Hey everyone, I'd posted my successful ride finally Sat. I was practicing Dennis Reis' progressive plan to the 1 rein stop. He does this by having one rein stationery, and the other the moveable or "teaching rein" which manipulates the snaffle and causes the horse to give to the bit and what I know as collect. This combines w/ the lateral flexion to produce vertical flexion and therefore much easier success in getting the horse to stop as he's not pushing his neck way out and you're not fighting w/ him to bend (theoretically anyway). Well, I was able within 10 minutes to get Pecos to do this at a trot. The minute he felt me lifting that teaching rein, he began to slow in anticipation of the bend which was uneventful and a very quick stop. This was at a brisk trot. My question is this: my friend was watching this. She is an older very seasoned horsewoman who judges shows, etc. She said that that was going to teach him to tie-up and bunch up his head which would be a defense mechanism when he doesn't want to move, etc. (the tucking the head/bending at the poll). I felt so much more balanced that day but then she confused me saying it was wrong. I'd just watched the video a couple times and the reins were short, not long and droopy but he was giving to the bit and not fighting it or throwing his head at all. She kept telling me to try to turn him on a lose rein, but he would not respond to my leg cues alone w/ the lose rein. So what's the deal? I really respect my friend who is very knowledgeable, but Dennis Reis does seem to know what he's talking about and it did work for me within minutes. However, I did notice after awhile of practicing this, he would stop and then would not move off when asked so I had to circle him to get him moving and then straighten him out to move off. My former trainer rides English, I ride western, but she always worked w/ me teaching a collected rein, not a lose droopy rein and it made me feel much more balanced. Open to feedback!
Okay, here's my 2 cents: I think the one rein stop can be much overused.
I sent Seska to a trainer who taught her the one rein stop far too well, and she does exactly what your friend said might happen - she uses it to get out of work. I also had a hard time getting her to canter after that because the trainer would on-rein-stop her everytime she cantered just a few steps, so she learned to only canter a few steps then would one-rein-stop herself without me asking her to. We are still dealing with the residuals of THAT. I taught it to my Arabian gelding, and he does the same thing, he will one rein stop himself when we canter in a circle (he's okay in straight lines, but horse that will only canter in a straight line isn't real useful, you've gotta turn sometime!). My paint mare was sent to this same trainer, and while she does not one-rein-stop herself, he taught her to flex vertically everytime she's stopped, so guess what she does when she's stopped, even as I mount? Yep, she flexes her head to one foot, then the other, then the other, until I ask her to move out, even when I don't ask her to flex. She's such a dork, all I have to get her to do to one-rein-stop is POINT my finger at the toe of my boot (without the rein, mind you), and she sticks her head on my boot and comes right around.
The one rein stop can save your life, and I think every horse should learn it, but it's like doubling. Ever hear the story of the western horse that was doubled so much that every time his owner (a young girl) would canter him next to a fence he'd double himself? Both of these techniques are safety measures that I feel are for emergancy use ONLY. A horse that you practice and practice the one rein stop on will learn the words by rote, but probably won't know their meaning. It sounds like Pecos has learned the one rein stop. If I were you, I would quit practicing it with him so that he doesn't inadvertantly learn something you don't want him to learn. Save it for when you really need it!
Meezer, thanks. Since you're a trainer, could I ask you to comment on my question about riding w/ lose rein vs. a collected rein. I never rode w/ a collected rein til my last trainer who told me that my mare for one had not earned that much rein and so she worked to get her to collect. This horse collects more easily and w/o a fight, but again my horse authority friend says it's a bad idea. I want to use him to trail ride and that's it, but when we're trotting I like the balance it seems to give me. Am I overly relying on reins. I read so much about how the reins should really just be a third signal to the horse after seat and legs. I don't want to overuse them or make his mouth hard. I want to get this right so I don't have any problems that I've created to fix. Thanks again for your expertise. I hear ya about not overly working a skill. We have to remember that their brains can only assimilate so much at one time and their limited capacity to get the bigger picture, that we see.
The collected vs regular rein is a tough one. I ride collected in most situations, because that is what I prefer. However, if I am just relaxing like on a trail ride, I allow the horse to relax, too. I lot of western riders and trainers I know ride on a completely loose rein.
If I were you, I would ride your horse however it makes you feel comfortable. If you prefer a collected trot, then collect him. Just make sure if you work him collected, that you give him lots of free walk on a loose rein in between. Too much collected work can make a horse sore if they aren't used to it. And no, it doesn't matter if all you want to do is trails; you still want a nice, well-schooled horse to ride no matter what you do with him.
