I have often been told I have a strong handshake. I always thought that was a bit of a strange thing. What's there to a handshake besides matching the strength of the other person's grip?
At a lesson the other day that I had with a masterful dressage judge, SK, I realized that there is much to take from a strong handshake to change it into a good handshake, and subsequently a good feel of the reins.
The horse I was borrowing for the lesson was a very sweet, pony-ish Arabian/German Riding Pony cross. Good natured, but a bit of a bully with rooting or trying to pull the reins at a stop and just being heavy and a fuss at times.
I had always been told to not let an educated horse be a pulling by pushing, pulling, or rooting around to evade contact, but to be honest, I had never been told solutions on how to stop and not engage in a game of tug-off-war.
When pony would put his head up, she had me raise my hands and widen them. Her point was that it takes too much time to shorten the reins to correct him when he was being a pony, but raising and putting hands wider can be done the moment he begins to test.
Then she noticed my wrists and I learned that apparently my entire life has been a lie. ;)
My joints are all hypermobile and consequently I hold a lot of tension in various places. Apparently, I hold the reins by clenching my wrist and this puts a strong feel on the reins. I had never been told this by any instructor through the years. SK called me over and then spent a good ten minutes of gently gripping my hands to relax my wrist and to hold her hand in a gentle grip to achieve a pressure of 1 or 2, instead of the "10" level I started with.
She then moved to holding the reins by the horse's bit and having me feel what a one or two feels while holding the reins with my fingers and not by tightening my wrists.
I seriously had no idea.
Mind blown.
At a lesson the other day that I had with a masterful dressage judge, SK, I realized that there is much to take from a strong handshake to change it into a good handshake, and subsequently a good feel of the reins.
The horse I was borrowing for the lesson was a very sweet, pony-ish Arabian/German Riding Pony cross. Good natured, but a bit of a bully with rooting or trying to pull the reins at a stop and just being heavy and a fuss at times.
I had always been told to not let an educated horse be a pulling by pushing, pulling, or rooting around to evade contact, but to be honest, I had never been told solutions on how to stop and not engage in a game of tug-off-war.
When pony would put his head up, she had me raise my hands and widen them. Her point was that it takes too much time to shorten the reins to correct him when he was being a pony, but raising and putting hands wider can be done the moment he begins to test.
Then she noticed my wrists and I learned that apparently my entire life has been a lie. ;)
My joints are all hypermobile and consequently I hold a lot of tension in various places. Apparently, I hold the reins by clenching my wrist and this puts a strong feel on the reins. I had never been told this by any instructor through the years. SK called me over and then spent a good ten minutes of gently gripping my hands to relax my wrist and to hold her hand in a gentle grip to achieve a pressure of 1 or 2, instead of the "10" level I started with.
She then moved to holding the reins by the horse's bit and having me feel what a one or two feels while holding the reins with my fingers and not by tightening my wrists.
I seriously had no idea.
Mind blown.
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| Photo of SFF to break up all the text |
I'm sure elementary to some, but in a sport where people say feel is everything and there is this ambigious desire to develop feel, I had never had someone notice that the way I inappropriately hold tension effected the way horses carried themselves for me.
Off I then went, walk, trot, and canter and wouldn't you know that ponyboy was so much incredibly softer and swinging through his back. The walk developed more ground cover and the trot more impulsion. I was a little nervous when she asked me to canter since I had just established that I couldn't hold the reins properly, but she was quiet. I did as she asked and then she asked me to bring him down. Her commentary was that I had become an entirely different rider in the canter compared to the walk and even the trot.
So while I feel humbled about one of the most elementary things in riding, if I can slowly develop this feel, then it will be money well spent to learn from her again.
It always amazes me more trainers don't just come out the gate with the bit in their hands, reins in the riders to teach about feeling with the hands. Glad you had such a great lesson tho!
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