Rein Contact With Gaited Horses
By Gaye DeRusso
So, you're taking your young child out in the town. Do you let them walk completely free next to you or do you hold their hand? Most of us would opt for the second one. We want to hold their hand so we can communicate with them and help to guide them. Also, we know young children sometimes get burst of energy and we don't want them to run off or run-in front of a car.
So even though we talk to them and tell them what to do when needed, we also hold their hand so we can give them more guidance and make sure they stay safe. We hold their hand lightly most the time but may hold it tighter to tell them to slow down or pay attention and we may hold it softer when we know they are in a safe area or even let them go free for a bit if it is safe.
Rein contact with gaited horses is similar to this. We communicate to the horse by using our aides - our reins, seat, and legs.
We use the reins to communicate, how fast to go, what gait to do, to help frame them up to get a certain gait, or to help them tense their neck and back to get other gaits, to guide them over obstacles, to steer them in the direction we want to go, to stop them, to back up, to help them pay attention, to control a spook and to stop a buck or a crow hop.
The rein is our link to communicate with them and to help guide them in what we want them to do.
If the rein is too loose, the horse lacks this communication. If you need to stop fast and the reins are long, it takes time to gather the reins short enough to communicate to him to stop. In some instances, without that communication if the horse gets spooked, he can take off or bolt because he does not know what to do and just goes to his instincts to guide him. It is very hard and scary to try to gather your reins when your horse takes off like this.
When horses react, if there is no one to guide them, some horses will go off the trail. You will hear of horses that run down hills, run up hills or go off of cliffs because they spooked or lost their footing. In these scary instances, guidance with your rein can sometimes mean life or death.
If your horse starts to break gait into a trot or a pace, by the time you get your reins shorter to communicate with him he will already be pacing or trotting.
If your horse trips, some gaited horses are slower to react and without a rein to help them regain control by holding and lifting them up, some horses can lose more of their balance and fall forward onto their knees.
If your rein is too short, then you will be constantly pulling on the horse's mouth and that is not good either. With too short of a rein, the horse will get annoyed from the constant pressure and may start yanking the reins out of your hands to get its own relief.
The horse may pull his head down or up to get away from your hands. He may also stop listening and just start pulling back on the rein. If your horse keeps going too fast and you just constantly pull, they usually will go faster not slower as they are trying to escape the pressure.
If the rein is too short when you are gaiting, and he needs to relax his neck for his gait, he may not be able to lower his head enough to relax.
What is too short and what is too long of a rein? Each horse is different, and each rider is different. If you have short arms or a horse with a longer neck, you may need a longer rein for both of you to be comfortable.
If you have long arms or a horse with a short neck, your rein may need to be shorter to be comfortable.
Depending on the horse I am on and the horses age, confidence, and issues, help me to figure out how much contact I will need. If the horse is older, and not spooky and gaits well, I prefer a more relaxed rein, with some slack in it. But not so long they can put their head to their knees or snatch up grass. I like it short enough I can frame him up to help his gaits, be able to give a half halt so the horse feels it immediately and short enough if he spooks, I can guide him.
If the horse tends to be heavy on his front end, then if the rein is too long, they will take advantage and put their head lower and get heavier on the front end. This can make for a trippy horse and also one that is not carrying itself well or paying attention. In these horses I prefer a shorter rein.
If I am on a young horse, I know things are going to come up that may spook him, or he doesn't have the experience to know how to get through or over an obstacle. With these horses it is a shorter rein. It is also helpful if that young horse gets a burst of energy and decides to crow hop or buck, I can lift their head immediately to tell them, hey cut that out and stop the bucking.
Reins, bits, hackamores, bosals etc. were created for a reason, so we can communicate what we want the horse to do, but without reins, it is like riding your bike without holding onto the handlebars, sometimes when you hit a bump, it's too late and the bike falls over before you can grab the handlebars. Same with the horse, if the rein is too long, sometimes it takes too long to shorten up and by that time, you could have a bad accident.
Don't get me wrong you can ride with a loose rein if your horse is trained well and gaits well. Maybe your horse is so great he never spooks or does anything wrong, but there is always a chance that could change.
I like to ride gaited horses with light contact, but there should be more contact here and there to communicate to the horse which gait to do, to help them stay in gait and rebalance them when needed, also to tell them that you are still there to help them.
