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One of the most common issues is backwards traction on the
inside rein. I wish I had a penny for every time I've heard
an instructor say "Let go of the inside rein". I wouldn't
have to worry about supporting my horses. They'd be set for
life!
Backwards traction is such a problem. Without even being
aware that you are doing it, you can be dragging back
against the inside rein, using it to block and hold your
horse to keep him underneath you.
Related to that is the issue of over steering with the rein.
That means instead of waiting for the horse to respond, the
rider uses the rein to essentially drag the horse
around. We're such an impatient species. We want to make
things happen. We slide down to a point of contact, nothing
happens, so we keep going and compel a change.
I'm suggesting a different tactic, one where you set it up
and wait. Now that should sound familiar to a great many of
you. But how do you do it? How do you break your old
habits and set up a new pattern? Grabbing, holding on,
making things happen, these all come so easily to us. How
do you instead go to a point where have established contact
and then wait for the horse to respond? How do you know when
your hand is stable, quietly waiting, instead of taking that
extra, little make-it-happen feel?
That's in part what these single-rein exercises are for.
They teach the rider how to establish a stable point of
contact so the rein can do its job. What is it's job? It's
to say "I want something". And then to say, "thank you, you
just gave it to me." It is not to drag the horse around by
the nose, or to act as an anchor holding back the horse's
energy, or to punish the horse for misbehavior. It's
message is simple: "I want something". And then, "thank
you, you just gave it to me."
As you go on through this work, you will find that other
messages can be layered in on top of this simple message,
but initially that's all you want to say down the rein. As
you quiet down your hands and simplify their job, you will
discover how much more clearly you can use the rest of your
body to communicate with your horse.
Initially it can seem as though a lot of attention is being
paid to the reins and to the rider's hands. That's in part
because we have to change habitual patterns. It is not a
normal, natural reaction to slide down a rein and wait for
the horse to respond. It takes focused training for that to
become the dominant pattern.
It can also seem as though single rein riding is all about
using just your hands because not a lot of time is spent
talking about your seat or your legs. This isn't because
they aren't important, but because the process will create
body awareness. When you look back at your horse's hip to
ask for your horse to step under more with his inside hind
leg, you can't not use leg. Your legs are part of
that turning back to look.
Repeat the process enough and you will become aware of what
your legs are doing. Some responses will work out better
than others. What makes the difference? Just as we shape
behavior in our horses, you'll begin to shape behavior in
yourself. You'll notice the shifts in your seat and legs,
and you'll become more deliberate in using them. They will
become cues for your horse. The rein will be saying "I want
something" and your body will be telling him what.
School provides so many great analogies. The inside rein in
particular is very much like that over-eager kid in class
who has his hand up before everyone else and is shouting out
the answer. He never gives the other kids a chance to
respond. That's what happens so often with the inside
rein. It's doing too much, taking on too many jobs, so
you never get a chance to discover how neat it is to create
a change in your horse's balance using just your breath, or
a subtle shift of your shoulder blades, or a change in
muscle tone in your thigh.
Alexandra Kurland
www.theclickercenter.com
(Copyright
2006 Alexandra Kurland
and The Clicker Center, LLC)
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