Get out of your horse’s face! Tips for better hands while you ride

If you've ever had a trainer or riding instructor tell you…

“Get out of your horse's face!!”

or

“let your horse do its job!!”

But you are not sure what to do to make it better, than this article is for you.

3 tips to improve they way you use your

Tip #1

Keep your hands down.

The ideal spot that you want your hands while you ride is right next to your saddle horn just above the saddle blanket in front of the swell of the saddle horn.

You only wanna use your hand and pick it up when you're giving a cue to your horse. Then place your hand right back in front of the Saddle horn.

When you are asking for maneuver with your hands, you should get that maneuver within a step or two.

I always tell my riding students; “give a cue, hand down. Stop, hand down. Turn, hand down”. Don’t let your hand(s) float around in nowhere land with not purpose.

Tip #3

Get good at your rein management.

I see so I see so many riders grab ahold of their reins in one spot and they never change it the entire time they they ride. Your reins should be sliding through your hands with give and take depending on what you were trying are to communicate to your horse.

A technique that I tell my riding students is to put both hands on the reins close together, then open their hands to where the reins will slide through them, spread their hands out to the side, letting the rein slide through their hands, then grip the reins with their hands wide, then bring their hands back together, forming a loop between between their hands.

This this gives the rider the ability to adjust the tightness of their reins without having to stop and tighten and loosen them all the time.

The other strategy for for managing your reins, is to not is to not ride with stiff arms. You should be bending in all of the joints of your arm. This helps give and take your reins without having to slide your reins (which can be a challenge to learn at first).

Roll your wrists for a subtle take take and give.

Bend your elbows for a more dramatic give and take.

Use your shoulders as a pendulum for the most dramatic give and take.

Tip #3

Keep your hands flat.

That does not mean riding with your with your palms down and the back of your hands to the sky. What I'm talking about is riding with your hands in the same plane at all times.

What I have my riders do a lot is hold a stick between their hands with their reins. They have to keep the stick flat and parallel to the ground with every cue they give. That will cause the rider to move the reins in and out, side to side, but never up and down

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Happy trails!