Hanging on right rein.... ??

[charlotte+jill!]

It was extreamly noticeable today that dennis is really hanging on my right hand, on both the left and right rein....... it something that he did not do before?

Any ideas on how to work over this?? When he hung on I just gave him the rein so there was nothing to hang onto is this the right thing to do.... it was the only thing i could think of at the time.

Just to say his teeth were done 2 weeks ago.

[Cheeky]

Heya :)

Hmm .. that does sound odd .. is he flexing to the left, and therefor pulling the right rein? Sticking his nose out, etc? Have you changed bits .. any piccies to help?

Just a few q's that'll help :)

[Skyhuntress]

By giving up more rein, you are actually giving him more to hang on to.
Instead, make sure your contact is short and effective (obviously not TOO short because then he'll be pulling non stop - but also not long. find a happy medium), do lots of circles where you ride inside leg to outside rein and make sure your half halts are effective. When a rider hangs on the reins, it means that they are not giving. But you also don't want to give the rein away, because then you have no contact and he can lean further. Instead, work on taking for a few seconds and then letting go for a couple of strides as he learns to balance himself

I would bet that it is YOU who hangs on the right rein, not the horse. You probably aren't being flexible and giving with that hand so he just leans on it and expects it to carry him.

[jenren!!]

Its usually a rider fault. Do you use that rein more than the others? Dont fight with him, give it away and let him find his own balance. Use your legs and make him use his back end, so he wont feel obliged to lean. I also agree - you should be nice and flexible with your hands.

I see alot of people yank the horse back when they lean, but this is just a never-ending tug of war.

Jenny xx

[hotamy20]

hey

if a horse hangs on one of the reins it is not evenly balenced throughout.
Do not throw the horse the rein because you just basically abanden the situation and as said above u allow the horse to lean and snatch at the rein.
Try putin your horse on circle in walk not to big so just so you are in control (around 15m) start by softening and flexing the horse to the inside using alot of inside leg to get the horse level in the out side cotact, carefull that the horse does not fall out. sqeeze and release the inside rein still keeping an even contact.
When the horse has become soft in both reins try and counter flex the horse to the out side bend still travelling round the circle you may feel like you need a slightly bigger circle at first. This will release the outside rein. Only do this for a few strides and then return to your inside bend.
Once you have mastered this on a circle try it on a straight line carefullthat the horse doesnt swing his quarters.
This is just one of my suggestions but it usually works if done correctly, just take your time and relax so the horse doesnt get uptight.
This will also help with softness and roundness over the back and will help with leg yeild, half pass and shoulder in as the horse is soft to ** leg and hand
Good luck and dont stop trying. :D