Questions & Answers with Richard Winters

I would like to know your recipe for stopping a horse from jigging on the trail.
- Thank you, Carolyn Johnson

            Your question is very common and jigging quickly takes the fun out of pleasure riding. Jigging occurs when a horse wants to go faster and we attempt to slow him down by pulling back and holding steady pressure on the reins. The anxious horse who wants to go forward is being restrained. The energy however, is still there. Since the energy can’t go forward it starts to go up and down and thus you have a jigging horse.
There are many reasons why a horse may want to speed up on the trail.  Below are three of the most common reasons:

Barn Sour – Horses are really smart. They know that when they are ridden out from the barn, or trailer, that it means work. When it’s time to turn around and head back; they know that rest time is ahead.

Herd Mentality – Is another reason for speeding, or anxiety, on the trail. Many horses don’t like the idea of being behind, falling back, or following the other horses in the group. Their most basic instinct tells them; the horse trailing behind will probably be the first one eaten. I believe that many people misinterpret this scenario as a horse that is competitive or wants to race. I don’t think this is the case. Rather, these horses are generally insecure and uncomfortable with being left behind.

Too Fresh – Is a third reason for rushy behavior in our horses. We envisioned going out for a nice quiet trail ride. However, our horse might have been sitting in a pen for days on end, building up a lot of energy. The best cure for this kind of horse is to ride out and pick up a trot for about the first five miles (or some other physically demanding work that can help them relax and take the edge off), and then enjoy the rest of your “quiet” trail ride.
The real issue is too much forward impulsion. Jigging simply does not take place unless we pull back on both reins. Horses do not jig on a loose rein. They might speed up and run off but they won’t jig. We need to find some way to control our horse’s feet - without pulling back on both reins.
Here is an exercise that I will do to help a horse that is in too much of a hurry: I will point my horse down the trail and be committed to using only one rein at a time. If he starts to speed up and go too fast with my loose reins, I will slide my hand down one rein and bend the horse in a small 360 degree circle. Nine times out of ten, I can bend my horse to a walk in that first circle. As I finish the circle and I’m pointed in my original direction I will loosen the reins, relax, and expect my horse to walk down the trail. However, he is probably going to speed up again. I will simply bend him again; perhaps alternate from one direction to the other in these circles. I’m not trying to make my horse slow down, I’m just causing him to think down to his feet and realize that it’s just too difficult to go fast when I bend him in that circle. I’ll do this four or five times, or I might do it fifty times. I am going to stay consistent with making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult, until my horse changes his mind and decides that walking is the best deal for him.
Throughout these exercises, I’ve got to resist the temptation to pull back on both reins in an attempt to slow my horse down or gain control. If I resort to that - I start playing tug-of-war and make myself his adversary. With the above described method, I’m giving my horse the opportunity to think through the process and make a good decision.
Much of horsemanship requires that we be an equine psychologist rather than a mechanic. Understanding why horses do what they do, better equips us to come up with ways to modify their behavior and become better partners.