Hello everyone,
I have a bad habit of opening and closing my fingers on the reins. I do it without realizing it and I know it will not help in the long run in creating a consistent contact. Does anyone else have this problem or tips on how to stop? TIA
Have a few lessons where your instructor puts bills of (your) money between your fingers and they get to keep whatever you drop. :lol:
In all seriousness, I think what helped me most was just complete mindfulness. I spent a decent chunk of time willing to let everything else go by the wayside to specifically focus on what I was doing with my hands, until it became muscle memory. I had an abysmal habit of being too busy (my hand would “open”, and then my fingers would also open/separate as well) and it drove my horse to distraction. I think I spent a month? one winter just really working on my hand. Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness. (It was very frustrating and not much fun, but definitely reaped massive rewards.)
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I have this problem too, my joints are bad in my right hand and I have a lot of trouble keeping my fingers closed. I even drop my reins, often over jumps (really bad, I know)
I don’t have​​​​​​ any great cures, but it helps me to use slightly thicker reins. I like ones that are leather wrapped in rubber for schooling.
I used to have one of those stress balls in my car and would practice squeezing that while sitting in traffic, but I lost it before I could really see if it was effective or not.
Do you use reins with stops? They will make you much more aware of what you are doing with your hands and give you a definite place to “be.”
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Spend some time holding pebbles/small rocks in your hands. For me, thinner reins are more comfortable and I have an easier time with them. Like someone else said, it’s best to focus on one problem at a time. Last summer I spent a month or so focusing a lot on my lower leg position and now it’s fi
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I agree with the person who suggested the reins with stops - knowing which stop I should be on made a big difference in my ability to keep my reins the right length. I also have really small hands, so I’m picky about what type of reins I use. I want them thin and skinny.
Hopefully being extra aware of your rein length will encourage you to keep your hands closed.
I have a cheap pair of non-slip reins with colored stops which also helps. They’re nice for lessons too.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/camelot-antislip-color-reins-8966
When my kid had this issues, just from not paying attention and realizing she was doing it, I would ball up a wad of duct tape where the sticky part was on the outside and make her hold it with the reins She couldn’t open her fingers due to the tape… After about a month of consistently doing this and using driving reins holding a small rubber ball with her actual instructor, she broke her habit. Every time she dropped the ball, she had to clean a stall or paddock.
Its different if you are having difficulty from hand strength and need physical therapy. My kids was just focused so focused on legs and seat, she would forget about her hands.
Sometimes adding a little grippy colored tape to the reins is enough of a mental additive to make you focus on your hands.
The fact that you realize you do this means you should focus on that. Always make a mental note. I use reins with stops. One instructor would put white braiding tape on the stop where your hands must stay. You can visually look down and check. Correcting this can be so beneficial in the rest of your ride.
Well, you want an elastic connection…but you don’t want your horse’s head to be wagging. What does your horse do when you open & close? Is this subconsciously part of your half halt? When do you catch yourself doing this…when your horse comes against your hand, when you need to rebalance, when your horse gets heavy, when you want flexion? I would try to retrain your brain into doing something else…for instance, when you catch yourself doing this, do a double handed release & then re-establish the contact. If you force yourself to counter this tendency, you may end up riding around with a death grip…which isn’t good either.
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Whenever you have a free moment say, watching television , just hold your fingers as if you were holding a rein. In fact, if you’ve got an old pair of reins or a broken rein even better.
The correct hand position for holding the rein is fingers flat against the palm with single rein threaded through the 3rd finger and the pinkie and out through the thumb and index finger. The thumb should not be flat but pressing into the index finger.
Don’t clench your fist. Just use enough pressure to keep your fingers against your palm.
Practice holding your hand in this position when you get the chance. If you use real reins to do this even better.
Give yourself a few minutes each day. See how long you can hold this position without your fingers coming open.
If you find your hand becomes tired you are probably gripping too tightly.
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you find this tip useful.
Do you wear gloves? If not you should.
You may fiddle a lot because you are still learning to balance independent of your hands. When your horse moves or changes it puts pressure on your hands maybe causing you to loosen your grip so you don’t tip forward. Mine improved with time and more balancing exercises.
I also had a trainer once tell me that riding with loose grip showed my lack of commitment lol.
Edit: a little weight lifting tip/ exercise: imagine your hands as hooks. That will keep you from over gripping too. Don’t tire your arms over gripping then going too lose.
Just think about keeping your thumb down on the rein. Later you can think about keeping your pinkie up as well.
Somewhat along the lines of AB’s response, try spending time off your horse visualizing your hands quietly closed but not tense or clenching. In other words, imagine your perfect hands during your perfect ride…frequently, in as great a detail as possible and repeatedly until that is your mental normal. I know it sounds a bit nuts but in my opinion it’s usually the mental aspect of the habit that is most difficult to break more so than a lacking in hand strength. If your horse is heavy in your hand to the point of causing fatigue that would be an entirely different issue to address. I’m guessing when you are mindful of your hands while in the saddle you are able to keep them quiet but they revert to having their own ideas when you are concentrating on something else. I had a similar issue with breaking my right wrist. I could not seem to make a straight wrist my default position unless I was concentrating on that alone. No amount of instructor correction could completely eliminate the habit. It was incredibly frustrating because I knew its effect on the connection with my very sensitive horse and I was desperate to fix it. I picked up a book on sports psychology and found that visualization really helped me. It was easy, cheap and sort of fun. I felt like I was practicing the replacement good habit far more often than I had been able to in the saddle. I no longer have the floppy right wrist issue but I still occasionally imagine having that perfect, straight, elastic connection…while mowing, sitting in traffic, making dinner, wherever. It seems to work for me.
Lol my trainer has threatened to duct tape my hands closed.
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I’m no help, I have this issue to…
“WTF did you just do with your hands?”
Me, looking down “No idea”
I now know what I do, but have no idea WHY I do it…but trying to be more aware and stop doing it!
I keep a baby’s sippy cup (with 2 handles) in my tack room. When a student has trouble keeping their fingers closed, I have them hold the cup handles, with a rein in each. That nearly always does the trick. On the rare occasion that it doesn’t, I put water in the cup. the fear of spilling the water usually keeps their fingers closed.
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For me, I was doing weird hand things when I would clench my thumb down flat. It needs to be slightly bent.
Mindfulness, as others said. Spend a few weeks concentrating on hands only.
Hold dollar bills with your thumbs. If you drop them, they are no longer yours.
These are on my wish list!
Supposedly they also make “rainbow reins” in less obnoxious muted browns/tans and black/grays. My trainer sent me a link when I said I was going to buy colored reins to help myself out with a not-so-subtle hint that she would not appreciate bright colors or pastels. :lol:
Of course, can’t find the line for the life of me now…
