had a fantastic lesson ..but

[nutkin]

Today I had my first lesson with my horse Spike. It went well and the instructor commented that I ride him well which was a fantastic compliment but there is one thing which confused me somewhat. She insisted that I had a very tight hold on his head with my reins almost up his neck while still pushing him from behind. I know she was wanting more impulsion but surely by holding his head to get the outline she wanted I would have been giving him confusing signals ie go and whoa at the same time. I usually allow him a long rein and he is very relaxed about it. The fact that I had a real hold on his head to me felt like I was basically forcing him into an outline and not getting the outline that I would otherwise have got if he was relaxed about it. The hold didn't seem to bother him at all but my hands feel very sore from having to keep hold of him and he felt heavy on my hands whereas normally he feels very light and carries himself well. I will post some pics as soon as I have them but I would really appreciate some input on this.

 

[Just.Jump]

Well, you can't get an outline or vertical flexion without both pushing the horse forward and holding them back. I'm trained to have medium to short length reins, but always be able to give the horse release by pushing my hands forward. Short reins while your hards are forward is more of a jumping thing and honestly, I can't get any flexion that way. If it's your horse, it's your final decision though. My instructor calls vertical flexion 'pushing through the bit' so the horse flexes or reaches to get the release and stay there. To get a frame the horse needs to round it's back, which is a very different story- a much harder one too. To get a frame you ned flexion and the horse to sort of round it's back under you, which I still can't get because I can't yet make the horse lift by tapping with my legs.

Play around with it, but NEVER give your horse an iron lock on the reins. tight reins when your hands are forward means that to release you need to let the reins slide through your fingers, which can be dangerous if the horse chooses to spook at the wrong moment.