what are the benefits of in hand training? and what are the cons?
I’m starting my gelding in dressage, and im not too sure whether to start with in hand training or not.
He use to be a jumper, and is well rounded in riding. He was trained in english and western pleasure.
I do not have access to a dressage trainer, although i am looking, and it may well be over a year before i can start lessons.
So is in hand dressage beneficial to the horse?
I’m not well schooled in in-hand at all, I studied with a trainer in LA who focuses heavily on in-hand and realized that it is as complex and requiring as much study as ridden work to do it well. That said, I have a sensitive horse with a tendency to hold in his back, so I often start a ride by tacking my horse, hand walking him around the farm to loosen him up, and then I’ll do some in-hand leg yields and turns on haunches/forehand at the walk (that’s as much as I can do correctly). It’s fantastic for loosening the back and helping him get the thought that he needs to step under with his hocks. The downside is the horse sometimes wants to tuck behind the contact so it’s a delicate balance between asking for contact while keeping the hind end totally engaged so there’s no sucking back.
I think it helps to have a horse who is smart and willing, my gelding meets me more than halfway and compensates for my shortcomings, he picked this up immediately despite my lack of education. My mare wasn’t so forgiving or into it and it took much longer to get any result with her.
@NSC Who in LA does a lot with in-hand work? I’ve been curious to learn this tool in a more formal setting (more formal than me putzing around on my own :-).
There are many benefits to working in-hand, especially with horses who initially have trouble finding their balance or having the strength to perform the movement under a rider.
I don’t really see any cons other than it can be hard at first and it can take a lot of time to build the skills to do it well (like riding, of course!).
I was blessed to learn in hand work from Mark Russell who learned from Nuno Olivera. Proper in hand work sets the horse up for the necessary understanding of their relationship to the bridle. You can not only teach all of the lateral work in hand but also check the horse’s reactions to relaxing the jaw, lateral flexion and being able to release the neck out and down. It is a skill best learned with experienced eyes on the ground, though the basics can be done with self learning.
Find a trainer who has the NO influence.
Look up Marijke de Jong. Straightness training on YouTube
Khall - Mark Russell seemed like a really neat trainer, I would have liked to have worked with him, was very sad to hear he passed away.
Feathered Feet - Will send you a PM!
I just had an appointment with a great vet/horseman (upper level eventer). He believes that most “NQR” / lameness of undefined origin, usually come from the topline; the actual pain/lameness we see is referred pain or compensation for movements he is unable to perform.
I went to him because of his reputation, because my young dressage horse (6) has a left hind problem that we have been unable to find the cause of.
He quickly determined that my horse was fine in front, but his back was locked up in a concave position; he was unable to lift it and so he was unable to bring his hind end underneath him. He had become very sore through his butt and hind legs because of it.
He injected his back to relieve the pain so the horse would be able to strengthen the required muscle without hurting. I am supposed to forget about riding for at least 3 weeks (then we will review his progress, if any 
. In the meantime I am supposed to work him in hand.
HUH?!?
The vet gave me a number of exercises. I have only remembered a few. 
But I do remember running ace bandages (something very stretchy) behind his butt and connected to the rings on the surcingle. I am also supposed to encourage his head/neck to get very low (so his back lifts up). Sadly that is the only beginning exercise I remember. Other, further along in the the remuscling work, includes using a homemade version of a Pessoa rig to connect his front and hind end softly. I have a Pessoa rig, but. evidently, it is too rigid to encourage his ability to lift his back and engage his hind end at this time.
To those who have done in-hand work, does this sound like things you have heard of or done? Any other specific exercises to create softness and the ability to use the back 2/3rds of his body?
PS: I forgot to say that the work will be done using 2 lungeline. A direct one into my 'forward hand, and a 2nd one, from the bit, through a ring on the surcingle, around his butt and into my ‘back’ hand. This will (I hope) keep him straight.
Lord Helpus that does all sound pretty legit. My horse was also off LH due to two terrible incidents of SI trauma, hocks x-rayed fine. The restorative power of slowly loosening the back and then strengthening the hind end in a loose, aligned way was extraordinary. I feel super optimistic for you guys with that prognosis (knocking on wood to avoid the jinx!). I only used a lunge line to start and asked my horse to walk with his head in a grazing position. Eventually I started riding him and I used a pony rein with my extra long dressage reins to jerry rig a super long rein so he could walk in the grazing position. We did that for eight weeks almost every day and eventually his hind legs started really swinging. Had to be super conscious of my weight aids and it was very critical to keep the inside rein loose and inviting, that was key, the horse had to seek a loose rein and bulge his ribs to the outside a bit. Today this horse has a great motor again and is pretty solid at 1st 3, am optimistic he start working on 2nd soon. I think the changes I made my riding style have benefited him a ton. One tip that seemed to help (which sounds a little woo-woo) is to mentally ask the horse for what you want and when he does it give him a positive word that you can use next time. Now all I have to do is say, “you gimme that stretch” and my horse drops his head and goes into a big sweepy walk.
The Pessoa type rig no not legit in good in hand work. I learned from Mark using a bridle mostly, sometimes a caveson with a young horse.
Here is a good start, though a bit different from Mark.
https://www.amazon.com/Horse-Trainin…BFCZJPE2V3CZZJ
Also Manola Mendez’s work in hand he has a DVD out, also very good using caveson, lunge line and bamboo pole. I just use long dressage whip, occasionally will use bamboo.
Mark also has a DVD out on work in hand and lunging.
NSC I have been “doing dressage” since the 80’s and I have never worked with a more knowledgeable trainer than Mark Russell, that includes Olympic riders! He always had what was best for the horse in mind and had an incredible ability to suss out what each horse needed to progress. I have a very challenging big WB g that I would not be where I am at today without Mark’s help over the years. I was blessed to work with Mark 9 1/2 yrs before his untimely death.
KHall - you lucky duck, I would have loved to have worked with Mark Russell. I keep a running list of essential quotes on a “note pad” in my iPhone and I refer to this every time I ride, it is a very short list of only the things that I think are most important as I can’t have too many things in mind at once. One of my “essential notes” is Mark’s “sit on the horse as if you are sitting on a champagne bubble.” That was a big one for me, I’m a noob to dressage and have only been at it about six years or so. Predictably I’m at that stage in my development where I realize that I’ve been taught to drive excessively into too tight a rein and over the last two years I’ve actively rejected that and am embracing what I believe is a more true engagement and the implications for contact that come with it. I was struggling with the walk as many people trained in the modern style do and Mark’s quote helped me realize that I was driving with too heavy a seat. Lightening my seat with Mark’s words in mind, plus working on serving the bit to the horse with a more carried hand has transformed my horses’ walks, and in a short time I had these light and proud walks with horses more on the aids, it was a eureka moment! I wish there were more videos of Mark, he was a lovely rider who had that deep mutual connection. I wish people would stop doing DVDs, I haven’t had a DVD player in 10 years, it’s all MP3s and streaming now.
Alexander Hamilton - I don’t know what a Pessoa system is or does, but if you want to save some money you might be just as well off to use a simple lunge line. Once my horse figured out that this stretching stuff feels so good he just does it without much prompting at all.
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