Do some horses prefer a stronger contact?

[GreenEyedMonster]

Do you think some horses benefit from having a stronger contact?

I'm not talking about strong or naughty horses, I just mean in general.


My schoolmaster is 20 on Monday and all the years I have had him he never liked anyone taking a contact as he was so so sensitive, we managed well enough though, so naturally I assume now that I should ride every horse as softly as I possible can.

Except, my new horse, who is 11 but quite green, seems to prefer me taking a slightly stronger contact. I tried treating her the same as my other horse as she has a nice soft mouth but she wouldn't seek the contact or work in a nice round frame unless I actually took a feel of the bit - and when I do she is fab and she will seek that feel much more consistently and when I lengthen my reins but maintain that feel she will seek it down or come back up, it's great.

I'm just conscious that some people say all horses should be ridden with a light contact and you should never take the contact but allow them to seek it, with the exception of my schoolmaster who is very hot headed and sharp anyway, but she just goes correctly and more consistent when I take a feel, so is that normal?

Just to clarify, she isn't leaning or on the forehand or strong, I can certainly tell the difference between that and a happy horse who is working from the leg to my hand.

 

[Kylara]

Having a contact and having a horse heavy in the hand are different. Some horses prefer you to be more "there" for them when they are green as they take some of their balance from you, whilst others have good balance and the contact can be less "there". Either way you should be able to feel them at the end of the rein and they should have some weight.
A hard mouthed horse or a horse that is heavy in the hand are different in that the first will feel more solid and inflexible, which encourages you to take an even stronger contact to get the correct feel (vicious cycle!) and a heavy in the hand will feel heavy and will lean/pull on your, not necessarily just your hand but you whole body can be influenced by this, and the rider can feel as if they are holding the entire front end of the horse.

But yes, some horses take the contact up mnore forcefully than others. The best thing to do practicing with a very green horse are slow give and retakes. If they collapse in the give then they are leaning on you and not carrying themselves yet, if they don't then they have self carriage. The contact you feel when doing the take on the horse that held itself together in the give is the right sort of contact, the one from the collapse is not. As horse's train their contact can change and even during a session. I used to ride a lovely horse who would be very strong in the contact for the first 20 minutes and then would go beautifully light and in the hand. Good contact throughout, but it would diminish in the strength between hand and mouth. Not by much, but enough to feel the difference.

 

[Mooseontheloose]

I think also there is some confusion between a light contact and basically a loose rein. A consistent light contact is something a horse often appreciates. I think of it as the feel a child gets when it's happily walking along holding it's mother's hand. It feels safe, secure and it's not about to step under a bus!
An inconsistent contact is often very confusing for a horse.

 

[rachk89]

I think some can be different. I am used to taking a stronger contact with a horse and they are working correctly but they just like the stronger contact.

My horse gets tense if your reins get too tight. He works better if you just do the normal push him forward from behind into a contact and keep fairly long reins and he just drops his head taking the contact. Don't have to ask really just keep pushing him forward if he slacks off and gets lazy. I can only shorten my reins for jumping really as with long reins i have no control at all.

 

[smja]

Yes, they do have preferences - much like us riders.

All horses should be ridden with a consistent, following contact. That may be light, medium, or firm depending on the horse's personality, stage of training, and what activity they're doing.

Allowing them to seek the contact rather than taking it is all very well with a horse that knows its job. If the horse has no idea what the contact is, how does it know to seek it out? That's the job of the rider, to educate the horse.

 

[anuvb]

Agree with all of the above but will also caveat it and say that it often depends on the stage in training and how they are trained too. A horse that is working 'through' and using its back end will have a much more elastic contact regardless of its stage of training than a horse that has been run at a jump on it's forehand for years. Similarly a horse that has just been backed and is learning to use itself under saddle will feel different to a horse at advanced level dressage. This is where experience and 'feel' from the rider comes in.

 

[EQUIDAE]

I think some horses have only known a strong contact and they think that is the way to go. My new boy is a schoolmaster and I was surprised about how much contact I needed - half halts weren't a squeeze of the fingers he needs and active pull. However over the past 3 weeks I have been working on riding him into the contact and not holding him, getting him balanced enough to hold himself, and now he is as light in the mouth as my youngsters. Noisy hands and noisy legs can equally switch the horse off - teaching lighter aids makes it nicer for them, and easier for us.