Hello, i am new on here! I am looking for some help…I have a friend with a reining horse, and she has always been interested in trying some dressage with him. She is currently unable to ride due to a back issue and asked me to help keep her horse in shape while she is off and also teach him a bit of basic dressage. Everything goes great in the walk and trot. He is nice and soft and very sensitive, turns off the leg, and even a bit of legyield and shoulderin have been no trouble at all. But in the canter, he is constantly changing leads and getting confused. I know it is something I am doing but can’t figure it out. He also tends to fall in, and as soon as I try to bend him or push him out, he changes, no matter ow much I keep my outside leg on at the same time. Now he is at the point on changing constantly, even if I just try to sit quietly and not worry about the falling in or lack of bend. I am trying to keep my inside leg off and sit quiet as I can, and keep him going forward with my outside leg. The poor horse and I are both getting confused and frustrated. Any ideas?
Sorry, no answers, just chiming in to say I’ll be watching this thread with interest, as I am currently in the process of messing up a beautifully trained reiner with my clumsy cronish aids.
Keep both legs off of his sides and don’t wear spurs if you are. Be careful not to bump his sides. My old show horse was used for reining before I bought him. I rode a little hunt seat and dressage on him. He was very sensitive, especially to lead changes, you had to be exceptionally careful to keep your legs off of him or he would be doing tempi changes all over the place. Keep both legs off and only cue him forward when you need to, maybe try a clucking sound to get more impulsion rather than leg. It was challenging with my horse but he made me a better rider for it as I learned to be a quieter rider and learned feel.
js gives good tips. The first thing is for you to figure out what his current buttons are, and accommodate that. With time and patience, you ‘can’ teach new buttons, the tip is continual encouragement, he’s trying to understand what you want, so by using current buttons as the base for communication, you can teach new buttons. At the canter- figure out what cues he is responding to for lead changes, at first, just canter each way, on the rail and basic circles, and let him relax and understand that you just want ‘that’ lead til you tell him something else. Over time, start coming out from the rail a bit, and asking for a mini counter canter back to the rail, and build on that. If he tends to fall in, do a little bit of a western riding imitation, rock your pelvis back a bit as though you are pasting your back jeans pockets against the cantle of the western saddle (but maintaining flexibility and staying with his rhythm) and make sure your inside shoulder is raised. I’d just stay very elementary until he can do a balanced circle on elementary contact, when he understands your aids and balance that are associated with that, you’ll be headed in the right direction.
Picasso85, you posted the identical question on the dressage forum.
However before you can teach new buttons, you need to thoroughly understand the hows and whyfors of the old, and the new. This is, I suspect something that is presently not within your grasp.
I repeat, get help! Educated eyes on the ground are worth a thousand words on even as helpful a site as this is.
A reiner or any western horses that does good flying changes, like a western riding horse, changes leads on a loose rein
Thus, since leads start in the back, a lead change is asked for by simply making sure leg is off of the new lead side, thus opening the door, while putting your leg slightly back of the cinch on the old lead, to ask for the change
Since he would have been ridden one handed, the shoulder of the new lead is kept up by holding the rein slightly up at the shoulder of the new lead
If he falls into the circle, use your reins to ask that shoulder to move over,
By using your inside leg, you are confusing him, asking him to change
A good reiner is taught to guide, thus stay evenly between the reins, which are held in one hand, center of mane and keep the rest of his body in aleignment.
The shoulder can be bumped over, etc if he falls in, but you don’t micro manage him between reins and legs constantly, nor do you ask for that lead change with the inside leg
Watch this western riding video, to give you an idea as to how a horse changes leads without rein support-ie hip control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i90uitCdq54
I agree that you have to teach him ‘new buttons’, but first you should try and understand how a reiner is trained in the first place, thus understand why you are not communicating clearly with him
Read some books on reining-Al Dunning,Craig Johnson, Bob Loomas, ect, or watch some training DVDs Larry Trocha has some videos on you tube, concerning teaching the various reining elements
Reiners are taught to run fast large circles and come down to slow small circles. The hand and seat position are critical, moving that horse from either size and speed of circle. You might be accidently cuing him to lope a small circle, as I assume by falling in, you mean his circle becomes smaller, versus dropping that inside shoulder
I agree with KIlObright. It would behoove you to find out what his canter aids are. As a dressage rider, I can say that the description of the aids people have described here are different from how many dressage riders work. Not better, not worse, just different.
Often when horses change leads like that, they are tense because a) they are in pain or b) they are confused and are starting to get frustrated or c) getting too tired to hold the one lead. Can your friend give you a lesson or two and help you figure out his buttons?
A good exercise that can help you is riding a clover-leaf. Put 4 cones in the center of your arena. Ride straight through, go to the end (A) and turn left. Follow the rail and then turn left (at E/B) and go through the cones at a right angle to the path you just made through the cones. Then turn left (E/B) and go A and turn left - ride straight through the cones to C and turn left…repeat repeat. Then do it going right. Start at the trot so your horse learns the pattern. Then do it at the canter. Your horse will know that you are always turning in one direction and aiming for the cones. YOU will have the rails and the corners to balance your horse. An exercise like this takes the pressure off of the question “where are we going???” and you two can learn each others’ aids.
It sounds like you are giving too “loud” of aids when the horse falls in. Maybe he’s falling in because you are leaning in. Instead of applying a loud leg aid (which he’ll take as a cue to change leads), try to subtly shifting your body weight just a BIT to the outside, quietly closing your inside leg. LOOK UP and where you are going. Maybe add an outside opening rein. It sounds like this horse knows his aids and you just have to learn to speak his language a bit better. Sounds like you have a great opportunity riding this guy!
I’m laughing. . . I’m a hunter/jumper rider who just bought a reining horse. ALL sorts of things happen that I have no idea why and how!!! And my english horses all haunches in. shoulder in, leg yield, counter canter, lead change etc etc. . .
I’m starting to figure out the reining thing with much help from my reining trainer. First and foremost, you can ride two handed but remember to let go!! touch the reins to set the head or shoulder and let go. They do not ride on constant contact! Equally important is the release of leg concept. If you want to stop or walk take you leg off and put it forwards. If you want to slow down at the canter, release your inside leg - take it right off.
I also had the lead change problem because I would try to steer him out with my inside leg - reiners change leads by releasing the outside leg (new inside leg) and putting the inside leg (new outside leg) back to push the haunches in the new direction. You can use inside rein to bend him. And most importantly reiners do almost all of their work on the circle. Some of them have no idea how to go around the rail on the ring - Do not do the clover leaf idea - your reining friend will not appreciate that! Also reiners only do walk canter - no trot canter.
It definitely takes time to figure out the aids - but they are really fun to ride once you do!!!
