help with rein back please??

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el_Snowflakes

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Hi,

I sometimes have trouble carrying out rein back with my horse. She tends to get p*ssed off & throws her head about or she will step back and swing round, either way she never seems to happy about it (teeth, back and saddle all fine) any tips?
 
ahh my boy does this too! I found that the moment he started to think backwards I had to soften my hand completely. Also, does she go back from a voice command on the yard? That tends to help if they respond to the voice. You could also try having someone on the ground to encourage them backwards, as you would if they were on the yard. Hope this helps :) (and makes sense! lol) xx
 
as above, the quality of the halt hugely affects the rein back. the halt needs to be balanced, square, engaged, and still forward-thinking... you should ask for rein-back immediately after getting a good halt, not wait a few seconds and then ask. also, the aids for the rein-back, esp on a sensitive horse, don't really involve the reins... sliding both reins back lightly, and lightening the seat, are enough to get a good rein back.
 
My husband's youngster got quite upset about rein back, and would dance about an occasionally threaten to rear, even if someone was on the ground. He would move back withour a rider, but got confused and upset if he had a rider onboard. I found that using a gate helped - asking for rein back when there was a gate opening towards him, so that it "made sense" to him to go backwards. Once he got used to the aids being given while opening a gate he understood what the aids meant without a gate, and I had no problems from then on without the gate... Strange, but it worked!
 
I found with the current Appy, that ensuring she understood the voice command first was the real key, then lifting my seat, moving my lower leg back, ever so slightly, and making sure that both legs were absolutely putting equal pressure on her sides, worked to keep her straight. Hope that helps
 
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