Improve your FEEL down the Reins #horseriding #horsetrainer

Do you have good ‘feel’? What does that even MEAN anyway? It’s a word that’s used a lot in horse riding and training and often as though it’s something you either have or you don’t. But, feel is really just about being aware (of your horse and yourself) and being able to respond. And, you can improve it!

It’s not just physical, either - reading your horse better and responding subtly and appropriately to them emotionally and behaviourally is part of feel, too. But, we do that all the time at CT! So, this post is about a physical aspect of it…

This is part of some exercises I teach for improving feel in your hands. It’s focused on reins here, but it applies to where you’re using ropes, too. You can do this exercise by attaching some reins or rope to a fence or some furniture or whatever.

Take some deep breaths and become aware of your body.
Roll your shoulders a few times and then let them hang softly from your neck. Allow them to relax.
Take your awareness through your elbows and wrists, wiggling them a bit, and then allowing them relax, too.
Now, really focus on what you can feel in your hands. Feel the texture of the reins. Feel how tight you’re gripping, or if you’re holding them loosely. Feel the way the rein sits in your fingers and hand. Feel ALONG the rein until you take up a ‘contact’. Is one rein slacker than the other? One hand tighter than the other? Can you play with tightening and loosening your hands and arms? Can you relax the contact (loose reins) then take it up again softly?
You can bet that your horse feels all of this through the rein, so improving your own awareness will improve your communication hugely. It’s not just about the cues that you use, but HOW you give them, too.

So, after you’ve played with this dismounted exercises, try taking some of that awareness into your training or riding when you hold or use a rope or reins and see how your horse responds.

(This is an excerpt from a video in the Riding with Connection course in the CT Club - come and join us if you want more 😊)

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Видео Improve your FEEL down the Reins #horseriding #horsetrainer канала Connection Training