run round & round in a small fast circle) & then head back out on the straight once you feel him slow down. You may have to repeat this often until he understands or lets down in his energy. Be sure to reward him for slowing. Praise him so he knows when he did the right thing. Also, praise can really go a long way to calming a horse that is speedy because he's anxious.

2.) You can ride leg yield, which will make your horse step forward & under with his hind legs (which helps him to slow his tempo). Once you feel him relax & slow, then go back to a straight line. If he speeds up, go back to the leg yield. Reward when he slows, repeat as necessary.

3.) You can also try leg yielding down the arena in a head to the wall position. The wall will act as a barrier to help slow him so you won't have to pull to get him to slow.

4.)You can get your horse softer to a light rein aid so he'll slow with just a light feel of your fingers on the rein, (but with no backward pull), by backing your horse up. This does two things. First, it gets him waiting on you for direction as he starts to anticipate that if he speeds up more than the pace you set, you will ask him to back up. The other thing it does, is helps get his hind legs under him, which naturally sets him up in a more balanced position in which he's less likely to rush because his hind legs won't be trailing out behind him (remember if his hind legs are trailing, he'll feel like he's running downhill which can cause a horse to speed up.)

5.) You can also ride a few strides of shoulder-fore if you have a horse that tends to rush off either before or after a transition. The reason shoulder-fore works so well is that it engages your horse's inside hind leg up underneath his body. And, again it's a more physically challenging exercise for your horse. It can help get his mind on you & not on his desire to run off.

6.) Transitions up & down. Do a lot of them. Get your horse's attention on you! Plus they help set up your horse's posture to be more balanced, which, once again helps your horse to get off his forehand.

7.) Remember your other aids for slowing your horse. Your reins are not actually your primary aid. You can slow your horse by rotating your pelvis under slightly, stilling your seat a bit, stretch up tall & slow the movement of your body a bit to help guide your horse's motion to match yours, while you engage your core. Apply a bit of leg too, which seems counter-productive, but it really helps keep your horse's hind legs engaged as you slow him down. You can also use a voice aid as horse's will catch on to voice aids to slow down very quickly if they are used consistently and only used when you intend to follow through with the command. The voice aid can be whatever you want it to be, (some people say "easy", some people hum, etc.). A word of warning though...Do not use the word "Whoa" when you want your horse to slow, or pretty soon, the word "Whoa" will lose it's meaning, which you never want to happen for good reason.

If you have a horse that you have a hard time getting to slow without pulling on the reins, give these exercises a try & let me know how they worked for you by commenting below. Feel free to share this post with anyone you think it might be helpful for. If you have any questions or need assistance understanding how to do these exercises properly and with correct timing, I'm always happy to help. Drop me a pm or text me at 250-442-7720 & we can set up a lesson.