Anyone heard of??

[shygirl]

But just remember...

If the only tool in your box is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail.

[greysandbays]

What's all that wiggling and squirming CA does in the saddle in the video someone posted -- while the horse is just standing still? It looks like a saddle-re-centering effort, but how far off center can your saddle get at a standstill? Or maybe he's trying to scratch his butt on the saddle?

[ReSomething]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpDSbXPtzU&NR=1

So, I watched this and stuck it out to the very end, where there were two or three examples of forward spooking/bolting and the one rein stop was used. I see that it could be a useful tool for the green horse. I suppose that, if you have been bolted with before and gotten carted, you might want some proven method and this seems to fit the bill.

But, I also recall from my own experiences years ago that when they bolt they tend to do it in some tight situation where disengaging the hindquarters is going to end up with the horse flipping and rolling down the hill, or winding up going into the fence on one side or traffic on the other. Bolting in an arena is no fun, true, but in the long run good training that reduces the likelihood of a bolt or spook, and good riding that can refocus the horse and move on, is a better bet.

Now, if this makes your friend more confdent and less nervous, then it costs the same as about 5 lessons in my neck of the woods and as long as she doesn't think she knows it all now, it can't hurt.

[jeano]

Or if he can figure out how to run sideways, with his head bent around like that...

I had a mare who would do that, and it was a little scary because you KNEW she wasn't watching where she was going. Only she didn't do it because she was "dirty", she was just so flexible that running sideways was easy and she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't do it it (even if she couldn't see where she was going...and was headed toward fence/rockpile/other stuff I didn't want to land on!).

Somebody taught my gelding how to run sideways--oddly enough, he now can canter straight, without his head all twisted around so he cant see where he's going--but a one rein stop works fine on him--he'll still locomote as the hindquarters disengage, but he does slow down and accept redirection, bless him.

[jeano]

It may make the scared human feel confident.

I'm sure the threat of being yanked over does not help the horse feel confident.

At the end of the day, do you want to be a clueless rider on a scared horse?

I guess that's the part that offends me. I'm sure Clinton Anderson himself rides the hind end. But offering this tool and labeling it a one-rein stop to people who think they really want a emergency brake for horses doesn't get the point across.

But that's the whole mission of most of the NH gurus, isnt it? To put bandaids on cluelessness? I dont think the people plunking down their hard earned cash to Clint, Pat, John and the rest are for the most part accomplished horsemen/women, they are in over their heads and the miracle working clinician has a powerful appeal to them.

My neighbor, bless her, has discovered she can use the one rein stop to prevent her horse from kicking my horses when we ride out together. I think life might be better if she just once beat hell out of the horse for trying to kick, but I'll take the disengaged and no longer dangerous hind end any day.

[alicen]

Point of Information: That is not CA in the video. I believe his name is John O'Leary. CA would not have offered that much of his teachings for free. (Slaps face).

[rainechyldes]

the one rein stop or emergency stop, or turn your horses head to your knee and push his hind end over, (whatever you want to call it) is as old as the hills. CA didn't invent it. and many trainers & riders have learnt it over the years and have had a use for it.

Is it a useful thing to know, yes.

[LuvMyTB]

It is a helpful tool to have, as long as it isn't your ONLY tool. It works if your horse ACTS like a tool. If you overuse it, YOU are the tool.

Seriously--teach it from the ground first, on both sides. Slide your hand down the rein, pull back towards the saddle, and gently hold. If the horse circles, continue holding the rein and move with the horse. As soon as they stop, release. Rinse and repeat 10000 times and then start practicing in the saddle.

You can easily flip your horse over if you do this in the wrong situation, or if you grab-n-yank instead of allowing the horse a second to think and respond.

It can give a rider confidence if they know they have a solid emergency brake on their horse.

It sucks when your horse learns to run sideways with their nose on your knee. Ask me how I know this.

[Equilibrium]

Is it only me who thinks if this type of stuff needs to be used on a greenie then it wasn't really started very well in the first place? And what if it's used on a greenie who isn't bolting but just being a baby. Instead of reaching up to give them a pat of confidence with the word whoa, they get their head whipped around which isn't very confidence building in my book. I can certainly understand one posters situation with a deer flying out of the trees, but most situations are not that dire.

I agree it has a time and a place, but you better know what your doing or it could only land you in more trouble and it's not fail safe.

Terri

[mp]

If you know how to do it and your horse knows how to do it, you certainly have a little less to worry about. I suppose if you are a nervous rider, knowing a few ways to regain control is going to make you more confident, which ends up being a self fulfilling prophecy when you stop making your horse so jumpy

That's exactly how I used it until I gained more confidence. All the horses I ride now know it, but I can't remember the last time I used it.

When you've trained a horse to do it in a non-panic situation and use it correctly (i.e., not when your horse is in a full-blown panic/bolt) it's not a threat to be yanked over. It's a way to get your horse to disengage his hindquarters and re-engage his mind. You control the hindend, you control the horse. The ORS is a crude form of control, but that's what it is. Not perfect for every situation, just one way to get the horse back if you lose him.

