I’ve been working on some fundamental carriage things with my hunter/jumper. We’ve been doing well, working on flexibility and reaching into the bit for now but I don’t know how teach western horses how to do this. Of course I want them to carry their head low but I don’t want then reaching for my contact nessecarly but I do want to fix my western horses carriage so that they ride with their head stretched out and low, their back rounded, their legs underneath of them, and properly supple. I’m not sure how to teach it to them when I ride with long loopy reins on these horses. Informational books/websites are good if you guys know any but just let me know how you get your western horses collected! thanks!
I ride with contact on the bit in the beginning to teach them to travel collected. Of course, also properly using use your seat and legs to drive them along - use the reins as support. Eventually, you give them a chance to continue traveling correct without the rein contact. If they fall apart, no big deal, pick the reins up, fix them, and then try again. As long as they stay correct, you leave them alone and let them carry on.
Eventually the horse learns to carry on without the rein contact, and you can use a longer shank curb bit so that the horse will “feel” a correction in the reins and you can still keep your rein movement subtle (if you need to pick up on them a smidge).
Of course, just as it’s not a quick thing to teach English hunters, it’s not a quick thing to teach collection on a loose rein!
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