How to have soft hands
Often in a quest to use the seat as a slowing aid, and from wanting to have the horse respond to seat aids, the seat and hands become stuck together in a brace, kind of ganging up together against the horse. The seat can be used as a slowing aid, but horses also need to be taught to slow from a rein aid, and trying to teach both at the same time is confusing for the horse and usually causes bracing in the rider.Soft hands can only be achieved if the rider is able to use hands without seat.Here’s how to use soft hands, and teach the horse to respond lightly to a rein aid. To be carried out in walk first:1. Allowing the horse to walk at a pace that they choose (so not pushing them on or slowing them down) allow the seat to move passively so that it synchronises perfectly with the horse’s movement, with the rider in balance so that they don’t need to use any gripping or strong muscles to stay synchronised with the horse, and bearing in mind that the left and right side of the back move separately and the seat must also.2. Develop independent hands that can move in any direction without changing the balance of the seat.. so they feel separate from the rest of the body.3. Learn how to soften the rider’s “arm circle”: their fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders and jaw.4. Allow the soft arms to move precisely with the horse’s head wherever it is.5. Apply all rein aids with the motion of the head and neck and in the same direction, not against. For example, if using a rein aid to ask the horse to slow the walk, this must be applied as the head is nodding up towards the rider, not as it is nodding down away from them.6. When a rein aid is applied, the rider must first check connection, balance and synchronisation of the seat, separateness of the arms, and then apply the aid without any tension in the arm circle, ensuring the arms remain separate from the body so that the seat is not affected in any way by the use of the rein aid. They must release the rein as soon as the horse begins to respond.7. If the rider encounters a hard feeling of bracing in the jaw or neck, they must return to passive synchronisation of the hands and seat, ask the horse to release the brace, and then reapply the rein aid with correct timing once the brace has released. They should never pull against a hard, braced front end.This way of riding nurtures a soft and confident contact which allows for clear communication. The seat can also be used toslow the horse: ultimately the horse can be slowed from seat alone. The rider needs to be clear whether they are using seat or hands at any one moment. They shouldn’t be used simultaneously. However, once a rider has learned to use them completely separately, they may use a combination of seat and hands one after the other in quick succession when teaching the horse.From soft hands in the rider to soft back, neck and mouth in the horse, the reins feel like beautiful threads of silk connecting the two.