If you choose to ride collected, make sure that you don't have your reins too tight. You are right in that seat and legs collect the horse first. Think of it this way, you are going to push the horse up into the bit, not pull the reins to get his head down. I do a little demonstration for my students with my hands, but it's awful hard to do for those in cyber land LOL! But I will try to describe it. Look at your horse. Now, to collect him, think of scooping or gathering up his back end and his front end so he's kind of in a little wad or ball. His back end is down and tucked, his front end is down and tucked, and his back is rounded. You are going to have to use your legs and seat to collect the whole horse, because if you just use your reins to collect him, his head may flex in the wrong spot for starters, or it may go behind the bit, and the rest of him will certainly be strung out and sloppy, not collected and round at all. Use your legs and seat to encourage him to not only drive into the bit from behind, but also enourage him to lift his belly and round his back.
You reins should be short enough that you can ask him to collect, but not too short. Your hands should be light, you do not need a death grip on the reins. When your horse is collecting correctly, HE will make the contact light and carry himself collected, all you have to do is hold your hands steady. I had an instructor that taught me to set my hands on my thighs when teaching a horse collection to help keep them steady, and it works (make sure your rein is long enough you can REACH your thigh, it may take a longer rein than you might think). When the horse gives to the bit, he makes his own light contact, but when his head comes up, the rein gets tight and uncomfortable, all without any action on your part. Just keep your hands down and wide and your reins the length they need to be to get him to collect on light contact, and ride him forward into the bridle. Do not under any circumstances try to force his head down. Remember, all you are doing is ASKING him to collect, not forcing him into a frame, you are just making the right thing easier and more comfortable and the wrong thing harder and uncomfortable. When he is working right, you will feel his butt tuck, his face tuck, and he will carry the bit lightly in his mouth and your reins will be light. You should still be able to feel his mouth, so if he raises his head (for example), all you will have to do is close fingers on the reins to tighten ever so slightly and he should tuck right away, leaving the contact light again, so you quit squeezing the rein. A correct collected gait will feel something like you are riding a carousel horse, short bitty steps and more up and down then forward and out.
If your horse overtucks to evade the bit, which is what I assume your friend is worried about, just drive him forward onto the bit with your seat and legs. Make him work, make him extend his trot. Everytime you come down in your post, leg him, drive him. Make that horse trot out with so much energy that he looks like he could win an Arabian hunter under saddle class. He'll learn pretty quickly that when he overbends he's going to be asked to work harder. When your horse is dragging with the emergancy brake on, he can do all kinds of icky things, but if you push him and make him work, he doesn't have time to evade your hands. Just make sure your reins are light enough or loose enough that when you drive him forward his head has enough room to come back up to vertical.
Hope this helps you! It's awful hard to give demonstrations in type, it's easier to just SHOW you! LOL! Actually, I had a friend who when she was a beginning rider could not afford lessons, so she did the following: She went to horse shows and watched to see what the riders who were winning were doing and she observed every nuance and went home and taught herself to ride the way they did and for the most part succeeded. Now she not only shows and wins, she trains horses. May I suggest you go to a dressage show if you can find one, or find some dressage to watch on youtube or RFD network, and really watch how the riders ride? Look at their hands and their seat, and if you like the way the horse is going, see of you can copy what you see the good riders doing. Sometimes that can be very helpful and insightful.
Meezer
BTW, is your friend a western pleasure judge? That's a whole different style of riding, and they like the reins hanging in festoons. I don't ride like that even when I SHOW western pleasure, I still keep light contact, even one-handed with a curb, and I STILL bring home ribbons in an arena full of horses that have reins flapping in the breeze.
Thanks for all the info Meezer. Yes, my friend judges both western and dressage. I think I need more schooling to know if I'm collecting correctly as I want to avoid all of the scenarios you gave me.
You know, you may want to get some lessons with a GOOD dressage trainer, provided you could find one that is more interested in teaching dressage as horsemanship and not obsessed with showing. Tell them you just want to improve your horsemanship and need some work on basics and aren't interested in shows at this time. Hopefully you can find one that doesn't even care if you use your western tack; if it was me, I certainly wouldn't care. ; ) I would think any dressage trainer worth their salt would love to help a rider improve their horsemanship, but some dressage trainers just do dressage for the sake of dressage and think anything else is a waste of time, so do be careful and let them know what you want right up front. A few lessons may help you with your confidence issues with Pecos! Just don't be offended or think you aren't getting your money's worth if you DO happen to find a suitable instructor and all they have you do for the first few lessons (or in some cases longer) is walk.
If you can't find one, may I suggest one of my favorite books: Everyday Training, Backyard Dressage, by Mary Twelveponies. I think you can find it at Amazon, and it certainly is NOT competition geared, it's geared more for the pleasure rider who just wants a better trained horse and wants to improve their riding skills.
Meezer, thanks for the advice. I want to know more in terms of riding terms beyond the Western basics I learned as a kid. Sometimes I hear terms and I have no idea what to do because I'm just not schooled in dressage at all. I'll check out that book. Thanks. I am working toward working w/ a trainer in the next few weeks.
