Contact - what should it feel like?!

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Sarah1

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Hi

I was wondering if someone could explain to me what a correct contact should feel like?
My instructor schooled Bailey on Wednesday & I hopped on for 10 mins at the end - he said I'm too soft with him. Said my hands are soft but not effectively soft?!
He said I need to boss him a bit more & as I was hacking him home he was saying more right/left bend, don't let him throw his head up.
He also said I was very rigid in my elbows so although he was telling me to be firm he was telling me to not fix his head in (obviously!). When he started messing with his head & throwing it about he was telling me to kick him on.
Please can someone explain in lay-mans terms what I'm doing wrong & how I can get him to work into a nice contact?!

Thanks
 
I watched a Mark Rashid clinic and he was saying you should put your hands where you want the horse to be and leave the horse alone to find it out for himself so you keep your hands quiet and not fiddle or correct. It made a lot of sense.
he also showed on a scale of 1 - 10 that your contact should feel like a 1.
I find that if Im using my seat properly the horse will round of his own accord but you have to be patient/consistent. Id say that if you get fixated on head carriage through reins you will cause tension probs through the horses body and he'll resist.
Just my opinion though!!
 
Contact - This is a really difficult thing to put into words!

You will never get your (or any) horse correctly into a contact/or outline by using your hands on their own. A good contact starts from your seat (believe it or not) and your calf aids first, (to create the energy/impulsion) then your horse will seek to take a contact, and at this point your horse will need to 'find' nice steady hands at the end of the reins. Not fiddly, sawing hands. Your horse will never find the contact if you ride on the buckle, but equally will be hampered if your contact is too hard and reins too short.

So, your hands are the last part of the 'recipie' for getting an outline. seat, then legs, then hands.

Sorry thats a bit waffly, but its really hard to put 'contact' into words really. i guess you just have to experiment!
 
OK - First of all people get all over excited about where their horses head is. Remember everything comes from the 'engine' ie the hind quarters. The horses must be moving forward with energy NOT speed. Keep your hands soft but with your fingers wrapped around the reins - not open fingered. Keep the elbow soft and give from the elbow when your horse gives to you. It's a two way thing!! Keep introducing half halts to re balance Bailey and keep the energy that you have created from going out the 'front door' Keep an eye on your position and keep using the weight aids.
The 'bennding is actually flexion. A supple horse is an easy horse to ride! Think of using your inside leg to create an inside bend and keep the inside hand still and just at wither height. Don't use to much inside rein as this causes the horse to escape out through the outside shoulder. The flexion should be soft and small - just so that you can see the eyelashes. When he throws his head up it a bit of an evasion - assuming back saddle teeth etc are all ok - it's hard work for them so keep the hand still and push him forward into the bridle and then relax. When he has done good - reward him when it goes wrong ignore it - don't get upset and angry !!

If you don't understand anything ask your instructor to explain - if you don't understand ask again !! Good luck
 
Best description I ever heard about cotact is this - pretend you're holding a bird in your hands. Hold on too hard and you'll squish it. Don't hold on tight enough and it'll fly away. Plus, you need to make tiny adjustments in your grip to allow for the fact that the bird is breathing in and out. I always imagine that when I'm thinking about contact.
 
QR - thanks everyone for taking the time to reply!
I know that an outline doesn't come from your hands - I know the horse has to be going forward 1st & then everything should slot into place but I'm obviously doing something fundamentally wrong! I wonder if it's my seat?
I try to keep my hands soft as I know I should fiddle his head into place - my instructor told me to flex him from side to side to 'break his neck' up as he sets it & gets very stiff on the right side.
I've had his teeth & saddle checked in the last few weeks & am waiting for the physio so hopefully we'll rule out any physical reasons!
How should I use my seat? Could I be sitting too heavy causing his back to hollow?
 
Getting a horse to work through is quite hard work and can take a long time so it not necessarily the case that there is something physically wrong with your horse, although cheking the usual 'suspects' (teeth, saddle, back) is always a good idea.

For me contact is having the horse 'fill up' the bit from the energy that comes from behind, so neither too heavy and on the forehand, nor too light and behind the bit, nor with the mouth clamped around the bit and head wherever the horse feels like. It might be helpful to get some lunge lessons where you can concentrate on your position and getting yourself in the right place to be able to influence the horse best. In general to create impulsion, try to use your hips, thrusting forward, when you rise in the trot and try a lot of transitions.

If you don't mind me saying so, I am not entirely certain your instructor is helping you much from what you say so perhaps it might be worth trying someone else just to see what they have to offer?
 
My instructor said you should hold the reins like you were holding a mouse, when you ask for the contact, keep the outside rein firm and still and squeeze the 'mouse' in the inside hand. The idea being that you have the horse going nicely forward at the speed and pace of your choosing, you ask politely and you know the horse is working properly because he's on the bit but doesn't feel very heavy.

If he pokes his nose, get onto him straight away, asking with the inside hand. If he grinds to a halt, kick him on straight away - don't worry about the contact. It's more important that he goes forward first. The horse will find it easier to work into the contact on a circle, hence the bend your instructor is talking about. Don't get stuck on that, just work him in a circle and when you have him going nicely, go large. If he chucks his head (and lots of them do), just keep asking and bring him back onto a circle.

It helps not to stare obsessively at the horse's head to see whether he's on the bit as it actually tilts you forward and you end up pushing the reins down onto the withers and can't get a good feel. Sit up, look over the horse between his ears, drive forward. When he's accepting the contact and on the bit, keep as still as you can, that's his reward. When he prats about like a giraffe, you make it uncomfortable for him by driving him forward and then asking insistently.

Apologies for the essay! It seriously helps to have a lesson on a horse that knows its stuff, so you can get a feel for what you should be doing. Then you'll know whether the problems are you or the horse being stubborn.
 
Thanks for the reply! I'm actually booked in to have a lunge lesson tomorrow at a nearby school! Hopefully it'll go ok...?!
I didn't want to give the impression my instructor wasn't helping - he's brilliant to be honest & is an exceptionally good rider himself - makes me sick!
He usually rides 1st - he likes to 'feel' how Bailey is going before instructing me (novice rider!) on how to get him to go well - sure the bu**er was born with natural ability!
I think I'm just a bit slow & not fully understanding what he's telling me...?!
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I'm trying not to obsess about it but unfortunately it's my nature to over analyse everything!
I do try not to fixate on what his head is doing but it's really frustrating as my instructor has him dancing & I get on after he's worked him & Bailey feels like a different animal so I know he's capable of doing what I'm trying to ask but I'm the numpty who can't get him to do it!!!!!
I've felt how he should feel when he's working correctly & being completely single-minded I won't be happy til I get that feel everytime I ride...& get the feel myself!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone for their replies - they are helping me understand it better so please keep the comments coming!
 
Buy yourself a personal CD player and either download some music or get Claire Lilly's CD. Ride in the school when no one is around and just 'feel'. Dont ask for anything at first. If you are able, ask someone to lead you or put you on the lunge so that you can close your eyes and feel what the horses legs are doing, what your body is doing. Play with your horse whilst listening to the music. Try shifting your weight, half halting with each rein, using left leg then right leg with different rein contact. Try sitting for two and rising for two, then three etc.

This is the way I got to 'feel' my mare and to play with her alone in the school so there was no pressure from anyone. Imagine that you are in a new car and see what each button does when you press it.

Unfortunately there are no short cuts to getting the feel, it will happen in time, I promise.
 
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