Strides for Success

Tag: rein aids

  • Developing Steady Hands as You Ride Your Horse

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    Do your hands sometimes seem like they develop a mind of their own when you’re riding?  You tell them to stay quiet, steady, and soft…  But they just seem committed to waving about. In fact, they feel miles away from being the ‘steady hands’ that you want as a rider!

    Trust me, you’re not alone! Steady hands are a sore spot for so many riders, with the added frustration of as soon as you recognise it as a problem, it can often get worse before it gets better!  Today we’re going to unpack how to begin developing steady hands that are more consistent and will improve communication with your horse.

    Why Steady Hands Matter

    Having steady hands isn’t about your hands being ‘fixed’ or ‘rigid’. Far from it actually. Steady hands is all about creating a consistent, gentle connection between you and your horse. It improves your horse’s trust in your contact and makes your aids clearer – and kinder.

    Ironically, the harder we try to force our hands to stay still, the more exaggerated their movements often become. It’s like being aware of them makes them become even more animated! 

    So let’s dive into practical ways to address this issue once and for all…

    What’s Really Happening?

    Before fixing a problem, you need to know exactly what’s causing it. There are generally two big reasons your hands may move too much. The first is that you’re actually moving your hands! I know, you might think ‘No Way!’, but it’s true! Especially if you’re always fiddling with and shortening/lengthening your reins.

    If your reins keep slipping so that you have to keep shortening them, you’re probably holding your reins wrong. Get that issue sorted first… Then move on from there :)

    The other way your hands can be moving about is far more unintentional.  It often comes down to you relying far too much on your hands for balance or support. This really shows up in trot, canter, turns, and bends. It can also show up as you post to the trot.

    Get Clear on Your Hands First

    Grab a whip or stick and hold your reins normally, thumbs on top. Lift your thumbs slightly and lay the whip horizontally across your fingers, then gently clamp your thumbs back down to hold it in place. As you ride, glance down occasionally to check if your whip remains ‘still’ or is it moving about all over the place! You will also be able to quickly see if you’re tilting or dropping one hand using this method as well.

    The other way to assess what your hands are doing is to film yourself riding with this setup. Bonus points if you wear bright white gloves! This makes your hand movements glaringly obvious, helping you clearly see what’s going on.

    Identifying the Root Cause

    So, if you’ve looked back over the videos and seen your hands merrily dancing all over the place, you need to find out why that is happening! Ask yourself: Is this simply a habit? Or is something deeper affecting your balance and stability?

    Often, unsteady hands signal balance and position problems. For example, riders frequently use their hands to balance, similar to how you’d extend your arms if you were walking on a narrow plank.

    Another thing to keep in mind is how incorrect posting to the trot can also be causing your issues. If you’re pulling yourself up, instead of using your core to rise ‘forward’, you will see hard, moving hands. If you see this as an issue, keep in mind that you were probably told to go ‘up-down’ when you initially learned to post.

    Also keep in mind that improving your core strength, along with correct posting techniques, will often help resolve this issue. 

    Practical Solutions to Steady Hands

    1. Relax and Check Your Elbows

    Believe it or not, your elbows play a huge role in hand stability. Some riders lock their elbows straight, causing their hands to bounce. If you see from your video that you’re doing that, rather gently let your elbows drape softly by your side.  Naturally bent and relaxed as though you were carrying two cups of tea.

    And just like if you were carrying cups of tea while walking, your elbows gently absorb the horse’s movement while riding. This helps to keep create steady hands that are soft and connected. 

    2. Strengthen Your Core

    Core strength is crucial for horse riding and creating steady hands!  If your core is weak, you will be far more likely to rely on your hands for balance. You probably know if this is an issue for you… You know, those ‘wobbly’ feelings that come up when you trot without stirrups, bend or circle in trot or canter, etc.

    Begin incorporating simple exercises into your daily routine, like planks, balance ball workouts, and the Equestrian Fitness Challenge (FREE HERE). These off-horse exercises help build core strength and stability, which will result in steadier hands for you in the saddle.

    3. Connect Your Seat to Your Hands

    Your seat and hands should work together seamlessly, with your hands following the subtle movements of your seat – not the other way around. Unfortunately, a lot of riders depend too much on their hands, so they end up leading the seat!

