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Posted by Gail Ivey on 5/13/2008, 9:15 am, in reply to "Training exercises?"
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If he's traveling balanced, and understands your request to stop, and your request doesn't cause him trouble, he should stop lightly. There is something in your request that is unclear, or that troubles him. Are you shoving your seat down onto his back? You should take your life and energy out while lightly sinking a bit, but only to match the natural curve of his back.
Are you making it clear through the reins that you want whoa? Some people try to be "light" with their hands, so they don't firm up as necessary to get clarity. If you were to drop your reins over a fence post, the horse would come to a stop. The fence post isn't going to be dragged along while trying to stay out of the horse's mouth. If the horse is not soft enough to give through his topline to your reins, then get out of his mouth and use a hackamore or sidepull or something which will help you deliver clarity in the reins without worrying about his mouth.
There is a spot missing in your basics. You'll need to uncover what that is before working on a hard stop.
Also, please make sure your horse has no hock or stifle issues that would make hard stops painful.
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