Emergency stop : How to stop a horse who wants to return back and canterThis is a tip and an exercise who enables me staying alive many times during an outride. First you have to learn and train yourself and your horse in an arena when you will be quiet and patient to start learning and slowly repeating the movements.
Choose one rein on the side you are more confident first . For exple you take the right rein like you would like to turn and direct your hand to nearly touch your right hip, it means the head and neck of your horse will turn on the same side same as he will want to eat a treat you would have hidden in your hand closed to your knee .
At the same time use your right leg same as if you wish to push the hinter legs and the hips of your horse on the opposite side on the left. The right hinter hoof of your horse should be directed under his body .
By repeating these movements slowly first , you are training your horse to respond correctly when you will need him to execute it during a tricky situation outside.
As long as you are doing your sessions , try to repeat the movements a bit faster so that your horse will respond quickly and instantaneously and same for you , you must be ready to act in one second.
Once you will face to a situation your horse would like to return back and canter because he is scared about something : if he wants to escape by his left side , use your right rein and right leg , if he wants to escape by his right side use your left rein , left leg to stop. This will stop his straightness then its impulsions. He will be not able to return back and canter and he will be obliged to stop and stay . This exercise enables my horse to face to what he is scared about and to take time to realize there is no threat for him, once he calms down I could ask him again to continue walking on. I have learned this from my horsemanship trainer , after having experienced quite a lot of scary canters on the road ( has taken me 100 meters before succeeding to stop my horse, feeling my stirrups driving so fast and so next to the cars coming from the other side😱☠️. ). Hope this exercise could help some of you facing to similar cases with some emotional and sensitive horses.