Sorry you fund my comment condescending, I do HH from the seat alone, . And why I should use a broken wrist I have no idea. It is something I neither use or espouse,
Have a great day.
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Ok, last post I promise…just got back from lesson and apparently what I do is a flexion with the wrist so I think I tried to do the breaking the wrist thing…that won’t work.
Well, this thread is about breaking at the wrists, not half-halting. I was using a part of the HH as an illustration of why breaking the wrist is problematic hence why I didn’t write in detail about the sequence of HH aids, only that the hand and seat are connected. I would say most people need some rein for HH on green and lower level horses.
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Dear “outerbanks” , when someone makes a statement in support for the argument on another subject, particularly the HH, I do tend to say something.
My observation with “green” horses, is that if I cease going forward with a following body, they cease going forward. I have found this usually true of OTTB’s as well. They also quickly learn to listen to rider’s leg and seaton turns and circles This usually takes longer. With a vey green horse, an opening rein is necessary, but if well ridden they learn quickly.
Which is why the ‘green horse’, beginner rider combination, makes me shake my head.
Unfortunately, sometimes learning to use one’s body correctly is not easily learned, and unfortunately too , many instructors are incapable of explaining this relatively simple concept.
signing off!.
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Dear “merrygoround”
Why would you use an opening rein for any half halt, and why particularly for an green/OTTB?
I am truly curious, btw. I have used opening reins to steer greenies or redirect recalcitrant behaviour from escalating, but have never used an opening rein for a half halt. What am I missing?
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I think my green-on-green program is working pretty well…(?). (i’m green to dressage, not to riding)
My coach has me using my rein secondary, and in the case of a horse’s first few lessons, third, (giving them a second attempt to ask for a particular move/halt with my pelvis)…and that seems a pretty simple explanation of how-to ride with my body/legs instead of on their mouth. Twas perfectly clear to me what my coach wanted me to do up there. And, two of the three green horses i’ve brought to lessons are sensitive types and appreciate the subtlety.
If you are new to dressage then it takes a loooong time to learn contact. You are taught in stages. You do not know what you do not know and what you are doing now is not what you will be doing in years to come.
On the other hand horses learn a lot quicker than riders, which is why it is better for you to learn on a school master and the horse to learn from experienced hands.
It is not impossible to learn green on green, it is just not the best way for the horse.
Welcome to the World of dressage where you will continue learning until the day you die even if you die at the age of 120.
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Sascha-see PM
Have edited the post.:winkgrin:
Have been exploring the different movements, and am finding what works for me and the boy., it’s a great experience.
It’s interesting riding with different coaches, after being with one for so long. She gave me great foundations in a lot of areas, but it seems much like a horse that is rushed along, we have to keep going back amd fixing gaps in my training!
Sascha-see PM
Have edited the post.:winkgrin:
Why would you break your wrists? Why is is even a question? That’s not how you give with your reins.
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Then you are not truly green. You understand balance. You can read the cues the horse is giving you. You may not be experienced in dressage but you are not green to riding in the traditional sense that “green-on-green” means. In other words if you are not a beginner to riding in all disciplines then you are not green.
Posted by alicen: Keep in mind that when you turn the wrist inward, you are also shortening the rein, hence giving mixed signals to the horse.
Not when you give the hand slightly forward as you rotate the wrist. It’s positioning… :yes:
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This is what my instructor tells me to do. My left wrist specifically has a tendency to get rigid and she will tell me to roll it so it becomes loose/elastic again. It is a very gentle rotating motion that usually ends up softening the horse’s jaw (that has been made tight by my rigid wrist) as well as softening my wrist.
I am obviously the slowest of slow learners, especially having been taught poorly by Noah when we disembarked from the Ark, then compounded those habits ny years of riding unsupervised.
While I loved my last trainer, and she certainly took me a long way, there are fundamentals that I never got…
I spent years trying to get “still hands” only to find that stillness is in relation to the horse, not the rider…so once I stopped trying for still, and starting aiming at quiet, things got so much better.
i feel the same about this lesson and wrists, being given the green light to move the wrist, and yes, a slight roll to loosen is what I have discovered works.
OP after a little experiment of my own, I believe that it might be better to rotate the hand outward from the elbow.
You can rotate the forearm outward without changing anything else, so the rein length wont change or your grip on the reins.
You can also move your hand slightly away from the horse from your elbow without changing the hand or losing the straight line from the elbow to the bit.
I learned that the shoulder, elbow, forearm and hand are links , and that the wrist is not a link . The wrist is passive.
This is not set in stone of course.
Hope this helps.
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Interesting.
Breaking the wrist makes hard hands. It should never be done. Yes it’s sometimes easier but won’t get you further in your education. The horses mouth deserves soft hands.
