Riding help! How to soften hands

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111ex111

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Okay I have got into this bad habbit of gripping the reins hard with my hands to the point that they ache after 10 mins! When I soften them I feel like I dont have enough contact with the horse to be able to give clear enough aids.

I really dont know what else to try! any help would be appreciated :)
 
you've got to relax them :) when i learnt to ride my instructor used to either tell me to imagine i were holding little hamsters with their heads poking out the top so if i squeezed too hard the hamster would get squashed. she's also brought up water baloons before and gave me those to hold, again, if i squeezed too hard they'd pop and i'd be soaked. :)
 
when i learnt to ride my instructor used to either tell me to imagine i were holding little hamsters with their heads poking out the top so if i squeezed too hard the hamster would get squashed.
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I was taught in a similar way - only I was told to imagine holding small birds. Hold them too loosely and they fly away, but hold too tight and you kill them. :D :p
 
A brilliant instructor told me to think of pushing, not pulling when you hold your hands. It is a minimal change in appearence but makes a huge amount of difference in how you use them. The softening will come with practice.
 
Oh, I know! :D

Could you not wear gloves and insert a sliver of sponge (not very thick) down your middle finger so that you can feel when you're squeezing too hard and it's flat and when you're relaxed and leaving it squishy?
 
I agree with the others as in it could be a sign of you being a bit too tense, but could it also be that you are trying to balance using your hands? If you could be a little unbalanced then maybe some lunge lessons would help, either on your horse or a schoolmaster at a good riding school.
 
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