Improve Your Riding Archives

Three Exercises for Better Hands

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 aliciaharper

This article is in relation to our Youtube series ” Improve Your Riding” and the video with the same name as the article. The Youtube series is by our own horse trainer and coach Alicia Harper.

In the video she outlines three exercises that can help you achieve quieter, softer and more steady hands. You can view the full video here: Three Exercises to Better Hands

Carrying the Crop

correct hand position in horseback riding

The first exercise is carrying your crop as seen in the photo with the crop resting between your thumb and forefinger in each hand.

The crop makes the rider aware of the hands and alerts them to uneveness which can be a result of a dropped shoulder or the bad habit of dropping a hand.

When the rider drops the hand, the balance of the horse is off and it is almost next to impossible for the horse to travel true and straight.

Crossed Reins

In this exercise she explains that she has the rider actually cross the reins underneath the horses neck so that the opposite rein is in the riders hand (left rein is in right hand and vice versa).

Alicia explains she then has the riders ride around the outside of the ring for a couple of trips and you would be surprised at home many riders struggle with this. Many have a hard time steering. Keep in mind these are intermediate riders not particularly beginners.

The exercise itself forces the riders to be aware of which rein they are actually pulling and the result is very evident. When the correct rein is pulled the horse travels straight and when it is not – the horse does not.

Another thing that this exercise actually shows is riders who rely too much on their reins. An balanced and educated rider will use their legs along with their reins therefore, the transition to the crossed reins will be smoother with the rider who uses less rein. If you think that you might be relying on your reins too much – this is the exercise for you!

Bridged Reins

If you aren’t familiar with bridged reins, pop on over to “How to Hold Your Western Reins” and check out Bridged Reins. In this exercise, we aren’t only going to hold them bridged but we are going to hold the bridge in one hand.

How this exercise works in awareness. Alicia has the riders ride around the school and if the horse tends to fall to the inside and the rider pulls the bridged reins towards the outside and expects the horse to go to the outside but infact, with the bridged reins it pulls the horse to the inside as the riders hands move to the outside.

Instead of using the reins and getting the opposite effect, we should have the rider open the outside rein enough that the horse feels it can move towards the outside but not enough that it pulls the inside rein and makes it the dominant rein. This exercise makes it obviously to the rider what they are doing and what its effect has on the horse – it just does it in the extreme. The rider may not actually pull the horse completely to the inside in every day riding but with the same motions that the rider would normally make this exercise does.

If you are interested in improving your hand position and understanding check out the full video over on Youtube.

Article, Improve Your Riding

Western Reins: Four Ways to Hold Your Reins

December 2, 2019December 2, 2019 aliciaharper

paint mare cross for sale in prince george

Handling your western reins as a beginner can be quite frightening. In particular in Western, coaches and trainers are always telling riders to have loose reins. Much like horse training, riders must begin with and understand the basics, which is essentially the direct rein. After that they can move up to bridged reins where they and the horse can work on using pressure from the bearing rein. One graduated from the bridged rein riders can work towards riding one handed. Which for a finished bridle horse that is the goal.

Basic Principles

A few basic principles about reins to start with. Like any skill with riding, shortening, lengthening and generally handling the reins takes practice. Start with the basics, hands and reins go slightly forward when you want the horse to go forward, reins resist or pull back (for lack of a better term) to stop or back up. Right direct rein means turn right and left rein means turn left.

Direct rein or Crossed reins

Back to the point here, the direct rein is held with one hand on each rein, held much like English reins. Riders should let the tail of the rein cross the neck of the horse so as if the rider drops the rein accidentally it does not fall to the ground and can be safely. Pictured below the direct rein held correctly.

Bridged Reins

The bridged reins are carried with two hands and the bight (the part in between your hands) should be able to be adjusted proficiently. When starting to use this rein, managing the slack in the bight is probably the most difficult thing. When a rider can manage the bight he/she can move on to working towards teaching the horse the bearing rein.

Bearing Rein

A bearing rein is when pressure from the rein is a cue to the horse to move away. At this stage, riders would be moving both hands together in effect mimicking riding one handed but while actually using two reins. When the horse can execute all essential movement in this matter, its time to move to one handed.

The rider pictured below is working towards using the bearing rein. The key to successfully using this rein is to not get too ahead of yourself. The rein that is doing the bearing should not become the dominant rein. It should rather support the opening rein on the other side. The rider should be able to coordinate the leg aids in turn to help guide the horse rather than just pulling the horse with the reins.

One Handed Split Rein or One Handed

There are various types of reins you can ride one handed in including split reins, romal and gaming reins. In the show pen split reins are the majority. Once you and your horse have graduated to riding one handed, you will be riding what professionals call a “Bridle Horse”. A bridle horse is a horse who can ride accurately in a shanked bit one handed.

The majority of the breed associations call for any horse over the age of 6 in the show pen to be ridden in such a way. The photo below shows a rider riding with split reins one handed. Take note this rider is holding their index finger between the right and left rein and the tails of the reins are both on the same side.

In conclusion, like anything in horses handling your reins starts at the basics. Once a rider has control at one level, move to the next.

Improve Your Riding

Recognize and correct chair seat in riders

April 8, 2019April 8, 2019 aliciaharper

What is chair seat?

Chair seat is an old term the coaches, trainers riders use to describe when a rider, sits more on their seat bones in the saddle, much like if you were sitting at a table on a regular chair. In the photo to left you will see a rider sitting in a chair and this is effectively the position of the point of hip and the heels. You will notice that the heels are ahead of the hips.

There is more than one reason why a rider sits in a chair seat. One reason would be rider is unbalanced and keeps falling backwards in the rising trot then the leg shoots out in front of the rider when they land on their seat bones or what I say to my riders is their back pockets (much like if the rider were riding in jeans).

Another common reason for new riders, is the length of reins. Riders who ride with too long of reins tend to lift them up when they need to pull thus, putting themselves off balance. The simply fix to this issue is to shorten the reins and bring the shoulders forward and then the leg will come underneath the hips. For more information on proper rein length – please check out the video Improve Your Riding: Shorter Reins

coaching and training horses tips

alicia harper coach and horse trainer demostrating proper leg position

Another reason riders sit in chair seat is simply not understanding how to properly balance in the saddle. The correct position in the saddle to maintain the hip/heel line and be balanced is to have your pelvis at the correct angle. This angle engages the core muscles and enables the horse rider to relax the thigh, calf and knee and allow the leg to hang down the side of horse while maintaining balance.

How to fix chair seat

To find this position in your saddle, ensure you are sitting in the deepest spot of the saddle and then tilt your pelvis forward until you can feel both your seat bones and your pubic bone at the same time.

If you have trouble finding that position in the saddle try placing one hand under your seat and rotate your pelvis more.

This week we will create a video to explain this in a little more detail. In the meantime, please feel free to check out some of the links below. Chris Cox does a very good job of explaining the position of the seat here in this video Finding a Good Seat Position

You can also check out Common Position Mistakes in Riders on our Youtube page.