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
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.