Your thoughts on flexi reins?

[never again]

I am looking into flexi reins on behalf of my sister. She has a horse who is soft mouthed but my sister can be a bit jerky on the bit = uncomfortable for the horse. Would the flexi rein help train her?

I have been looking on the internet to buy some, but I do not want to waste my money.

 

[ravenstorrough1]

I wouldn't reccommend them to anyone except a horse with soft mouth coupled with bad hands - this will not help teach your sister to have better hands but should offer the horse a bit more comfort if being jabbed in the mouth.

Your sister should really get some lessons/get someone to take video recording of her riding and watch it back to see where she is going wrong. Sounds like tension - make sure she has bend in the elbow, thumbs on top and keeps the elbow light and supple, moving with the horses mouth. You can practice this with her on the ground by detaching the reins from the bridle and holding them as if you were the horse's mouth and your sister holding the reins normally - you then move up & down, back & forth and your sister has to softly follow all the movements keeping the same contact (no jerking, no slackening). This should help her feel the contact better. Good luck!

 

[perkypinky]

Agree with the above about getting lessons ect.....
however i have the combination of soft mouthed horse and rubbish hands and i bought some flexi reins from e bay (about £10) they have been one of the best buys ive ever made. They have helped me retrain my hands (along with weekly lessons) and i am sure my pony has been very grateful too! I use them all the time - schooling and hacking. x