Anyone have suggestions for reins for a student that has restricted hand movement? She had a nasty break, multiple surgeries, and can’t completely close her hand. Her horse doesn’t reliably neck rein and she prefers to use a direct rein. I was wondering if anyone had experience with rein that was easier to use.
Thinking outside the box, could she take reining lessons on a good school master?
She would learn to use her seat and legs well enough not to need the reins hardly any.
Many first reining lessons are at the walk, without reins, learning to be an effective rider with your hands crossed in front of you.
That kind of minimal rein aid riding translates, if you want, to any other horse you ride, once YOU know how to do it.:yes:
I just started working with her today, and suggested she look into reining for that reason. 
She rides in a western saddle and trail rides a little. She has some considerable fear issues that I think she’s going to have to work on before she would pursue outside lessons.
Her horse is a very reliable trail horse, but has her number. He does anything unexpected and she chokes up on the reins and gets very tense. So, we’re working on some basic safety techniques. Some of her tension comes from a couple nasty falls and she feels unstable from the aftereffects of previous injuries. The reins are the simplest fix- so I thought we’d work on that first.
while, we’re working on developing the seat, I’d like to get her some reins that would be more comfortable to hold.
Could you get her to try cotton or mohair reins?
There are all kinds here, some mohair ones down the page:
Thanks Bluey…that’s exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of. I’ll encourage her to check that out. I teach Vets on a volunteer basis and this was a really fun lesson. I’d like to help her get comfortable.
