14/12/2025
It’s been apparent to me for quite awhile, that there has been a growing following about not using the reins to stop/ slow a horse. We should all remember that horses aren’t broken in this way, simply by using classical conditioning as an aid for slowing down, as these cues, seem idyllic, however they are very unlikely to  overpower the Flight response alone. Just visit any horse breaker, and they won’t be using classical cues for the basic control systems. They will be using pressure release training. I.e. pulling the reins to stop and releasing the pressure once the horse has slowed down or stopped. If the horses arousal level is within relaxed parameters then a classical cue may suffice. But the real question is, when it doesn’t, what do we do then? My question to all these statements are , you don’t need reins at all then.
Because if you don’t need them to stop or slow the horse, you definitely don’t need them to turn either. Has anybody seen a horse in full Flight mode, being pulled up or slowed only by the seat ? Why are we so afraid to admit the truth?
