Direct/Indirect reins??

[Shmon]

Hey all...
I've heard the terms "direct rein" and "indirect rein" used a lot, but I don't know what they mean. Can someone clear this up for me?

[Mehitabel]

direct rein is your basic rein aid. indirect rein is when you bring your hand in towards the wither and raise it a bit - the theory is that it helps avoid the horse falling in through the shoulder as it might if you use open rein (when you open your hand away from the neck). in an ideal world, you stop the horse fallign in with your inside leg, but indirect rein can be useful to help them understand what you want, as long as you don't become dependent on it.

[Kerry's Partner!!]

I'd advise that you also post this in the Enlightened Equitation section for Heather or Sue to reply to when they're back.

[cvb]

a direct rein is one where your hand, the rein, and the horse's mouth are all in the same 'line of sight'. i.e. if you want to turn right, then you take your right hand out to the right.

An indirect rein is a bit like bouncing the contact off a mirror. In this case to turn right you would move the right hand to the left, closing the arm cross your body (rather than opening it out in the previous case).

The different types of rein use are appropriate in different circumstances and different levels of training. For example you normally use a simple and 'obvious' direct rein with a young horse to show them the way.