Soft hands?

[Horseperson432]

Over this period of lockdown I’m really trying to use it for training, in particular I want to sort my position. I find myself riding with my hands quite far up my horses neck and would love to work on having softer hands. I struggle as he tends to run away from me when jumping at home. Any tips/ training ideas for stopping him doing this whilst maintaining soft hands? TIA

 

[be positive]

Your hands are influenced by having a secure seat, strong core and soft elbows that open and close easily when required, rather than the hands being soft it is the rest of you that will be strong/ secure allowing your hands to doing less, if they end up going up his neck that suggests your core is also going forward which in turn may give him more chance to run away out of rhythm.

Without seeing you that is obviously a guess based on my experience, I would be working on getting your weight back, using your seat to slow him down at all times, not just jumping, aim for more bend in the elbows so they can open if required, when coming into jumps I often ask riders to just open their fingers a little which allows the horse to take their nose forward but means the rider stays in a more secure position than them trying to push the hands forward too early, it is useful when doing pole exercises so you remain sitting really securely but open the fingers so the horse has a little freedom and they often start to rush a bit less, jumping a little more often can help with the rushing as it is less of a big deal, it can be better to do several short sessions a week than one longer one where it can be a bit too demanding or exciting for the horse.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would stop jumping and concentrate on work without stirrups to improve your core stability, if you really must ride at this time.

As bp says without seeing you it sounds as if you are leaning forward, out of the saddle and my first thought was your elbows need to be soft.

 

[Horseperson432]

Your hands are influenced by having a secure seat, strong core and soft elbows that open and close easily when required, rather than the hands being soft it is the rest of you that will be strong/ secure allowing your hands to doing less, if they end up going up his neck that suggests your core is also going forward which in turn may give him more chance to run away out of rhythm.

Without seeing you that is obviously a guess based on my experience, I would be working on getting your weight back, using your seat to slow him down at all times, not just jumping, aim for more bend in the elbows so they can open if required, when coming into jumps I often ask riders to just open their fingers a little which allows the horse to take their nose forward but means the rider stays in a more secure position than them trying to push the hands forward too early, it is useful when doing pole exercises so you remain sitting really securely but open the fingers so the horse has a little freedom and they often start to rush a bit less, jumping a little more often can help with the rushing as it is less of a big deal, it can be better to do several short sessions a week than one longer one where it can be a bit too demanding or exciting for the horse.

Thank you so much! That really helped. I generally find that if anything when jumping I sit back a lot more (I’ve got into the habit of doing it after riding a stopper) and can find my riding can be really quite defensive. Makes me wonder if I should sit slightly less deep and make more use of my seat in different ways. I am not jumping at the moment due to the virus so I will definitely be working on my seat etc when doing flat work

 

[be positive]

Thank you so much! That really helped. I generally find that if anything when jumping I sit back a lot more (I’ve got into the habit of doing it after riding a stopper) and can find my riding can be really quite defensive. Makes me wonder if I should sit slightly less deep and make more use of my seat in different ways. I am not jumping at the moment due to the virus so I will definitely be working on my seat etc when doing flat work

Sitting behind the movement, riding defensively can make the horse tight and inclined to rush, now is the time to try new things, obviously sensibly, a slight adjustment to your position can make a huge difference to how the horse goes and how quietly you can ride, polework is really useful now with jumping off the agenda.

 

[Littlebear]

Your hands are influenced by having a secure seat, strong core and soft elbows that open and close easily when required, rather than the hands being soft it is the rest of you that will be strong/ secure allowing your hands to doing less, if they end up going up his neck that suggests your core is also going forward which in turn may give him more chance to run away out of rhythm.

Without seeing you that is obviously a guess based on my experience, I would be working on getting your weight back, using your seat to slow him down at all times, not just jumping, aim for more bend in the elbows so they can open if required, when coming into jumps I often ask riders to just open their fingers a little which allows the horse to take their nose forward but means the rider stays in a more secure position than them trying to push the hands forward too early, it is useful when doing pole exercises so you remain sitting really securely but open the fingers so the horse has a little freedom and they often start to rush a bit less, jumping a little more often can help with the rushing as it is less of a big deal, it can be better to do several short sessions a week than one longer one where it can be a bit too demanding or exciting for the horse.

Great advice above!
Totally agree, also try putting 2 poles a fair distance apart and count the strides between, then try and adjust the number of strides without using the reins, chuck them away if you can safely or keep a loose rein if you need to then see how much of your seat and weight aids you are using to influence, if you cant use the reins you cant cheat! Just keep adjusting the pace using your body, start small and build up till it becomes second nature to use your body rather than your hands, takes a while to get out the habit and find your balance. Also trying cantering a pole and then coming to a stop without the reins, don't expect perfection first go, just take your time to slow down and finally stop until you can canter stop canter stop on command without using the reins.