"WHOA!"

Let's get into the roundpen to show you how to
teach your horse to "WHOA".

Once in the roundpen, and after I've checked his hooves, I like to let my horse roam around in the roundpen while I get my rope/whip and mind ready for the lesson. After a few minutes, stand in the middle of your roundpen with either a catch-rope or a whip, and have your horse totally free ("at liberty"), with not even a halter on.

Before any lesson, I'll ask him to trot around in a circle for 3 consecutive laps in each direction. He'll chose the direction he wants to go first. (Most horses have a favorite side!) To 'ask' him to move, simply raise an arm holding the whip or catch-rope and he will start to move. If he starts at a walk, 'slap' the whip on the ground or your rope onto your leg behind him to get him moving faster at a trot or canter. (Remember, everything you do to begin with is exaggerated until he understands.) If he starts out counter-clockwise, keep your right arm straight out and look at his rump, not his eye. (After a while, try looking at his shoulder to see if he slows down from a canter to a trot, or a trot to a walk, simply by changing your own focus. I bet he will! Let me know!)

Keep him moving in one direction for 3 laps, then turn him by moving the whip or rope to your other hand, (lunging with it toward the front of him, where he'll be in another couple of seconds), and he will turn and go in the other direction. If he turns on his own, which he most likely will do until he gets the hang of it & understands your body language, turn him back the direction he was going by lunging ahead of him, forcing him to change back to the direction he had been trotting in. (This shows him that YOU are in charge...that YOU will make the decisions of when to move!) At this point, he must complete 3 consecutive laps before turning him in the opposite direction for another 3 laps.

Remember that any training is always an exercise in who will be the head of the herd, so YOU must always be in control and exert your authority until he gets it right. Always make sure that you have enough TIME set aside to do things YOUR way before you end ANY lesson, because your horse will think that HOW you end the lesson IS the right way. If you stop on a bad/wrong note, your horse will still think it was right and he'll be confused the next few times you try to repeat the lesson...no matter what is was! (Horses take a long time to learn something, but they have excellent memories, so be sure they understand the RIGHT way from the beginning.)

OK.....now we're ready to learn to "WHOA!"

Stand in the middle of the roundpen. Ask your horse to trot around clockwise by raising your left arm (with or without holding a catch rope or whip), & motioning toward the right.

move out, left hand up, motioning clockwise

Your horse will move away from this motion, instinctively, because he is a prey animal & his first line of defense is FLIGHT. The picture above is of me asking Magnum to move out & trot clockwise. (You'll also want to turn him & have him go counter-clockwise, using your right arm to turn him & move him out again, as in the picture below.)

Turn him, right hand out

Once you have him moving, continue at a trot for a couple of revolutions. To teach him to stop, say, "WHOA!", in a forceful voice, & at the same time, lunge out in front with your right arm pointing straight out. Be sure to start this motion a few feet ahead of him, because he'll still be moving.

arm out ahead of him,' WHOA'

When he stops, pause a moment, then call him to you by snapping your fingers &/or saying, "COME HERE".

whoa, pause, snap fingers, 'come here'

Be sure to reward him by rubbing his forehead.

a nice rub on his forehead

If he hesitates for TOO long before coming over to you, send him trotting around for another couple of circles, repeat the "WHOA!" command, & ask him to "COME HERE!" again. (If he still doesn't come over to you, use the catch rope for a refresher course!) Send your horse back out around the circle for just a couple more times, in each direction, & ask him to "WHOA!" each time.

Be sure to end on a 'good note' with him completing what you've asked, so that he will have done it correctly before you end the lesson. The last thing you ask of him will be what he perceives & understands as the RIGHT way. Horses have a short attention span, so each time you teach them something new don't OVER do it, rather, "let them think about it over-night" & refresh them the next time you have time to spend in the roundpen.

Remember, for the best results, always be very calm & collected in your words & your movements. Horses operate on instinct, so you don't want to scare or startle them or get mad &"YELL" at them.

Ultimately, they KNOW that you can EAT them, so you must continually try to earn their trust.