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Find the Space Between the Give and Take in Horse Riding
Scene 1
The rider holds tight to the reins, pulling backward, providing little give and take through the arms, elbows and shoulders. The tension radiates through the rider’s body to create a tight back, an unmoving seat, and clinging legs.
The horse may or may not have a tightness to the neck, but because of the pull on the reins, there is little opportunity for him to balance using his head and neck. His strides are short, his back may be hollow and he is likely on the forehand.
Scene 2
The rider lets the reins out to the point of creating a “loop”. There is no contact with the mouth, other than at points of time when the rider needs to communicate something: stop, turn or downward transition.
The horse’s neck and body is l-o-n-g and strung out. Hind legs are stepping out behind the horse’s croup. This horse is also probably on the forehand and hollow in the back but for completely the opposite reasons.
So whether it is a perpetually pulling hand or an occasionally rough, abrupt hand, you must know that every time you use your hands improperly, you are assuring your horse shortened usefulness and an unhappy life. - Charles de Kunffy, The Ethics and Passions of Dressage, p. 60
There is no doubt that there is more to riding than just what the hands are doing. We already know that the seat, legs and hands together are actors in the same performance and must work in combination. But for the purposes of explanation, let’s do an in-depth analysis of the role of the hands.
The scenes above demonstrate the extremes of what can be done with the reins: too much contact versus not enough contact. You’ve probably watched both types of riders at different times, or maybe you’ve explored or experienced both ends of the pendulum yourself.
Eventually, with enough experience, we learn that neither technique represents an exclusive path to effective riding. As with so many other things in life, we need to find the happy medium.
Try This
Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography
1. Find the correct placement of your hands and arms. Your elbows should have a nice soft almost “L” bend in them and hang in line with your body. Your hands should be in front of the pommel, no more than four inches higher, forward, sideways or backward (we call this the four-inch box).
2. Your hands cannot move backward from the box. In other words, you won’t pull back and your elbows won’t go back past your body line.
3. Your hands cannot move past the front of the box. In other words, you won’t push the reins ahead or open your elbows so that your arms straighten.
4. Your hands can give and take within the four-inch parameters of the box – but the catch is that the give and take comes from your elbows, not your fingers! The rein length should not change during the give or take (although you may need to readjust your rein length from time to time if the reins slip through your fingers or you intentionally want to lengthen or shorten them).
Keep your reins short enough to allow you to provide support instantly, but also long enough to allow for the horse’s level of training and muscle development.
And that’s it! From here, you can ride as usual from the seat and legs, and reinforce your aids with the hands.
If the horse pulls, you resist with a bracing from your elbows and seat. But you don’t pull back.
If you want to give a release, only slightly open your elbows to create a little space forward in the horse’s mouth so he feels a supported freedom (i.e. not thrown away) to move into that space. Do not lengthen the reins out or straighten your elbows.
The give and take should be so invisible that only you and the horse know it happened. Anything bigger and the horse’s balance will be affected. Ideally, you should alternate between a give and take as needed depending on the horse’s balance and the movement being performed.
Do you have any other tips for finding the space between the give and take?
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The #1 Rider Problem: The Outside Rein! The outside rein is the most underused and poorly understood of all the aids, and here’s why.
From a Whisper to a Scream: How Loud Should Our Aids Really Be? Should we be “loud” in our aids, or should we be working as softly as we can in hopes that our horse can respond to lighter and more refined aids?
Interpreting the Half-Halt: This topic is a tricky one but here is a shot at it.
How to Halt Without Pulling on the Reins: There is a way to get your horse to stop without pulling on the reins.
Stepping “Forward” in Horse Riding: The term ‘forward’ is used liberally in horse riding but is often misunderstood.
16 Ways to Not Become Bored During Your Ride
Leg yield to the rail.
Riders sometimes complain that riding in a ring can become too boring. If you’re bored, your horse is certain to be bored too. But there are literally hundreds of exercises you can do with your horse if you are creative enough. Here is a list of just a few ideas to keep ring riding fresh and interesting for both you and your horse.
1. Ask for more “go” and hold on for the ride! Don’t let go of the reins but also don’t pull (and maybe half-halt if your horse loses balance a bit to the forehand) and don’t get left behind.
2. Try a “loop”: coming out of the corner, head on a diagonal line toward the 1/4 line, then head back into the next corner. This will require your horse to go from one bend to another and back, all along one length of the ring.
3. Try a loop in the canter – this introduces a counter-canter – what fun! Stay fairly straight in the counter canter – don’t bend too far to the inside.
4. Count a certain number of strides per transition. For example, aim for 5 walk strides, 10 canter strides and then 8 trot strides. Go back to the walk and try it all again.
5. Try a figure 8 or two: one way is to use the diagonals and ends of the arena. The 8 should cross exactly over “x” (the middle of the ring). Another way is to make the 8 look like two balls attached in the middle (like a snowman), with the circles being more in the center of the ring, off the rails. This one is more challenging for the horse – one circle tends to be larger than the other, and the change through the short center tends to be more difficult.
6. Do a figure 8 with canter on one circle and trot on the other. Transition right in the middle of the 8.
7. Play with transitions: canter – to halt – to back up 5 strides – to canter.
8. Ride right into the corner of the ring and maintain the strength of your stride whether in walk, trot or canter. Keep a true bend as you enter the corner, and increase impulsion as you exit.
