draw reins

AnnaPK said:
I called him today and spoke on my concerns with him as otherwise I would worry about it until my next lesson. His theory here is if he went to lean on my hand (as previously mentioned they would go from the D ring to the bit to my hand rather than from the girth) he would be leaning on himself which would be more stable, as when he goes to learn on me I can hold for a certain amount of time but not for a whole dressage test, he thinks the consistency of the pressure from him pulling on him rather than me will teach him to hold himself? I wonder what this thread thinks about this explanation, on one level it makes some sense to me in that if he where to lean the pressure, asking him to hold himself, would be both instantaneous (rather than me having to react and tell him off as one used said by half halting to bring him off the forehand) and much more stable than myself. On another level I really worry about him falling behind the vertical, which is why I have him in such a light bit with no tongue pressure ( its a miler bit, cant remember exactly which but looks like a happy bomber a little) and why I dont agree with just putting a Waterford bit in his mouth either as one of my friends suggested. I feel like im receiving allot of conflicting opinions. with this context, of what my instructor was thinking, does this change anyones opinion at all? Personally, Im not convinced. But, I do trust his judgement and he has known our partnership for 2 years. Id love to hear more from previous commenters?
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Thank you,
Anna
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When you learn to school your horse onto his hocks rather than his forehand you will probably find he no longer needs to lean.

Try riding squares.
 
How old is this horse and what has he done prior to you getting him?

How much experience do you have in schooling dressage?

Is he showing and other behaviours/trends in his training or management?

What you need is for him to be able to take more weight behind, sit and push, and be more in self carriage. I’m not a complete no to draw reins in some circumstances but this is not one of those.

So what you need to consider is if this is an age / strength/ level of training issue or whether there is something additional/physical that means it’s extra difficult for him. Perhaps a combination of the two.
 
Horses lean because they aren't taking the weight behind - that can be education, medical issues, inexperience etc

Fixing that isn't a quick process and unfortunately you will need a trainer who can work with you on exercises to help. It absolutely isn't a case of you not being strong enough - none of us are and it shouldn't be a battle.
 
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