ONE REIN / ONE FOOT

by Michael Gonzalez

When I work with riders in my clinics or private lessons, I always spend a lot of time getting the students to learn and understand the idea that the reins are not connected to the face. While the reins may be attached to the face in reality they are connected to the feet. And the connection is more than just for pulling the reins to make the horse stop. When people pick out a set of reins and bit at the local tack store, all they see in their mind is how this rein/bit set up is going to stop the horse. This thinking is somewhat clouded.

They are thinking that the only way they are going to stop a 1000 lb. locomotive is to yank back on his mouth. What they should be doing is focusing their vision down to a smaller picture. They don't need to stop the 1000 lbs., they just need to control the feet. Once I get the student to change the direction of their thinking from the horse's mouth down to the horse's feet, a whole new approach of control becomes crystal clear.

Instead of using horizontal thinking, they need to switch to vertical thinking. It is a hard thing to comprehend that the control of the reins in their hands does not go straight out in front of them but rather the control travels vertically from their hands straight down to the horse's feet.

I teach them by utilizing a concept I call ONE REIN / ONE FOOT .

Ray Hunt demonstrated the One Rein / One Foot concept very well during the Tom Dorrance Benefit. If you get the chance to watch the tape, please do so. Mr. Hunt, while mounted on his mare, takes his lariat and ropes the horse's front foot. Then holds that rope in the same side hand as the reins and the foot. He would then visibly pick up the foot using the rope and rein and place it where ever he wanted. He was demonstrating the direction of actual control is vertical from the hands down to the feet. I am not doing this Mr. Hunt's teaching justice. Please watch for it in the video.

Through a few very basic exercises I try to help the student develop a FEEL for the horse's feet through the reins. A lot of this work is performed at the stand still or the walk. I believe that a large percentage of solid horsemanship skills should be learned, exercised and refined at the stand still and the walk. I know that doing exercises at the stand still can be boring…especially if all you want to do is get on a horse and trot around. I also know that doing exercises at the walk can be monotonous …more so when the rider wants to trot, canter, trial ride, etc. But in order to develop the FEEL necessary to control and direct the horse's feet the rider needs to slow way down. Remember the first training principle: TIME .

"When we begin to work as a group, many riders seem surprised that I am very much interested in the walk. It's important for me to help the riders realize what is happening at the walk.”

Ray Hunt

“Think Harmony With Horses P. 11

We begin by taking a deep breath and exhaling long and slow and relaxing followed by slumping in the saddle a bit while looking straight down at the saddle horn. I do this so we don't inadvertently direct our attention elsewhere and unconsciously, through FEEL, direct the horse to move off. We want to build some stillness in ourselves and our horse. We want to “build a wait” in our horse.

At this point I gather my reins but keep the left rein loose and wile taking up the slack in the right rein. I make the lightest contact I can waiting for the slightest try and the smallest change. I will shift my weight back slightly to help the horse lighten up the front end. What I am looking for is a shift of weight from front to back and the very slightest movement form the right foot. I release and reward. I pick up the right rein again and repeat. Just as the front foot is lifting ever so slightly off the ground, I release and reward. On the next try I will wait for the foot to actually lift and just begin its backward travel and I will release and reward.

NOTE: I am NOT trying to back my horse. Backing involves impulsion. At this stage I do not want impulsion. I am asking only for a specific movement of a specific body part – pick up one foot and move it back without moving any other feet.

Next, I continue with the left rein and foot combination. Rewarding with the slightest try and smallest change.

The next step is to progress to picking up the right rein and moving the right foot to the outside as if preparing to step out to the right.

Again, I shift my weight back to lighten the front end as I pick up on the right rein. As I feel his foot begin to move, but not yet lifted, I take my right rein and move it to the outside as if I am using a direct rein in a turn. At this point the horse should pick up his foot and move it to his right outside. When he does, I release the rein and reward.

Now I will pick up the right rein and move it slightly across the neck and ask for the right foot to come back to its original position. Release and reward. Repeat on the left side.

