Lesson 3: Leading, Mounting and Dismounting, and Basic Position

Holding the reins

The reins are not used to hold you on the horse. Your seat, legs and balance do that. The reins are used to direct the horse’s movement (in concert with your legs and seat) and to slow or stop the horse (also in concert with legs and seat.)

The way they are held allows good sensory input into your hands so you can feel what the horse is doing, a skill that is developed over time. And the way they are held also keeps them from being pulled out of your hands if the horse makes a big head movement, such as a sneeze, for instance.

But what happens then? If I don’t let go of the reins and he puts his head down in a big sneeze, won’t he pull me over his head? He could, except that you have elbows. So when a horse makes a big head movement, you keep the grasp on the reins, and allow your elbows to open and straighten out your arms to accommodate the movement. If that’s not enough, you can let your torso go forward slightly, as well. But don’t let go of those reins! If you do, you will have nothing with which to stop the horse if he decides to walk away.

To hold the reins properly, stick out your hand as if you were going to do the chug-chug motion playing choo-choo train. Slap your hand down flat over the rein as it lies on the horse’s neck. Now curl all four fingers around the rein and lift it up so you can finish getting the reins. At this point, the rein will be coming off the bit, through your fist from the bottom, and out the top of your fist between your index finger and thumb. Let the rein lie over the first segment of your index finger, and mash it down with your thumb. Don’t do it with your thumb straight but rather hump the thumb up so you can hold it with the soft, fleshy part of your thumb. (And besides, that will prevent breaking a nail if your hand contacts the horse’s neck!)

Almost finished. Now just sneak your pinky finger out from around the rein, and tuck it in below the rein. Why? Because when you get to an upper level and are riding more demanding horses, you may have double reins and the second one takes that spot under your pinky before going up through your closed hand with the other rein. (Your regular rein is a snaffle rein, or just ‘the reins’ in a single-rein bridle. In a double-rein bridle, the regular rein or snaffle rein goes where it goes now. The second rein, or curb rein, is the one that goes beneath your pinky. Often, it is a slightly different width than the snaffle rein to make it easier to know which rein is where without looking, and sometimes one does transfer both reins to one hand, making it necessary to pick them both up right and often in a hurry later on.)

Your fingers should firmly touch the palm of your hand; they should neither dig into it nor should any of your fingers be outstretched. Watch for this particularly with the ring finger, which you may let loose as the rein pulls against it. Keep it firm, and in line with the others.

Now you’ll have to adjust the length of the reins. Ideally, there should be a straight line from the horse’s mouth along the reins and your lower arm to your elbow. When you begin, this should be a gentle straight line, without making harsh contact with the mouth. When you first pick up the reins, they will probably be too long, though. To adjust them, move your hands next to each other and use the thumb of one hand to pull the rein up through the fist of the other hand, releasing your finger and thumb pressure on that rein just enough to accomplish that. Then fix the opposite rein.

If you need to lengthen the reins, simply release a little pressure and move your hand along the leather until it is closer to the buckle, which will be in the middle of the reins.

Extra rein should loop down the off side of the horse’s neck, out of your way.

A NOTE ON YOUR WRISTS: Wrists should always be held straight so that you can always see the knuckle of your thumbs. They should not be bent to the inside or the outside and should never be cocked upward or downward. Think of holding a pistol to shoot on a range, and you’ll have a picture of the approximate way your wrists should be…always.

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