loose rein or not?

[ShowJumperAurie]

my whole life ive been taught to ride with a fairly tight rein.i recently bought a young mare that im training.i have been riding her with contact the mouth until recently a trainer at my barn said to ride her on a really loose rein so that she can stretch.i have tried this but i feel like i have no control,and i have absolutly no contact with the mouth.she said this is the way to bring along a young horse.i agree to let her stretch but i feel like i should have contact with the mouth.the trainer i bought her from always told me to have a lot of contact with the mouth.can anyone tell me wich way is correct.i have a million people telling me conflicting ideas on how to ride a young horse and now i dont know who to belive.please HELP!!!

[DavidH]

It depends very much on the level fo training the horse is at.
That said I feel it is generally far better to get a horse working freely off a loose rein and understanding that leg on means forward. This way you can build the power from the back end without restriction and allow the horse to stretch across its back.

Taking a strong contact too early (if ever) can cause confusion when you put your leg on as the leg is saying go forward and the hand is saying no. This can lead to a rejection of the leg aid and build a difficult resistance for the future.

Rmember, you don't pull a horse in to a contact. You push it in to one. always back end to front end not the other way round

Hope that helps

David

[IrisSilverMoon]

there is a time for contact and a time for freedom. Contact does not necessarily mean you are riding on a tight rein, it just means you have a feel of the horses mouth and can communicate through that.

But, every horse benefits from some work on a loose rein. In the beginning of a ride i usually walk around on a loose rein so the horse can stretch out fully. I might do the same thing at a trot and canter if i'd like the horse to stretch down some. You can also communicate on a loosish rein (demi tension as my instructor calls it) the idea is to communicate everything through rein weight and the seat. Its surprising how much control you have that way, I can do just about anything with a bit of sag in my rein. So no contact with the mouth shouldn't mean out of control, its just a different way of working the horse.

[eventerbabe]

i have to echo davids comments. when bringing on my boy i started with a long, loose rein and allowed him to stretch. even now when starting a schooling session i spend 10 minutes or so working on a loose rein, asking him to stretch and work long and low. i suggest if you don't have the knowledge to school a young horse, get an instructor in to help.

[Silmarien]

I am going through this issue right now as well - trying to teach the horse accept a stronger contact. At the beginning I liked to ride on a light contact (I somehow do not like to call it loose rein, because it resembles something like a dropped rain), and could perfectly feel the contact with horses mouth, and steer and lead it. Now we are geeting further in our training, and there is need for a stronger contact during the training. Strong does not mean harsh however or tight. On the other hand, I also practise sometimes, at the beginning or end of the lesson, riding with dropped rain - just drop the rain on the horse's neck, hold it in place with one finger, if needed, and let the horse go... trotting like this is wonderful! Of course, I am happy to have a horse that reacts well to this... :)

[ShowJumperAurie]

When i first bought Northern Aurora "Aurie" she was only ridden about 20 times.i taught her to bend,flex,transitions,the aids,etc.and she can jump about 2ft under saddle though i seldom jump her.when i said i was told by a trainer to ride on a loose rein i meant she wants no contact with the mouth AT ALL,and when i said i was taught to ride on a tight rein i meant with reasonable contact with the mouth.i agree to have her on a loose rein and encourage her to stretch long and low in the warm up and while cooling her out,but is it so bad to have soft contact with the mouth while training her?i am just confused because two different trainers/instuctors are telling me completely different things.this is the first horse i am training completley on my own.im not a pro,but i have been riding for 14 years and the way i have gone about it seems to have worked so far.i just dont know if im teaching her any bad habits by the contact i have while working her.She has great potential to be a jumper or eventer and i want to show her in these disciplines,so i am planning to have her sent to a proffesional trainer.does anyone know a good trainer in northeastern new jersey or new york?i would send her to the trainers i know but they are to far for me to get there.(i want to be there each session)thanks a lot

[kelsey]

I just rode in a clinic with Walter Zettl on the weekend. The major theme of many of the rides was allowing your horse to move forward by riding with a longer rein. I spoke to the organizer yesterday and she told me that he actually made her ride on the buckle for half an hour during her first session in order to allow her horse to stretch forward and relax. She noticed a definite improvement by the end of the session, and again the second day.

I am lucky because I have a very good coach now who is of the same philosophy as he is.

As the saying goes, you need to ride your horse forward, and ride him straight, before worrying too much about contact and head set.

[ShowJumperAurie]

thanks for all the advice everyone!ive been working Aurie on a loose rein for about the first 25 and last 10 minutes each time i ride and she has been doing well.the trainer i bought her from said that i should work on her head set and relaxing at the pole.she is going on 5 years old.when should i start working on that?i have a german martingale and i have used it when i first bought her at the advice of the trainer and it worked well.i have stopped using it though and when i push her into contact she rounds her neck beautifully.any way now i know not to worry so much about headset and to just encourage her to stretch and focus on straitness and fowardness.the other trainer i know agrees with you and told me the same thing.thanks for validating her and ending my confusion on who was right!THANKS AGAIN!!!:cool:

[Cheko]

I agree with Eventerbabe and David. Loose rein is better on a youngster. (Suits mine better anyway)!. They need to stretch down, which in turn stretches their neck and their back which is good as it helps prevent any stiffness occurring. If you hold them on a tight rein, there is no flexibility and if held on a tight rein for too long, the horse in unable to stretch down and therefore neck and back muscles become stiff and tired. This in turn prevents them from using their quarters at all. Also if a young horse is held on a right rein they also become stiff and inflexible in their jaw and mouth. It also seems to encourage them to 'trail' their quarters and lean on the bit.