Look at the top dressage riders. Their hands are closed in a fist.
Some trainers tell riders to ‘play with their fingers’ as to make the horse softer. I don’t agree. I don’t like to fumble with the bit. Your
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Pushing down
Some riders push their hands down unto their thighs, holding the reins as to force the horses head down. It means you have to tip forward –out of balance- and brace your back. I have even seen instructors advising this. But if you need such force to get the outline, there is something very wrong.
The harder you pull him down, the more a horse wants to push his head up. If you use draw reins with force and you take them off, a horse will stick
Hands up
As horses tend to go on the forehand when we board them, to some rider the logical thing is to lift this part by holding their hands up. And as the neck is as supple as a garden hose, it will come up. But that doesn’t mean the back end lowers.
If you go onto the internet and you google a picture of a skeleton of a horse, you’ll see the neck looks like a swan neck. If you pull his head up,
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I need the support
People are ‘handy’, we use our hands all the time. Being on just two legs makes us wobbly, so if we lose balance, we stick out a hand or two to correct it. This is firmly lodged in our brain. So if we sit on something as wobbly as a horse, and someone gives us reins in our hands, we use them immediately to steady ourselves.
Reins are attached to a bit in the mouth. Pressure on a bit gives an unpleasant feeling. Horses react by sticking their tongues out or opening their
Uneven hands
If your hands are not level, it is very likely you have a different feel on each side. The horse gives you an uneven contact, which means he’s crooked. But who started, you or the horse?
That’s a difficult question. Point is, you are making each other worse if you don’t do anything about it. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Almost
Piano hands
Ever heard of piano hands? It means a rider twists his wrists in such a way, the knuckles point down.
The problem with this being that you can’t move with the horse anymore. Your lower arm is no longer a straight line with the reins to the bit. You
The correct hand position
Just like the leg position and your upper body, the way you hold your hands and arms is important for a reason.
The correct way is the only way in which your shoulders, elbows and wrists can move, so you can have an elastic contact with the mouth. If you sit upright,
The bobbing head
Some riders seem to sit rather well, straight and with their legs in the right position. But then the horse moves and the head of the rider bobs up and down…
What happens is the movement that has to be absorbed in back, hips, knees and ankles comes out in the head. It means there is too much tension in the
Untwist yourself
Stand in the school and watch some riders from behind. Are they sitting straight?
A lot of riders lean to a side. Some have a twist in their waist, which means they lower their leg on the other side, while one shoulder is going forward