The next connection is getting the right rein connected to the right rear foot. Now I know that some people may think this is contrary because the feet move in diagonal pairs so the right rein should move the right front foot and the left rear foot. Well, it does indeed…but that is not what we are trying to do at this point. See, the right rein does in fact control the right rear foot.

I begin by asking the horse to move its right front foot to the outside just like we did a few moments ago. When he does, I will change the angle of the pressure of the rein to more direct line almost straight back from the outside to my saddle horn. If the horse has tuned in to my FEEL, then he will shift his right rear foot under himself and disengage his hindquarter so he can align back up with the rein. This, in essence, has controlled the right rear foot by getting him to use that foot to step under himself.

Now I can focus on getting the right rein to direct the left rear foot (the diagonal partner of the right front) I square the horse up and ask for him to be still and wait. I take up the reins as in the first exercise and ask for the right foot to step back. I leave his feet so his left front is now forward. Before he can move that left front backwards, he needs to move his left rear first to complete the diagonal pattern. So I once again pick up the right rein and ask for an ever-so-slight backward step. This time he will move his left because his right front is already back. When he picks up the left rear, I immediately release and reward!!!

This is a crucial timing issue here because if you don't release at the right time, he will continue his slight rearward impulsion and move his left front foot. What you want to do is build upon his slightest try and smallest change in that left rear foot. This is the toughest task of these exercises to accomplish because it requires nano-second timing on your part to release the rein. There is a split second between the left rear moving and the left front moving that we are wanting to build on. You need to be very aware and very deliberate with your FEEL in your reins AND your body. Repeat with the left rein.

Now it is time to build on what we have….

I want the right foot not to step back all the way, but to come even with the left front foot to “square up”. We have already developed a FEEL to offer the horse so now we just need to build on it. I continue as in the very first exercise….except the moment he takes weight off of the right foot, I release and drop the reins. If he is sensitive, he will stop moving when you stop asking. Sometimes I need to exaggerate so when I release the reins, I lightly shift my weight back forward. This causes him to plant the foot to distribute the weight. Go slow and make sure that your cues and clear and concise. If your horse doesn't get it, the responsibility lies on you. Repeat on the left.

so what have we accomplished with this seemingly precise, yet boring, exercise?

•  We have learned an easy way to build a ‘wait' and some ‘stillness' in our horse.

•  We now have learned, practiced, built upon and understood how the reins are directly connected to the feet.

•  We have learned how to FEEL where the feet are at any given time and how to move them.

•  We can now move any foot at any given time in almost any direction.

•  We have worked on improving our timing by learning to release at the slightest try and the smallest change.

•  We have combined our seat with our hands to get a response. Total body communication.

•  We are now developing FEEL with our horse. Learning how to present a FEEL and how to FEEL of the horse.

•  Improved our communication with our horse.

•  Our horse is smoother, quieter and better

• Improved our own horsemanship knowledge and skill

All this and more just by changing our thinking to go from our hands in a straight line down to the horse's feet.

Here are some possible combinations of the exercises….

Right Rein / Right Front Foot – move right foot back

Right Rein / Right Front Foot – move right foot to the outside

Right Rein / Right Rear Foot – move right rear to the left stepping under and across.

Right Rein / Left Rear Foot – step backwards

Right Rein / Right Front Foot – Step ½ way back to ‘square up'

Left Rein / Left Front Foot – move left foot back

Left Rein / Left Front Foot – move left foot to the outside

Left Rein / Left Rear Foot – move left rear to the right stepping under and across.

Left Rein / Right Rear Foot – step backwards

Left Rein / Left Front Foot – step ½ way back to ‘square up'

Here are 10 combinations of exercises that you can try. There are two more to add when you get proficient at these…..

Once the right foot is back, ask for the right foot to come back forward again to it's original position WITHOUT the horse stepping forward and walking off. It is like asking the horse to do the Cha-Cha. or the Hokey Pokey. Put your right foot in…take your right foot out….put your right….well, you get the picture.