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Sample Our Newsletter
"How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro," from my FREE monthly newsletter
From the Learning to Ride a Horse Series:
"One-handed rein exercises: Many training exercises call for us to use primarily one hand. You keep both hands on the reins, but one hand is "calling the shots." Notice I didn't say "one hand is doing all the work." Why? Because while "Rein A" may be doing the heavy lifting, "Rein B" needs to be ready to help out, pulling or handing back slack, for instance. What's the thinking behind using primarily one hand versus both at the same time? This has everything to do with the individual exercise – and is often covered in the description of that exercise – but I'll cover it briefly here: Pulling back evenly on two reins often causes the horse to line up the bones in his body. Like building blocks, he's "stacked," head to tail – and with very little effort he can stay that way allllllll day. Now, there are times when this is a good thing (a horse going for a sliding stop at the Futurity, for instance) and there are times when this is a bad thing, (a stiff horse being asked for flexion comes to mind). In general, one-handed exercises are used on greener horses, two-handed work is reserved for horses that are farther along (and hence, less apt to resist).
You will always take up the reins first with the "off hand," the helper-hand. That is, if you're going to turn left, the right hand first takes the reins. (Sound counter-intuitive? If you were going to walk directly sideways to your right, you'd first put weight on your left leg. Same principle of one appendage helping out the other.) For example, if you were going to turn to the left:
Begin riding your horse forward, the reins drooped over his neck, your right hand forward, resting on top of (your fingers curled around) the reins. Until you build up muscle memory, begin each sequence with your left hand on your thigh. You'll soon begin to make your movements more subtle – but trust me here, forcing yourself to put a hand on a leg, the other holding the reins loosely atop your horse's mane, is a great way to break the old (read: bad) habit we have of holding the reins up high with no rest for our horse's mouth. If you're reading this, THIS MEANS YOU. This is amazingly common. It sounds like a small thing, this "hand on the leg thing," but do not overlook this; force yourself to rest the reins over your horse's neck, force yourself to place a hand on a thigh (yours)."
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From John Lyons Trainer Keith Hosman |
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Trailer Training Horses
A Downloadable Book
A sample from Day 5:
"The Horse Pushes You Around with His Shoulder
The horse that bullies you with his shoulder is closely related to the horse just described, the one that looks away then drags you off. When he looks off and tenses his neck, he'll place his body in a very similar shape, with his shoulder angled toward you. Deal with this as you would the other – but also go back to Day Two and refresh your memory on how to get that shoulder to move away. Practice that, asking the horse to bring his head slightly down and toward you, perhaps disengaging the hips, then driving his shoulder away from you. Once again, you'll need to be proactive, asking that shoulder to stay light, never giving it a chance to "bulge at you.""
- Print out from home
- 5 Days, 5 chapters
- Learn at your own pace
Just $4.99
For more info:
this course | all courses
Available Downloads:
"Stop Bucking"
"Rein/Speed" (for Nervous Horse Owners)
"Round Pen First Steps"
"Trailer Training" |
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How to Hold Reins
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Holding Reins
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If you're watching this video, you may want to check out: |
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How to Hold Reins: Free Video Clips for Riders, Trainers & Owners
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