And I didn't learn this from any NH guru. I learned about the ORS from a good horseman who explained HOW it works and HOW to use it. I overused it because I was nervous, but that wasn't his fault. At least I did it correctly, so my horse wasn't bothered by it.

CA is grabby, rushes and over rated.

I've watched him several times. ugh He bullies horses.

OP, tell your friend there's only thing that fixes any problem when it comes to horses: learn how to ride.

[Char]

Oiy.....

For ANY method, there is at least one horse out there that it will work for.

My problem with the ORS is this:

It is taught, under controlled circumstances, as a cue to bend at the neck, and step across themselves in the hind feet, effectively "disengaging" the hindquarters.

When a horse is bolting, and NOT listening to any other CUES, this cue he is going to majikally listen to?

I'm with those who envision horses running sideways, in a panic, because they WEREN'T LISTENING to cues in the first place for whatever reason, and going down with the equally panicked rider. The LAST thing a panicked, runaway horse is going to do is listen to a CUE to disable the engine that he wants to use to get the hell outta dodge.

People, please. Take riding lessons. Frequently. Preferably from someone who has more years of experience with training/teaching than what a 6 week course grants them. You would be amazed at how many different techniques there are, and how/when to apply them so as not to get yourself killed dead.

And please, stop thinking that you should be able to master all of this within a year. I've been in horses for 18 years, and I STILL learn new stuff all the time.

Sorry, this subject is personal for me. It drives me crazy. Take care, and stay safe.

[greysandbays]

Is it only me who thinks if this type of stuff needs to be used on a greenie then it wasn't really started very well in the first place? And what if it's used on a greenie who isn't bolting but just being a baby. Instead of reaching up to give them a pat of confidence with the word whoa, they get their head whipped around which isn't very confidence building in my book. I can certainly understand one posters situation with a deer flying out of the trees, but most situations are not that dire.

I was thinking that too. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out when the last time I needed anything like this technique.

I can see a quick 180* double-back with a horse who is spooked/surprised by something behind him and wants to run -- so you can get whatever's scaring him in front of him so he can get a look at it.

But making several circles seems silly. And having to practice it several times in both directions almost every training session seems even sillier.

[pony89]

It is taught, under controlled circumstances, as a cue to bend at the neck, and step across themselves in the hind feet, effectively "disengaging" the hindquarters.

When a horse is bolting, and NOT listening to any other CUES, this cue he is going to majikally listen to?

I'm with those who envision horses running sideways, in a panic, because they WEREN'T LISTENING to cues in the first place for whatever reason, and going down with the equally panicked rider. The LAST thing a panicked, runaway horse is going to do is listen to a CUE to disable the engine that he wants to use to get the hell outta dodge.

Personally, I see this as a tool that is most useful in the first few strides of a bolt or spook. You've got that first couple of seconds to get their brain re-engaged. Once the horse gets any kind of head of steam going, I don't know that you are going to be able to get their head around anyways. That's one of those things where the rider has got to use some judgement and see if it's the appropriate tool. Maybe a modification of the technique would help you get them back into a circle, but I don't think you could use this on a narrow trail on a horse that has really gotten going.

I think what the one rein stop can do is introduce a reflex for the rider other than the grab and snatch. If both horse and rider are accustomed to it, it is a nice, familiar motion that says to the horse - hold on a second, let's think this through! Ideally, you are regaining control while the horse is still startling, in that second of reaction before they decide whether to spin, leap to the left, or take for the hills!

I don't use it very much at all, but on the rare occasion where I do, it is usually in a large group, where one horse has spooked and they all start spooking at each other and escalating things. If people can get their own horse working and yielding hindquarters in their own personal space, without playing pinball, everyone simmers down in short order and nobody gets bucked off!

You don't ever have to use it if you don't want, but there is no harm in knowing how to do it. It certainly isn't a lack of horsemanship to learn it and practice it, unless you latch onto it and decide it will fix every problem from contracted heels to your horse's forlock getting split ends!

[jherold]

CA at least makes more sense than Perrelli (sp). At least he admits that if there was less feed and more wet saddle pads, people wouldn't need him!

[SarahandSam]

It is a helpful tool to have, as long as it isn't your ONLY tool. It works if your horse ACTS like a tool. If you overuse it, YOU are the tool.

Hehe... that sums it up well. (:

[lcw579]

I admit it, I fast forwarded through the video - is all this hoopla over the old "turn them in a circle trick" if they are running off with you that most of us older folks were taught as children?

[pony89]

pretty much

Apparently, you can get the dvd now, though! I'll still use it, even though I didn't pay to learn it the right way!

[Alexie]

Is it only me who thinks if this type of stuff needs to be used on a greenie then it wasn't really started very well in the first place? And what if it's used on a greenie who isn't bolting but just being a baby. Instead of reaching up to give them a pat of confidence with the word whoa, they get their head whipped around which isn't very confidence building in my book.

Amen to that