I keep my hands a couple inches in front of my saddle, but I do have longer arms. I do this so if I need to pull back, I have enough rein the horse will immediately feel it and I have enough area to move my arms that I can pull a fair amount if needed. But I do not have a constant contact on his mouth, only here and there to communicate what is needed, to control the speed and help him to stay in gait. When everything is going well, I push my arms forward to make sure there is some slack in the rein.
Without any contact to communicate with the gaited horse, he will do what gait he prefers for that terrain, he will do what speed he prefers for the hills, and he will do what he prefers to do to get away when he is spooked.
Some gaited horses will gait very well on a looser rein where others will need more contact to stay in gait until they are conditioned, and others will always need contact to gait because of their breeding and conformation.
Just know that the gaited horse usually needs to be ridden with some contact to get the gait you want, once the horse can hold the gait, then you can try riding with less contact to see if he can hold it. But here and there you may need to help him rebalance his weight to keep the gait. You need the rein short enough to do this but long enough, that he can get some relief when doing his job well.
Bits
Snaffle bit https://amzn.to/3WPY1Qh
Short Shank Bit https://amzn.to/3Z0TbRl
Longer Shank Bit https://amzn.to/3vsMcDq
Longer Shank with Port for more tongue relief https://amzn.to/3vtCVLc
Wonder Bit https://amzn.to/3jGSqgj
Wonder Bit with Twist https://amzn.to/3WTCndn
Bit Guards https://amzn.to/3Cd3EQ4
Curb Chain https://amzn.to/3voPGqy
Correction Bit https://amzn.to/3jEOGfj
Reins with colors to help hand placement https://amzn.to/3VyMlzU
Rubber reins to help grip https://amzn.to/3jBub34
Clip for easy attachment and added weight https://amzn.to/3Q1ited
How to use your hands with gaited horses https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDIfbdCzbdtRr1geDTygOjetBmhpukIWc
Free Training Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018259835184485/
Gaited Books
Easy Gaited Horses By Lee Ziegler https://amzn.to/3vFuk8w
The Gaited Horse Bible by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3It0Imf
Gaits of Gold by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3jGXam0
Heavenly Gaits By Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3ieKGBP
Training the Gaited Horse By Gary Lane https://amzn.to/3jPcAVq
DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission if you buy something. This helps support the website. Thank you for the support!
By Gaye DeRusso
So, you're taking your young child out in the town. Do you let them walk completely free next to you or do you hold their hand? Most of us would opt for the second one. We want to hold their hand so we can communicate with them and help to guide them. Also, we know young children sometimes get burst of energy and we don't want them to run off or run-in front of a car.
So even though we talk to them and tell them what to do when needed, we also hold their hand so we can give them more guidance and make sure they stay safe. We hold their hand lightly most the time but may hold it tighter to tell them to slow down or pay attention and we may hold it softer when we know they are in a safe area or even let them go free for a bit if it is safe.
Rein contact with gaited horses is similar to this. We communicate to the horse by using our aides - our reins, seat, and legs.
We use the reins to communicate, how fast to go, what gait to do, to help frame them up to get a certain gait, or to help them tense their neck and back to get other gaits, to guide them over obstacles, to steer them in the direction we want to go, to stop them, to back up, to help them pay attention, to control a spook and to stop a buck or a crow hop.
The rein is our link to communicate with them and to help guide them in what we want them to do.
If the rein is too loose, the horse lacks this communication. If you need to stop fast and the reins are long, it takes time to gather the reins short enough to communicate to him to stop. In some instances, without that communication if the horse gets spooked, he can take off or bolt because he does not know what to do and just goes to his instincts to guide him. It is very hard and scary to try to gather your reins when your horse takes off like this.
When horses react, if there is no one to guide them, some horses will go off the trail. You will hear of horses that run down hills, run up hills or go off of cliffs because they spooked or lost their footing. In these scary instances, guidance with your rein can sometimes mean life or death.
If your horse starts to break gait into a trot or a pace, by the time you get your reins shorter to communicate with him he will already be pacing or trotting.
If your horse trips, some gaited horses are slower to react and without a rein to help them regain control by holding and lifting them up, some horses can lose more of their balance and fall forward onto their knees.
If your rein is too short, then you will be constantly pulling on the horse's mouth and that is not good either. With too short of a rein, the horse will get annoyed from the constant pressure and may start yanking the reins out of your hands to get its own relief.
