Quiet Hands/Independent Seat

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nato

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My mare likes to find ways to evade the contact, and as a result I need to ride her with an elastic but quiet contact. I can do this relatively alright in walk and canter, but in rising trot I really struggle. She goes beautifully in sitting trot as I'm not moving my hands about and I find I can keep my hands independent of my body in sitting. When I rise to the trot my hands move a lot - both up and down as I rise (not drastically but I know it's happening!) and forward and back too.

Can anyone recommend anything that I can do to quieten my hands, to allow me an elastic contact that's not dependent on my seat?

Lunge lessons not an option at the moment, I work with an instructor but trying to do as much work in between lessons as possible.
 
1. Try resting your hands on the withers/neck as you rise and sit at rising trot. Focus on how much your joints move as you go up and down, then lift your hands up and try to keep the same amount of movement in the joints. Give your shoulders a little wiggle every now and again too, so that they don't get too tense.
2. Rising trot without stirrups. This helps stop you rising too far out of the saddle, which can be a cause of unsteady hands. You only need to rise up just enough to take the 'bump' away. Don't do too much to start with or you could strain muscles!

Good on you for trying to improve your rein contact :)
 
Thank you :) I hate the idea of constantly niggling at my horse and confusing her with an inconsistent contact as she tries her little heart out and gives me her full attention in all our sessions. Would never want to hurt or impede her!

I will give those a try - also willing to do work out of the saddle to help. Am looking at Pilates!
 
Whatever you do, don't fix your hands, or lower them! There HAS TO BE a straight line from the horse's mouth/bit to your elbow. Try riding with the reins in your left hand only; a very useful exercise, much neglected/unknown in this part of the world.
 
Imagine putting your hands out in front of you, and rising by swinging your hips to your hands (not actually but just the mental image helps) rather than trying to compensate for your rising with your hands. I have this problem and what helps me is focusing on my whole position rather than just my hands. Make sure your lower leg is secure (you shouldn't be pushing down on the stirrups to rise, it comes more from the hips) and make sure you are sitting for long enough and not rising too high. Also relaxed shoulders, and relaxed elbows.

There's a knack! Like Cortez said you will only feel it properly when there is a straight line to the bit, and when you feel it, it will all fall into place. I still can't do it consistently but I've improved a lot, having someone on the ground to yell at you helps.
 
A good few years ago now my old instructor, obviously fed up of my constant faffing, had me cross the reins over so I held the left in my right hand and right rein in my left. Then had me carry on the lesson like this. My word it made me keep my hands still! Its horrendous but really helped me.
 
It helps me NOT to think of keeping my hands still but of keeping my elbows really soft and mobile, and in my head the right "stillness" feels more like pushing my hands down as I rise. I'm not, but that's the image that works for me.
 
An exercise that I think is both helpful and amusing is to carry two glasses (use plastic cups!) filled with water. One in each hand + reins... Try not to spill any. Ive seen this used with children mostly but I think it will give a clear idea of how much your hands are actually moving and force you to compensate accordingly to not spill everything. On the other hand, totally fixed hands are not what you want either... So try it to get the feel for it but don't get too hung up on it.
 
I agree that it's all in the elbow. I used to HATE my hands when I was younger, they seemed to move up and down with me in rising trot! I bought a flatwork tutorial DVD by Lucinda Green and she said focus on bending your arms at the elbows so your hands always stay in the same place. Haven't struggled since!

I think maybe it's also a balance thing? Any core exercises you could do to try and improve that strength, then you may not be depending on your hands as much.
 
You MUST ensure your shoulders and elbows are relaxed and stay relaxed for a start, a rigid elbow does not provide an elastic contact and cannot be independent from the seat.

Try to think about contracting your stomach muscles tightly, almost breathing in and holding your breath (only for a couple of strides) and feel like you are ‘pushing down’ with your pelvis into the saddle.

Basically, as basic as it sounds, as soon as your seat/ core is properly ‘connected’ and ‘engaged’ and your seat bones both in place, your arms/hands automatically become more independent, as do your lower thighs/calves/feet.

Your seat is more independent in the sitting trot because you are probably engaging yourself and your core more, therefore releasing your arms/hands.

Lunge lessons really are best, but if not, riding without stirrups in sitting trot, solely concentrating on your seat and position and the feeling of ‘pushing/bearing down’ and keeping yourself in balance without relying on the reins at all. Things like yoga/ pilates/ gym balls etc.

However, really, IMO it doesn’t matter how much yoga/pilates you do, constantly being self-aware is really the key.
 
Or of course you could just not do rising trot? My trainer is rather unusual on this front and says that he rarely sees riders who are able to maintain their balance let alone influence the horse's balance in rising trot. Can't remember the last time I went rising.

:ducksandrunsforcover:
 
paddy said:
Or of course you could just not do rising trot? My trainer is rather unusual on this front and says that he rarely sees riders who are able to maintain their balance let alone influence the horse's balance in rising trot. Can't remember the last time I went rising.

:ducksandrunsforcover:
Click to expand...

Fair point though, my horse def prefers when I sit to his trot but I just find it so hard I can't do it for very long! I know I should do it more, I promise I will try next time I'm schooling x
 
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