[QUOTE=belgianWBLuver;8964519]
Back on subject, Interestingly enough, I was taught, as a groom, years ago by Henriquet to lower the hands to get an unsubmissive horse (an OTTB) to lower his head.
It was difficult work at best, and never really produced softness from the jaw, or flexion from the poll.
Here is a paragraph from this article - which is in fact Karl’s letter to Henriquet:
[B]"THE “LOW HANDS” OPTION
By virtue of a simplistic concept of the “mise-en-main”, limited to the unconditional “ramener” (end and means), the rider sets his hands low (some even hunch themselves up on the horse to put their hands at the knee level). This gives a crude action on the tongue (a hypersensitive organ). The horse tries to escape this pain by going above the hand. The rider resists (when he doesn’t pull) and pushes to overcome the perverse effects of this hand brake. A vicious cycle ensues. We all know what follows… palliatives of all kinds. This approach condemns itself simply by the fact that it requires the systematic use of instruments of coercion (side reins on the lunge, draw reins, specially designed crank nosebands, tight curb chains, etc.)…"
[/B]
I, later, abandoned this “Low Hands” methode and found the other methode beginning with relaxation of the horse’s jaw, etc. - described in Karl’s article to work well for me on some horses.
Again, some horses are just naturally soft, in correct flexion, and forward and remain that way. Others need help and this methode, I have found works in many cases.[/QUOTE]
Ie
I enjoyed PK’s article and more on that in a minute, but I wanted to address the bolded part of the article. I had asked a question here maybe last year about using side reins and the effect of the bit in the mouth because the placement of the side reins would mimic the “wide and low” action of the hand (or maybe people came up with “wide and low” to mimic side reins), yet side reins don’t offer timing, feel, and appropriate release to teach the horse what we want. No one was able to give me the answer or discussion I was hoping for. Perhaps my question wasn’t worded well or misunderstood. The article gave me just a little bit of discussion on that, but I’d be interested in more.
Anyway, I have employed the “high hand” method and found it very useful. I think I caught onto it by perhaps watching a PK video? Anyway, my horses have been MUCH more soft and responsive to that than to any sort of fixing of the hand or having the hands low. I don’t go around with my hands held high, but employ a lifting of the inside rein until I get a change (flexion) and then release and bring my hands back to a neutral position. If the horse’s head goes up, so do my hands - I do not try to fight by bringing my hands down and trying to use them like side reins. The lifting is much softer and IME makes for a clearer aid to the horse.
Interestingly enough, the people I learned this from in person are true horsemen of the cowboy variety. I have had more education about hands and (snaffle) rein usage from them than from any dressage instructor(s) that I’ve worked with for years.
I also teach this to my horses from the ground before I use it under saddle. It doesn’t take much, just a couple minutes before mounting, and they learn it very quickly.