    If you are a little too ‘handy’ when riding, consider lunge lessons where someone else lunges you on your horse. They can direct your horse, which will allow you to focus on you :)

    If lunging with a helper isn’t possible, create a small, safe area to practice riding without reins at walk and trot, helping you strengthen your seat and core without relying on your hands for balance.

    4. Off-Horse Exercises for Better Stability

    There’s so much you can do out of the saddle to improve your riding. Get yourself a large exercise or Pilates ball and use it to improve your balance and hand steadiness.  Plus, it’s so much fun as well! Sit on the ball, create makeshift reins (or use your own reins fixed to something sturdy), and practice posting, sitting trot, and even canter motions.

    This type of exercise and practice will help your body develop muscle memory, enabling better coordination between your seat and hands when you’re back on your horse.

    Important Reminders as You Improve

    When you begin down the path to create steady hands in the saddle, be prepared for it sometimes getting worse before it gets better! It can feel that initially focusing intensely on your hands can cause tension, making your movements temporarily stiffer and more exaggerated. Don’t worry – this is completely normal! The key is to remain patient and consistent. Steady improvement will follow.

    Instead of aiming for absolute stillness (which isn’t realistic or helpful), aim for “steady” hands. Hands that softly and smoothly follow your horse’s movements, maintaining gentle contact without rigidity.

    Take Regular Videos

    Make video analysis a regular part of your practice. The visual feedback helps you notice subtle improvements and identify lingering issues. Wearing white gloves or using the whip technique periodically is also a great way to gauge your progress.

    Bringing it All Together

    At the end of the day, creating steady hands is not an overnight thing. It will require a combination of awareness, targeted practice, patience, and consistency, both in and out of the saddle. Strengthening your core, stabilizing your seat, and keeping relaxed, flexible elbows will lead you toward more stable, soft hands that genuinely improve communication with your horse.

    Remember, because your hands are at the ends of your arms (like your feet at the end of your legs) they often are a telltale sign of movement and tension happening in other areas of your body. 

    Want extra support? Join me over at ReturningtoRiding.com. Get on the waitlist to start mastering the basics and build your riding confidence.

    Happy riding
    Lorna

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  • Improving Working Contact While Out Hacking

    Improving Working Contact While Out Hacking

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    I am all for intentional, relaxing hacks with your horse. And I also think that it’s worth remembering that not all hacks have to be for ‘doing nothing’. In fact, there are some things that may actually happen more easily when out of the arena. Working contact is, for some riders and horses, one of those things.

    We are always working towards soft, intuitive, and responsive contact when we ride. Contact that can shift and adapt depending on what the specific focus is.

    Developing that sort of contact takes time, diligence, consistency, and a foundational understanding of what true contact is and how it works… Today, I want to give you a few key points that you can put into action next time you’re riding on the trail.

    CLICK HERE to have a PDF of this article delivered straight to your inbox to print off or save and read later

    How Independent Are You Really?

    After speaking with thousands of riders for 20+ years now, there are a few key points that everyone wants to achieve. Contact (or ‘on the bit’) is one. Closely followed by ‘more feel’. Hacking or riding out on the trail is a great way to really begin assessing your abilities regarding both of these topics.

    Another way of describing ‘more feel’ is to say that you are truly independent in your aids. You intuitively ‘feel’ what is the best approach at that moment.

    I think that while your aids don’t have to be 100% independent to achieve a good working contact, you do need to at least be aware of what’s not! So this is where I suggest starting. Notice what happens when you move different parts of your body. So, let’s say you apply your left leg. Notice the effect it has over your right shoulder. Or your left hand…

    Often the obvious lack of independence will happen on the same side of your body (left leg & left hand). The more subtle dependence happens across your diagonals (left seat & right shoulder).

    Tip 1 – Focus on Testing Your Aids in All 3 Gaits

    Test your aids first in the walk, where things are slow enough to discover and truly experience each movement. From there, I have often seen how the canter is often an easier gait to diagnose dependency issues than the trot! I think the natural rhythm of the trot is the cause of this… However, try all three gaits and see what happens for you.

