Rein Position in hand

[DoubleDown]

My friends daughter has started riding English with goals of eventing. She’s ridden western all of her short life so isn’t a green rider per say.

I’ve been helping her a bit, and noticed that she has the tendency to hold her reins in a fist, rather than having the rein come through between her pinky and ring finger. She was asking why we hold our reins that way, and I’m embarrassed to say “just because” :eek: I’ve been racking my brain to have an answer for her and I can’t come up with anything!

So COTH why do we hold our reins that way, and any tips to help her out?

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=DoubleDown;7601015]
My friends daughter has started riding English with goals of eventing. She’s ridden western all of her short life so isn’t a green rider per say.

I’ve been helping her a bit, and noticed that she has the tendency to hold her reins in a fist, rather than having the rein come through between her pinky and ring finger. She was asking why we hold our reins that way, and I’m embarrassed to say “just because” :eek: I’ve been racking my brain to have an answer for her and I can’t come up with anything!

So COTH why do we hold our reins that way, and any tips to help her out?[/QUOTE]

Two main reasons.

The reins don’t slide through your hands as quickly that way–so easier to hold a contact. It locks it in so you have a consistent length, and therefore a more consistent feel.

It prepares you to be able to ride with two reins. As when you have two reins, you need to keep them seperate so that you can use them independently. As you progress up the levels, especially in dressage, riding with two reins is often a skill that a rider should master.

[yellowbritches]

All the above excellent things being said, it isn’t the end of the world if she holds them in her fist. There are some horses or times I’ve preferred that grip. If you watch some videos of KOC, she rides some horses in a fist.