Reader: I have a question about the one-rein stop. Is it necessary to disengage the hindquarters? If my horse stops and softens without disengaging, is this wrong? Should I keep my leg on the horse until he disengages and then release after his face softens? There has been quite a discussion online about whether or not the hindquarters should disengage.

Charles: This is a very good question and I’m glad you brought it up. We spend a lot of time teaching our horses the one-rein stop. I used to teach my horse that when I picked up on the inside rein, he moved his hind quarters over. I made sure he disengaged and was giving to the bit and that he was stepping over with his left hind, in front of his right hind, until it was very smooth. Then I would wait for the hind quarters to stop.
A few years ago, I changed my approach. I’m always trying to train my horse for the future; in other words, I train for something that I am going to need later on as the horse progresses in his training. Now, I don’t wait for the hindquarters to stop. I just keep moving the hindquarters until he softens and gives. The reason for this is that I don’t want to shut down the forward movement. Later, when I want to teach my horse to do a traditional turn on the forehand, I’ll have to work against the fact that I already told him to stop, and now I’m going to tell him to go.
The other thing that I have done is to put my leg on first and that becomes a pre-cue. There are three spots on the side of a horse. The first spot is the cinch for moving the shoulders. The second spot is an inch or two back and is for the shoulders and the hindquarters, leg yielding and side passing. The third spot is an inch or two still further back and it is for controlling the hindquarters.
I start by putting my leg on the number three spot. When I put my leg on the third spot that tells the horse I want him to move his hindquarters, then I pick up on the rein and ask the horse to move the hindquarters with that aid and also wait until he gets to the bit. That way, if I stay consistent, pretty soon when I put my leg on the horse in the number three spot he will move his hips over without me making contact with the rein. The goal is that eventually I will not even have to make contact on the rein.
When you pick up the rein, the horse will move the hips over as the horse responds to your leg pre-cue. The horse learns what is next and responds accordingly to avoid the pressure. This works well when I want to teach my horse to pick up the correct lead, make lead changes and for side passing.

Another Approach
There is another answer to your question. If your horse has connected the dots and has figured out that what you want is for him to stop, what you could do is soften for just a moment - put your aids in neutral for a moment, which will actually tell the horse “good job,” and then continue on and move the hips. If I put a leg on a horse, I want that horse to continue moving until I tell him to stop. But we can also tell the horse, in a short message, by giving very short pause, “good job,” but I also need you to continue to move the hips over.
I think that answers both of your questions. That way you follow through and your horse moves his hips over, so later on, you can use that same cue by adding the outside rein and do a very traditional turn on the forehand.
The act of moving the hips over for a one-rein emergency halt is the single greatest technique you can employ to stop a horse who is bolting or bucking. It can, and has, saved many riders from terrible accidents. Picking up on two reins when a horse is out of control does not always help. This only captures the horse’s energy and actually fuels the horse’s desire to flee. By picking up on one rein to have the horse move the hips over, you actually deplete the energy and give it some place to go. It becomes a constructive exercise. I recommend practicing this at a walk and trot, in preparation for one day when it could help you stay safe.

God Bless,

Charles Wilhelm
It’s Never Ever the Horse’s Fault