Contact - arms by side

[Marigold4]

I don't have short arms BUT they feel short when they are where they should be.

I always felt safer with my arms stretched out, and my instructor used to tell me that where my arms were was his business, but how long my reins were was my business.

That didn't stop him from suggesting, "You might want to... " (was it lengthen or shorten???) "... your reins." (This was after I had put my arms where they should be.)

I actually don't think it's got much to do with arm length. It's our chicken rating. I have a high chicken rating (I'm just making this chicken rating thing up as I type) and I think I am five out of five chickens.

Thanks, Lois Lane. I think you have hit the nail on the head. I'm definitely 5 out of five chickens too! This last couple of years of covid c**p have made me more so. I used to compete at least every other weekend and now haven't been to a competition for a good 18 months. We won our dressage class (different horse) last time out so at least a good memory.

I'll have to practise the one handed western stop as recommended above. And try to gradually reduce my number of chickens - perhaps one chicken at a time rather than all at once!



I think what us high chicken raters need to do is realise that, come the crunch, we can easily shorten our reins by grabbing them with one hand and sliding the other hand down the reins. We need to realise we are not at Death's door if our arms are hanging nicely at out sides.

 

[Rumtytum]

I definitely need to open my shoulders and keep them back. I have a terrible habit of rounding them which automatically puts my elbows forward. I do this in everything I do off the horse too so its really ingrained. Great tips on impulsion! Thank you.

Me too! Off a horse I have to consciously think about keeping my shoulders open, as soon as I forget they are back where they shouldn’t be…

 

[sbloom]

What I should have also added is that ordinary downwards transitions are achieved by stomach muscle tightening .

This may be what it feels like but this advice for others is likely to lead them to use their "6 pack" muscles which isn't right.

I suspect a lack of pelvic stability here - the pelvis needs to be able to return to "neutral", where the pelvis is truly upright and gives both lateral and longitudinal stability. Once you can extend upwards from a stable pelvis then it's easier to lift the diaphragm and have the shoulder drop back and down. Pulling the shoulders back if your lower back is too flat for an example will just cause tension.

Your elbows back by your sides might be too far back IMO, once you have all the above sorted then the hand is offered slightly forwards, even in faster paces - this lifts the solar plexus and the horse can then lift its own. Try this with your reins put around someone's waist, see how different it feels to the person "in" the reins.

I would suggest an off-horse conditioning programme such as Refined Riding, Rider Reboot or Activate Your Seat and later on some ridden biomechanics sessions. We could make a ton of suggestions which are equally likely to cause more issues than an actual fix.

The saddle must also play its part, rider fit has been a secondary consideration, inevitably as we have to concentrate on fitting the horse in saddle fitting models, but there is a new wave of fitting that is putting the rider front and centre.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Forgot to add that being able to ride into a forward walk without slipping your reins needs your lower back to be strong but flexible. If there's little movement in your lower back or if you keep your lower back rigid, you won't be able to ride a downward transition and put your hands forward without rounding your shoulders and tipping forward.



Also , you can't and mustn't constantly ride the horse on a contact just in case something happens. You need to be able to trust your horse and be able to collect the rein quickly if something should happen. If you're constantly having to ride with short reins and on a contact, this just makes the horse more tense and teaches him that there's something to worry about.

 

[Marigold4]

Update: following advice on here, I've been riding hands free! In order to break the fixation with where my hands and arms are, I've been riding western style, one handed. Horse behaving well even on solo hacks and I am able to experiment more with my position, getting my shoulders back and less hunched. Progress made!

 

[Carrottom]

Update: following advice on here, I've been riding hands free! In order to break the fixation with where my hands and arms are, I've been riding western style, one handed. Horse behaving well even on solo hacks and I am able to experiment more with my position, getting my shoulders back and less hunched. Progress made!

One word of caution - remember to change hands regularly. Through laziness I used to hack with my reins in one hand, usually my right, then I noticed I was riding with my right shoulder forward! It took a conscious effort to ride with reins in both hands to straighten my upper body.

 

[teapot]

This went past earlier, food for thought re rein length and hands

https://www.facebook.com/100063738150942/posts/364174279050508

 

[Marigold4]

This went past earlier, food for thought re rein length and hands

https://www.facebook.com/100063738150942/posts/364174279050508

Thank you for posting this - a really interesting read!

 

[Orangehorse]

For some reason I get a regular Facebook feed from John Thelwell, and I remember he did one post about what to do with "short arms." He has written training books too, and it is well worth getting his posts.

As for the post above from Philippe Karl - isn't that wonderful?

I had a weekend with my horse with a Philippe Karl instructor and he went the best ever. Unfortunately it was too far away to continue lessons.

 

[Marigold4]

For some reason I get a regular Facebook feed from John Thelwell, and I remember he did one post about what to do with "short arms." He has written training books too, and it is well worth getting his posts.

As for the post above from Philippe Karl - isn't that wonderful?

I had a weekend with my horse with a Philippe Karl instructor and he went the best ever. Unfortunately it was too far away to continue lessons.