How to Hold a Horse's Reins

Video Transcript

"When you learn how to hold the horse's reins, you'll probably start just holding them however feels comfortable. What you want to though, is actually sort of flip the rein around so your thumb can be on top and so that the rein runs through your hand and between your ring and pinky finger. Then to shorten the rein, you're going to use your thumb. In order to shorten this right rein, I'll take my left thumb and forefinger and hold the rein and slide my hand down. This shortens the amount of rein between my hand and the horse's bit. And then to shorten my left rein, I take my right thumb and forefinger and slide the left hand down until both hands are even. When holding the reins, it's important to make sure that your hand stays pretty upright as if you're hold two glasses of water. It's a common mistake to do what's called piano hands and end up with your hands rigid and your wrists stiff pointed down."