From Good to Great

WHATS THE DIFFENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND GREAT?

A horse being Overbent, driving legs into holding hands

Relaxation is the difference between good and great.  By relaxing the reins and letting your horse move forward in freedom you will allow your horse to soften through his pole, withers, back loins and yes even the tail!   This takes time, concentration and patience from both your horse and yourself.  You will both need to work together to create a place of trust and safety.  Here are some tips to helping you gain that dream contact from your horse.

Contact that is constantly too heavy will result in a head carriage behind the vertical.  The highest point of the crest instead of the pole will be the highest point on your horses' topline and this is incorrect.  The term is that your horses 'topline is broken' and the horses hind legs cannot be actively engaged.

Now nobody is expecting you to ride your horse softly with his head sticking out like a camel!  Correct your horse and assist him in being aware of where he should have his head placed to be right.  But the second the horses head and neck softens, you must relax the hold to praise your horse for this correct action.  It is only then will the horse feel that he can move forward with no resistance from your hands and in freedom.

It takes a large amount of concentration to achieve this, but with practice both you and your horse can learn together to work in harmony.

The source of relaxation starts with the correct positioning of the hands.  There should be a single, unbroken line from your elbow over your hand to your horses' mouth.  Some riders make the mistake to lifting their hands to lift and carry the horse, beware you don't fall into this trap.  Your hands should be upright with your thumbs on the highest point.  When you close or open your hands the reins should shorten and lengthen only by about 2cm (less than an inch) just allowing you to feel your horses lips.  This is just enough to communicate with your horse.

Correct and Incorrect Head Carrage

Softening the rein is necessary when you are doing movements which involve bend and through corners.  If you have to take up more contact with the inside rein, then relax the outside rein at the same time.  If the restraint of the outside rein is too strong then this pressure blocks the muscles that run from the poll down the neck through the back and down the hind legs.  The horse that you cannot bend and flex you cannot influence their hind legs. 

The restraining hand is often seen with lengthened strides where the rider drives the horse with their legs and hold with their hands.  This results in the legs trailing behind and you see too much hoof.  The lengthening maybe enough however he is not carrying his weight under his body and is simply pushing with his legs.  You need your horse to step under his body and not only pushing but carrying as well.  With the hind legs carrying the horse's weight, the front legs are free to move and the back lifts.

There are significant faults which occur when you hang onto the reins.  To make correction you must first recognise you have a problem and to work to correct it.  You cannot begin to teach this when out competing.   You should get a solid foundation at home and in your day to day life by encouraging him to take the reins and relax until he understands what this means.  Eventually the horse will learn to stay in position and listen to your seat and legs.

By practising this for the first 10 minutes every ride for several months' both you and your horse will communicate better.  Your horse will see that a relaxed rein is a safe place to actively hold.  The secret is patience.  Make haste slowly as you are going to the pace of nature.  Remember you can't see the grass grow but it does...

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