How To Do Just About Everything
By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor
Hold a Horse's Reins
Rate: (12 Ratings)
To gain a trustful relationship with a horse, a rider must master the basics of riding, including how to hold reins.
Take one rein in each hand; left rein in the left hand, right rein in the right hand.
Tuck the reins under all four fingers, with the reins going in at your pinkies and coming out at your forefingers.
Keep your wrists and fingers relaxed. Let your arms and elbows hang naturally, but don't let them flap. Hold the reins as if you are lightly squeezing a sponge.
eHow Sports & Fitness Editor
How to Tack a Horse
By:
eHow Pets Editor
How to Mount a Horse
By:
eHow Pets Editor
How to Ride Horseback
By:
eHow Sports & Fitness Editor
How to Halt a Horse
By:
eHow Pets Editor
How to Overcome a Fear of Horses
By:
eHow Sports & Fitness Editor
Comments
DukeSPS said
on 10/7/2007 Learners Note: The picture is not showing the English way of holding reins as described!
horse_lover said
on 11/12/2006 hold careful and dont pull the reins hard or else the horeses mouth gets hurt. hold light and gently.
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 The position of your hands tends to vary in the discipline of riding, a general rule of thumb however is;
Imagine an imaginary box around the horses withers, never stretching out wider than the bit. Your hands should never leave this box (unless it's for correctional, schooling or emergency purposes), and they should be about six inches above the withers. Never wider than the bit, and properly spaced between each other (two or three inches). With your thumbs on top of the reins, your hands should be slightly inclined toward each other at an angle, not much, maybe at an 80 degree angle. Your thumbs should be on top, however, not pointing directly to the sky. This is sometimes asked from novice riders, to reinforce the generally proper position without getting too complicated.
Remember to always keep your fingers firm, this doesn't mean more contact with the bit, just tight fingers in case the horse were to pull or spook and yank the reins from your hands, the degree on pressure on the reins can be varied to use as an aid for more sensitive horses.
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 I used to hold the reins with the reins between my pinky and ring finger. That was really bad because I started to get skinned on the joints on my ring finger, and that hurts. Then I thought I was really professional so I thought I could hold both reins in one hand. That was really bad too, because when my horse went into a trot one side of the reins would tighten making the horse lean to one side. This also made me lean and start slipping in the saddle while in a trot or canter!
Anonymous said
on 7/31/2006 When riding western, you hold the reins with one hand. Lie your hand, palm up, thumb pointing toward the horse's head. Place the reins in your hand and close your hand. Rotate your hand to the left, so your thumb is on top, making a straight line from your thumb to the pole of the horse (the top of his head).