As with most horse riding related things, having ‘experienced eyes on the ground’ is what will make the biggest difference in your success. You can have all the written advice in the world but it won’t be worth anything if you’re then ‘doing it all wrong’ when you get on the horse
If you are paying this trainer then they should be correcting you or teaching you. If they aren’t then you need a new trainer who will do that.
Quite often riders will read something and then start fiddling about with their hands too much.
Think about what your legs are asking the horse to do. Are they in the correct position?
What is your seat doing? What is your inside rein doing? The outside indirect rein is comparable to a boundary line. If you take it over the horse’s withers it ceases to be that. If you open it up and turn it into a direct rein then it also ceases to be that.
Don’t over think it. Less is more.
Outside rein is holy grail of riding. People have sought it for years. Inside leg leg shows path
Something to keep in mind is that the outside rein only exists when you are turning, or working in an arena where you are shaped to the direction of travel even on the long sides.
The outside rein is important in arena riding because really you don’t need to actively turn the horse that much in the corners but you do need to keep the horse from drifting off the rail and from turning too sharply when you do ask for a turn.
Outside rein doesn’t exist on a trail ride unless you are schooling shoulder fore or shoulder in on the trail.
But even in an arena the outside rein functions in conjunction with other aids. It keeps the horse on the rail in shoulder fore or flexions. It determines the size of a circle or volte when the aid to turn is your outside thigh, not your inside rein. It maintains bend in counter flexed circles. Etc. So its hard to say “here’s how to use outside rein” without also looking at the total movement and aids at any given point.
You need to stop thinking of the outside rein and the inside rein, and start thinking of how to properly use your seat and leg… Once you master that, rein use becomes secondary.
IIRC “The Classical Seat” by Sylvia Loch gives an excellent explanation.
If I am wrong. feel free to come back and scold me…
