I’ll bump my horse with my calves before or during certain maneuvers to create momentum. Whether I’m going to do a lope departure or a turn around, I need energy. There are penalties attached to trotting when the pattern calls for a lope, either from a stop or walk, and a poor spin won’t reflect well on the score card. All the checks, plus and minuses, and penalties can really make a difference even if they appear minor on paper. A title can be won or lost on a half point. Not everyone ‘bumps’ their horse, though. It’s not really kicking, either, or shouldn’t be.
The draped reins are, in part, intended to showcase willingness as Bluey mentioned above. A horse that will guide between the hands, on a looser rein, and check when the rider picks up will generally appear more willing than a horse on a tighter rein, being managed through direct rein, and bracing when the rider goes to check.
Head carriage is a style thing, but an unbiased judge shouldn’t be marking based on that alone. A low head is not an indicator of a horse being better trained or more willing per se (lots of horses “hide” in their chest), and most of the guys I ride with don’t get hung up on it. It may have been Bob Avila, or someone of that ilk, who covered the topic before. In essence, he said at some point or another a big name rider won a big title with a low headed horse and similarly to the duct tape story above, people suddenly bought into that being the new standard or edge.
The long reins, on occasion, do come around through some maneuvers and tap the horse. I ride with 8’ reins, and if I went and chopped them 2’ shorter they’d probably be candidates for the trash. They’re weighted, heavily oiled, and have a certain feel to them. I’ve ridden with lighter or shorter reins, and they’re a pain. They feel poor in your hands, they turn in or curl, and bounce around. I find them more of hindrance than anything.
