Nuts & Bolts Rein Mechanics

Welcome to your next issue of "Horse Class," your how-to source for equine tips, tricks and solid foundational training brought to you by horsemanship101.com and John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman. You know how you can look at a rider and tell whether they've been riding for years or just started yesterday? Novice riders ride with their heels up and lean forward, sure - but what's the dead give away? The way they hold their reins. Specifically, how they pick up the reins and how they release the reins. Same goes for riders who have reached a plateau. If we need to change in order to see a change in our horses, then "rein handling" might be something for even the more advanced rider to practice. And nervous riders? Staying safe has everything to do with having the muscle memory it takes to swing into action when your horse freaks out. So, let's get started: This issue's featured article, "How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro," explains the specifics of "rein mechanics," how to smoothly pick up those reins, how to make it feel natural, how to feel more in control. You'll find the article sampled below. To read it in its entirety, simply follow the link provided or visit Horsemanship101.com/Articles. - - - KEEPING SAFE: After hearing of some pretty scary rider accidents lately, I decided to do our families a favor and post links to various pieces of horse & rider safety equipment hoping to spur my readers to buy that new helmet or riding vest they'd been putting off. Listings include: - Breakaway/safety stirrups - Helmets - Safety vests, ties and halters The link provided here leads directly to a page on my site, which in turn leads to live listings on eBay, where you'll find some pretty darn good deals on products designed to keep us safer in the saddle and around the barn. To peruse the listing of recommended products, visit: Horsemanship101.com/Safety/Products.html - - - Jump to the full version of this issue's featured article: "How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro"

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Rein Handling Like a Pro

Here's the fastest way on the planet to radically change the quality of your next ride. We're talking night vs. day forever-lasting results with maybe an hour's worth of practice. But wait - there's more! Besides improving your everyday training, there's an added benefit: Much improved safety. Practicing the nuts and bots of "rein handling" in the quiet of an evening, spending long enough to build a bit of "muscle memory," will go a long way to helping you out the next time you get out on the trail and your horse whigs out. A lot of our riding fear comes from not knowing "what to do if." People get scared, they panic and grab up the reins. They freeze with six billion pounds of pressure on the horse's face. Frozen hands cork up all that horse energy, trap a prey animal - and beg for an explosion. Instead, for safety sake, drill this stuff into your brain until the movements become second nature. Your natural reaction will then be to keep your horse flowing, thereby dissipating his "negative" energy. And you'll boost your confidence quicker than you can say "They billed me how much for the ambulance?" Horses toss their heads, get stiff through the neck and grumpy, slide in their training and just plain hate the site of the riding arena because of... your hands. Want to learn the fastest way to improve your training? Improve the way you handle your reins. We're talking the way you pick them up, how long you hold them, how much pressure you apply and how you release. When you attend one of my clinics and walk away thinking I walk on water at the end of the following day, it's simply because I've hammered you on the proper way to pick up and release those reins. Over and over and over because that's where we'll see the quickest improvement. I was able to promise "lasting results" in that first paragraph for one simple reason: It's you that makes the change, not your horse. If you want to see a change in your horse, you have to first make a change yourself. You don't have to concern yourself with whether your horse got up on the right side of the stall - the quality of your ride is totally in your hands, so to speak. See, without realizing it, the odds are pretty good that... keep reading this article