Getting a Great Go and Whoa with Realistic Horsemanship

By Ferdinand Santana

Volume 8, Issue 3  Natural Horse Magazine 2006

It is important that we have equally as good a gas pedal and brake pedal on our horses. When do we know that we have achieved it? Answer: When our Whoa equals our Go. The importance of the Go is obvious when something is coming our way in a collision course and we can't get our horse to move… (CRASH) Equally dangerous is when we have too much Go in our horses and we can't get them stopped and they run away with us, running us through fences or branches or traffic. In either scenario we both lose.

The following is for a horse that is already under saddle, is of adequate fitness, you have established some control over the horse's head and hind quarters, the horse should know how to give in the face and yield to pressure (leg pressure too), and the horse should back.

The first thing we need to work on is the 1-rein stop. If we have taught our horse what yielding is, then we should have the ability to ask for his head laterally, guide his nose back towards our knee, and direct and control his forward impulsion by getting the rest of his body to follow - thereby getting him to cross over with the hind legs and taking away his ability to drive forward. So one rein gives us more control over the horse than two reins by being able to channel his energy. (We start at a walk; once we're good at that, we can add speed.)

Chance demonstrating a 1 rein stop.

When asking for his head and hip in the 1-rein stop, we ask through rhythmic pressure (sliding the hand along the rein, rather than steady pressure), the reason being that the horse will be less likely to pull against us and will comply. Another reason I don't like to cue on both sides of the horse's face or mouth at the same time is that until they are really in a yielding frame of mind, they may feel over-confined, and may start tossing their head and gaping their mouth in resistance.

Now we can work on the Go. I like to cluck, then make my body 'active' in the saddle and drive the horse forward. This means that my hips and upper body start to push the horse forward through body language telling him, "Let's move and go somewhere," while bumping slightly (rhythmic pressure) with one leg. When he begins to move, I stop signaling him (remember it is the 'release' that teaches, whether you use these same cues or not). The one leg signals him to move the hip over and start out on the hind foot I want. This will teach him to pick up the correct lead when we get to the lope or canter, and it gets his weight onto the powerful hind quarters to push forward (rather than pulling himself forward with his forelegs). While signaling his hindquarters, I stay out of his way by not pulling on his face or mouth, not sending mixed signals. It is critical to show clear intent. If my clucking and body language aren't enough, I drive the horse from behind with my quirt or the tail of my mecate. I do not like to intensify the use of my legs at this point; I prefer to use my legs for lateral movements and never want the horse to confuse the leg for speed. I prefer to drive him from behind. You ought to know your horse's sensitivity level and should only be as assertive as necessary when driving him from behind to get a response without scaring him. Be consistent in your request through passive persistence and he will catch on in no time at all.

Chance after the stop and change of direction, exploding out of it at the canter for the go.

Once I have him responding and moving forward willingly to the slightest cue, I start to put 'rate' on his speed by communicating with him through the activity of my hips and upper body. The more I cluck and the more active I become with my hips the more I am asking for speed starting out. He also learns that the less active I become in the saddle the slower I want him to start out. I let him learn to start out fast or slow through my activity level in the saddle without ever pulling on his face.

Once I have him rating to my body language I start to work on a great Whoa. I ask the horse to move out and keep him moving forward at a brisk trot or the lope until I feel that he wants to stop, but at this point I keep him moving forward - just UNTIL I feel he really wants to stop. At this point I become inactive in the saddle, say WHOAAA, and give him a chance to respond and stop. In most cases, the horse will slow down and stop without further signaling.

Chance learning to really use his hind end to stop for the whoa.

Chance crossing over with front feet after the stop and change of direction.

If he doesn't get it and stop, I take one rein and apply a small amount of pressure and give him another chance to respond and stop. I will increase the pressure in small increments if necessary to get the desired response. Once he makes the effort to stop I will release any pressure as his reward and if needed repeat the request until he stops completely. Then I let him rest and learn that stopping is a good thing. I repeat this process to reinforce and improve the Whoa.

To stop, the horse uses his powerful hindquarters (so as not to be jamming his forelegs into the ground). It is uncomfortable for the horse and rider to stop on the forehand, plus we need to have the horse shifting his weight to the rear end as he stops so that he will be ready for our next request in his performance. The following exercise can help the horse learn to correctly use his body, for both the Go and the Whoa. 

I like to go at a brisk trot (and build to a lope), parallel to a fence line, and wait until I feel him wanting to stop, and then ask him to stop and turn him into the fence using the 1-rein stop. I let him stop and rest for a few seconds and ask him to move forward in the opposite direction at a brisk trot or lope. I do the same thing again in the opposite direction, building on the start-up and stop speed each time. This type of exercise really builds enthusiasm and gets them throwing their hind legs under themselves, breaking through the loin, and working off their hind quarters when stopping, thereby shifting their weight to the hind quarters to be able to explode forward for the Go.

By going down the fence and only allowing a minimal pause after the stop and then asking him to move forward, we will teach him to work off the hind quarters. With our well-timed signals and releases, he will become well-tuned to our signals, and will give us a great Go and Whoa.

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