How do you learn this....

H

hotdog

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to keep your elbows by your side and stop giving the contact away?

I seem to do this all the time and then get really mad at myself at allowing my arms forwards and loosing the contact.

My horse is also very good at evading the contact - ie I try to take a contact - he raises his head and backs off - I use legs to push him forwards but in meantime have let contact go - argh!! then try to take contact again and I'm in a vicous circle.

its like a need a big elastic band around my whole body and arms to keep them by my side

or I thought today about puting velco on the inside of my elbows and on my sides so I could tell when they've moved away.
 
Try this....
The Arm Stabliser
It is american though, not sure if they'd ship it over, but there's an email address so you could ask?
My instructor used to put a whip through the crook of my elbows behind my back!! But they always seemed TOO far back to me!! She used to threaten to tie them to my sides with vet-wrap!! lol
 
I am watching this post with interest as that is exactly what I do. I just have a fear of taking too strong a contact on his mouth and so hurting him, as this was a huge sin, drummed into me as a kid, many, many, moons ago.

So many instructors have told me I am too soft and allow him to get 'away' with it!

Jane
 
that is exaclty what I do and my horse takes the piss out of me too which makes it worse!

I've tried the string between the D rings and looping my little finger through this but find this really hard and when I need to take my arms wider I find this restricting - which is maybe the idea?
 
I do it too! My horse is so used to me giving with my reins that if I do 'fix' my elbows to my side, he wont move or is hard to move.
In the past Ive tried the whip behind my back and through my arms/elbows but I once snapped the whip
blush.gif
. Instructor used to tell me to imagine a big heavy rucksack on my back to try and make me sit back and keep my shoulders back which seems to relax everything else as if your shoulders are back your arms drop down by your side making your elbows rest by your sides. My hubby bought me a shoulders back contraption for xmas. Its not the fabric one but a plastic moulded one which velcros together. Ive not tried it yet though.
Another tip my friend says is to raise my hands, which feels really awkward. It makes you bend your elbows as otherwise you would be riding with straight arms raised in the air!
 
Years ago when I had lessons, my instructor threaded a whip through my arm (at the elbow) round my back and through other arm so that I wouldn't be able to keep moving and throwing the contact away. I was so embarrassed that I didn't dare go back to my old habit just in case she did it again
smile.gif

Worth a try, it might work for you. Good luck.
 
Don't know if this would work but might be worth a try, if you put some flexi-reins on your horse (which have elastic in), this way you could hold the reins more as the contact is much softer/less jerky, so you shouldn't feel the need to give them away all the time and it will be easier to force yourself to keep a consistent rein contact and keep hands and arms etc in the correct position.
 
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