I could not help but notice that your hands need help. Open fingers are not a “soft: hand”,because when you do need to close your fingers, you’re going from almost no contact to hard contact. Wrist should be lightly rounded, so that your elbows bush your sides, but are free to follow th head motion. Thumbs should be on top, thumb and forefinger locked on the rein. The rest of the hand should be softly curled as though you are carrying a raw egg, you don’t want to squeeze it or drop it. Even on a young horse, the hands should be carried well ave the withers. I know, there is an erroneous school of thought that spreading and dropping the hands keeps the horse’s head down. A soft sympathetic following hand does better.
Thanks so much for the feedback. I have always been told that you should hold your hands as though you are holding two baby birds, but carrying a raw egg works too! I don’t have a coach right now to remind me about these things so the video really helps me. My gelding is so young, and so tiny, I’m mostly thinking about just staying centred and helping him keep a steady rhythm! I will add my hands to my position check mantra!
