How do I correct a horse that anticipates the stop and gets heavy on the forehand during rundowns?

Anticipation at the stop is a common problem in reining horses that have been drilled on rundowns and stops to the point where they associate the rundown itself with the incoming cue. The horse begins preparing for the stop before the rider asks, dropping its shoulder, losing impulsion, and shifting weight forward — exactly the opposite of what a sliding stop requires. A horse in this pattern is reacting to pattern rather than to its rider, which is both a training issue and a show ring problem, since judges can see the loss of forward energy well before the stop occurs. The most effective correction is to separate the rundown from the stop entirely for a period of time. Run your horse down the pen and do not stop. Lope past the spot where you would normally stop, circle at the end, and go again. Do this repeatedly until the horse stops bracing and anticipating and begins moving forward freely through the entire rundown. When the horse no longer knows whether a stop is coming, it cannot prepare for one. When you do reintroduce the stop, vary the location. Stop in the middle of the pen, stop at a walk, stop from a trot. Unpredictability keeps the horse reading the rider rather than reading the pattern. A horse that has been stopped exclusively at the end of rundowns needs significant variation before it will trust the forward ride again. During the rundown itself, focus on riding your horse up into the bridle rather than holding it back. A light, consistent contact that encourages impulsion — rather than a restrictive hold — keeps the horse's hind end engaged and its balance correct. The stop itself should feel like a natural conclusion to forward movement rather than an interruption of it.