March 2004

Longer Arms And Shorter Reins

Riders should maintain an even feel on both sides of the horse’s mouth.

Achieving a straight line from the horse’s mouth to your elbow is a lot tougher than it appears.

Horses respond most readily to their riders through leg aids and weight shift. But the human part of the equation operates in a different manner, with the thought of a desired action usually traveling directly from brain to hands. The result is that hands become overactive, which blurs the line of communication between the horse and the rider’s leg and weight aids.

The main job of the bit is to complete the circle of aids that starts with the rider’s legs, travels back to the hocks, circles through the horse’s back and neck up to the bridle and then finally through the reins to the hands. If there’s rigidity anywhere in…