9. Do 4 circles as you go around the ring at A, E, C and B (dressage ring letters), one a little larger or smaller than the others. Be really picky about exact size and shape of each circle, and maintain a bend corresponding to the size of the circle.
10 . Play with the canter-trot to increase impulsion and get the horse to reach further underneath with the hind end.
11. Try the not-canter to improve your transitions from trot to canter.
12. Do a circle at A. After completing the circle, head into the corner with a good bend, straighten up to come out, and fly through the diagonal in a lengthen or medium trot. Finish by doing a circle in the opposite direction at C. When your horse gets good at the bend changes, add an additional variable of changing gaits at each circle.
13. Circle at A, lengthen across the diagonal, come off the short end at the 3/4 line and leg-yield to the rail.
14. Do a 3-loop serpentine and work on correct bend to bend with a true straight line in the middle.
15. Play with the serpentine: maintain all as in #14, but change gaits from loop to loop.
16. Accordion your horse: on a large 20m circle, get the horse to stretch down and out with the neck (with light contact on the reins), then come up and shorter in the neck (engage the hind end to raise the neck), then stretch down and out again. This can be very difficult as there is variation in the balance of the horse, as well as in the length of the back and neck. Be sure to use many half-halts to maintain balance through the changes of body posture.
Well, you get the idea. I’m sure you can think of other fun exercises you can work into your regular ring ride. Be creative, decide what you want to do and build your ride into a series of exercises that develop from one to the other. Challenge yourself and your horse and you will never again be bored by the four walls that surround you!
Do you have any other interesting exercises? Share them in the comments below!
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Demystifying “Contact” in Horseback Riding: Does “contact” have other-wordly connotations? Here is why effective contact is within reach of the average rider.
From a Whisper to a Scream: How Loud Should Our Aids Really Be? Should we be “loud” in our aids, or should we be working as softly as we can in hopes that our horse can respond to lighter and more refined aids?
Do You Make This Timing Mistake When Riding Your Horse? Have you ever given your horse an aid and got nothing in return? There could be one other variable that you might not have considered…
Secrets to a Great Turn (a.k.a. Shift Out to Turn In): Can you tell if your horse uses his hind end before taking the first step in the new direction, or does he feel stiff and awkward, almost like he’s leaving his legs behind the movement?
Don’t Mistake the Halt For a Stop! Don’t do it! Don’t mistake the halt for a stop. They are two entirely different maneuvers.
Why Rising Trot Is Not Rising At All
Not all rising trots are equal.
There are three reasons we rise at the trot. First, we might want to take our weight off the horse’s back – and the easiest way to do it is to rise (or “post”) every other stride in rhythm with the horse’s movement.
Second, maybe we want the horse to have the opportunity to reach further underneath his body with his hind leg.
Third, we can influence the horse’s activity level – we can change rhythm by posting faster or slower. The horse tends to follow the rhythm of our seat, and if we can control that rhythm, we can be more effective without ever having to go to the hands or legs.
The next time you go to a show, or visit the barn when there is a riding lesson, stop and analyze the way that the riders ride the horse’s trot.
Look for the riders that appear to be working most in tandem with the horse and then watch their technique. What do you notice?
They don’t move up and down.
Instead, they move forward and back within the movement of the horse.
That is, their pelvis comes forward to the top of the pommel, hovers there for a moment (or even two), and then gently settles back into the saddle, off the cantle (ideally). The “forward” movement follows an upward arc toward the pommel, and the “back” follows a similar arc.
The knees are soft and the angles demonstrate little change.
What they are not doing is standing up and down in the saddle.
There is very little rise. Why not?
When you move straight up and down, you fall behind the horse’s movement. As you work to regain your lost balance, you come back down heavily and push your weight straight down to the ground. This might shorten the horse’s stride, throw him off balance by putting him to the forehand, and may even cause back discomfort over the long term.
Stay in balance in the trot.
If you can move forward and back with the horse’s movement, you can maintain a much more organic balance.
Use the trot bounce to send your pelvis on the arc toward the top of the cantle, and steady yourself at the top of the movement with your inner thighs. Then arc back with control so you can mindfully rest on the horse, causing as little discomfort and interference as possible.
If you can move efficiently within the horse’s movement, you can even influence the horse’s length of stride and speed. You can slow down the horse by slowing your posting down, or conversely, you can speed him up.
The next time you ride, pay close attention to your rising trot technique and play with forward/back versus up/down.
Then let us know what you think in the comment section below.
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Read more riding tips below:
Don’t Mistake the Halt For a Stop! Don’t do it! Don’t mistake the halt for a stop. They are two entirely different maneuvers.
How the “Not Canter” Can Drastically Improve Your Transitions: Every time you ask (with the correct aids), the horse resists. The situation becomes ugly – you have a hard enough time just sitting the bounciness, never mind getting the transition. What to do? This article remains one of our most popular posts of all-time.
The #1 Problem of the Year: The Outside Rein! The outside rein is the most underused and poorly understood of all the aids, and here’s why.
6 Ways to Unleash the Power of Your Riding Seat: As you become more subtle in the aiding process, you will begin to discover just how powerful the seat can be in guiding the horse without disturbing and interfering in his movement.
Do A “Forward” Back-Up! Tricks to developing an easy and rhythmical back-up.
