“Dear H&C, I have lessons on a regular basis at my local riding school and am having problems stopping. My instructor keeps telling me I am using my hands in too strong a way but I am unsure what else to do and a little scared to ask, do you have any suggestions” Louise.

H&C's Jenny Rudall BSc BHS Int SM replies: "Dear Louise, not being able to stop or slow down in an effective way is an extremely common problem, and it is great that you are conscious of wanting to do it properly. Firstly don’t be scared to ask your instructor if you are in a group lesson you are probably not the only one who doesn’t understand. Firstly get your instructor to explain about the half halt which is a balancing aid on the horse. You can apply different levels of pressure on the rein backed up by the leg to get you horse to listen and wait before you go for a transition or to ask him to slow down. You need to learn how to use your body and seat to communicate with the horse as the horse is much stronger than we are and by pulling on him we only encourage him to go faster or pull more. Have a look at the video below which shows you how to stop using body, seat, leg then lastly the reins. By thinking reins last you will have a much happier horse and remember the horse can only pull if we give them something to pull against. Good luck and log on to the forum and let us know how you get on.

Horse Riding:
Horse Riding: How To Stop