    Half Halt While out Hacking

    I am a firm believer that the half-halt should be used everywhere when it comes to working with horses. On the ground, on the lunge, in the arena, and on the trail! I also feel that, when you begin truly tapping into this fantastic aid, you can only begin to improve your overall communication with your horse.

    When you combine your independent aids with a well-timed, well-balanced half-halt; you can truly begin to tap into the energy available to you while out hacking with your horse.

    Timing is essential. You really want to ask when your horse is in a position to answer. So, ideally, when his hind leg is on the ground. It’s like saying ‘stall the ball a second’ or ‘wait here a second’. If you do this at the point of the stride when the front feet are ‘touching down’ you will cause your horse to become heavy in front! Not what we are aiming for!

    Your aids will only work as well as you can time them to your horse’s movements. Your weight will only ask your horse to wait if you ask at the right time…

    Tip 2 – Focus on the Timing of Your Aids for the Half Halt

    Therefore, step two of improving your working contact while out hacking is to work on first timing your half-halt. From there, refine your half-halt. I have a free audio training on the HALF HALT you can listen to next time you ride to work on improving this.

    Engaging Your Horses Back (Becoming Lighter)

    So, now that you have created a pretty good quality channel for the energy and you have worked on fine-tuning how you can influence this energy, we can begin truly harnessing it. Have you ever noticed how when you ‘engage your core’ you seem to grow an inch or two? Your horse does a similar thing – through his back. By engaging his core, he ‘lifts’ his back.

    Unfortunately for many horses, as they try to ‘lift’ their back, there is a rider’s bum in the way – blocking everything!

    If you want your horse to ‘lighten’, you too must lighten! And this has nothing to do with how much you weigh. This has everything to do with how you engage, use, and carry your own body. Let’s go back to the trot for a moment… So many riders rely on the natural rhythm of the trot (which, let’s face it, will happen regardless of what you do if you can continue to trot) to lift them ‘up and down’.

    Tip 3 – Focus on Your Independence in the  Rising Trot

    My third suggestion for you to work on next time you’re riding is to focus on just how independent you are in your rising trot. Are you posting yourself? Or are you relying on your horse to ‘bump’ you up and down? By spending time on this, while coupling the previous two points, you can truly begin to work with the energy – rather than against it.

    Gathering Energy into a ‘Working Contact’

    Once you are truly working with your horse (so not behind, in front of, against, or just slacking) working contact is within reach. Remember, true contact is an agreement. It is the point of the conversation between horse and rider where everyone agrees to take responsibility for their own roles going forward.

    This means that you are not ‘controlling everything’ and this can be a significant challenge for many riders to overcome (I was one of those!).

    It requires a certain amount of trust, partnership, and faith to really go into a ‘working’ relationship with anyone. And all of our most intimate relationships are just that – I am not talking about employment here, although the same generally applies.

    The same trust, partnership, and faith that you have in the people you hold most dear is what’s required of you to have in your horse in order to achieve ‘working contact’.

    Why Contact Won’t Work…

    Now, if your horse is not developed enough to truly engage in his responsibilities, contact is not going to work! So if he cannot yet work in rhythm, or in relative relaxation, or he’s not supple enough… Contact is not going to work! You might experience glimpses of it. However, even this is a little false as confidence and emotional development won’t be present.

    There is a reason contact appears where it appears on the training scale; trying to achieve it without first having developed the lower principles will usually result in horse and rider hitting a really long, unending plateau!

    Your horse must be developed physically, mentally, and emotionally in order to achieve true contact with you when riding. He needs to be able to ‘lighten the front end a little’.

    Couple this with mentally understanding contact as being a little like ‘holding someone’s hand’. No one is pulling, no one is slacking; it is both parties agreeing to move together while holding hands.

    And, finally, the equally important emotional development. Your horse has to first believe that he can actually do this. He has to have confidence in himself. And he also has to have confidence in you, the rider. I see it a little like “Okay, I’m giving you my mouth… I trust you to respect it”.

    If you are having challenges with contact, please go and have a look at the posts linked below this one. I’m pretty sure something will resonate or help. Alternatively, ask in one of the groups (linked below), or send me an email lorna [at] strides for success [dot] com – obviously with no spaces in between😉

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

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