The horse may pull his head down or up to get away from your hands. He may also stop listening and just start pulling back on the rein. If your horse keeps going too fast and you just constantly pull, they usually will go faster not slower as they are trying to escape the pressure.
If the rein is too short when you are gaiting, and he needs to relax his neck for his gait, he may not be able to lower his head enough to relax.
What is too short and what is too long of a rein? Each horse is different, and each rider is different. If you have short arms or a horse with a longer neck, you may need a longer rein for both of you to be comfortable.
If you have long arms or a horse with a short neck, your rein may need to be shorter to be comfortable.
Depending on the horse I am on and the horses age, confidence, and issues, help me to figure out how much contact I will need. If the horse is older, and not spooky and gaits well, I prefer a more relaxed rein, with some slack in it. But not so long they can put their head to their knees or snatch up grass. I like it short enough I can frame him up to help his gaits, be able to give a half halt so the horse feels it immediately and short enough if he spooks, I can guide him.
If the horse tends to be heavy on his front end, then if the rein is too long, they will take advantage and put their head lower and get heavier on the front end. This can make for a trippy horse and also one that is not carrying itself well or paying attention. In these horses I prefer a shorter rein.
If I am on a young horse, I know things are going to come up that may spook him, or he doesn't have the experience to know how to get through or over an obstacle. With these horses it is a shorter rein. It is also helpful if that young horse gets a burst of energy and decides to crow hop or buck, I can lift their head immediately to tell them, hey cut that out and stop the bucking.
Reins, bits, hackamores, bosals etc. were created for a reason, so we can communicate what we want the horse to do, but without reins, it is like riding your bike without holding onto the handlebars, sometimes when you hit a bump, it's too late and the bike falls over before you can grab the handlebars. Same with the horse, if the rein is too long, sometimes it takes too long to shorten up and by that time, you could have a bad accident.
Don't get me wrong you can ride with a loose rein if your horse is trained well and gaits well. Maybe your horse is so great he never spooks or does anything wrong, but there is always a chance that could change.
I like to ride gaited horses with light contact, but there should be more contact here and there to communicate to the horse which gait to do, to help them stay in gait and rebalance them when needed, also to tell them that you are still there to help them.
I keep my hands a couple inches in front of my saddle, but I do have longer arms. I do this so if I need to pull back, I have enough rein the horse will immediately feel it and I have enough area to move my arms that I can pull a fair amount if needed. But I do not have a constant contact on his mouth, only here and there to communicate what is needed, to control the speed and help him to stay in gait. When everything is going well, I push my arms forward to make sure there is some slack in the rein.
Without any contact to communicate with the gaited horse, he will do what gait he prefers for that terrain, he will do what speed he prefers for the hills, and he will do what he prefers to do to get away when he is spooked.
Some gaited horses will gait very well on a looser rein where others will need more contact to stay in gait until they are conditioned, and others will always need contact to gait because of their breeding and conformation.
Just know that the gaited horse usually needs to be ridden with some contact to get the gait you want, once the horse can hold the gait, then you can try riding with less contact to see if he can hold it. But here and there you may need to help him rebalance his weight to keep the gait. You need the rein short enough to do this but long enough, that he can get some relief when doing his job well.
Bits
Snaffle bit https://amzn.to/3WPY1Qh
Short Shank Bit https://amzn.to/3Z0TbRl
Longer Shank Bit https://amzn.to/3vsMcDq
Longer Shank with Port for more tongue relief https://amzn.to/3vtCVLc
Wonder Bit https://amzn.to/3jGSqgj
Wonder Bit with Twist https://amzn.to/3WTCndn
Bit Guards https://amzn.to/3Cd3EQ4
Curb Chain https://amzn.to/3voPGqy
Correction Bit https://amzn.to/3jEOGfj
Reins with colors to help hand placement https://amzn.to/3VyMlzU
Rubber reins to help grip https://amzn.to/3jBub34
Clip for easy attachment and added weight https://amzn.to/3Q1ited
How to use your hands with gaited horses https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDIfbdCzbdtRr1geDTygOjetBmhpukIWc
Free Training Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018259835184485/
Gaited Books
Easy Gaited Horses By Lee Ziegler https://amzn.to/3vFuk8w
The Gaited Horse Bible by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3It0Imf
Gaits of Gold by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3jGXam0
Heavenly Gaits By Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3ieKGBP
Training the Gaited Horse By Gary Lane https://amzn.to/3jPcAVq
DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission if you buy something. This helps support the website. Thank you for the support!