Healing Rein Farm

11/26/2025

I love all the images we can come up with to improve our riding from the inside out. I am looking forward to 2026 with an emphasis on this. Centered Riding, Franklin Method, Steven Peters, Kathy Culler and more on the schedule for 2026.

11/09/2025

Alexander Techique Workshop today discussing ideas about space, connectedness, gravity and constants plus some great hands on technique from Bruce Fertman. Can you be softer than soft, slower than slow? Thanks Everyone for a great learning experience and so much to bring home to explore and put to good use. Looking forward to seeing these ladies again in January and Bruce again in April💝

11/09/2025

11/09/2025

Being a Centered Riding Instructor is a journey....discovering horse, humans self. This weekend I was privileged to travel to NYC with these ladies to work with Bruce Fertman, Alexander Technique Teacher. We spent the day learning, sharing and working. Learning how to assess and change our movement. Bruce and Carlos guided us through transitions and discoveries. We worked on each other and improved our feel and communication. We had some great food and even better conversation. I can't wait to share with the riders at home. Plans are in the works for 2026 update clinics in NY and lessons at the Lake in NC. Stay turned for the details for the 2026 clinic schedule.

11/04/2025

So proud of this girl on her first farm trail ride.

10/30/2025

🎧 Exciting Update for Horse Brain Science Listeners!

We’ve heard your feedback and truly appreciate your passion for Horse Brain Science: The Neuroscience of Ethical Horsemanship. 🧠🐴

While our AI-narrated edition allowed us to share this knowledge more quickly across multiple platforms, we understand that many of you prefer the warmth and nuance of a human performance. 💬✨

We’re happy to announce that a human-narrated edition is now in production, and the Audible release will feature human narration only.

The AI-narrated version will remain available through other outlets for those who enjoy that option — giving listeners the freedom to choose how they experience the material. 🎙️

10/26/2025

A great explanation

👌It’s B and here is why…

Many riders are told to ride with low hands, often justified as being “softer” for a green horse. But this isn’t about these specifc circumstances, it about how biomechanics shows that low hands usually create more problems than they solve.

This rider always felt like her arms were too short trying to put her hands down and she was unsure oh where her hands should be.

👉 When the hands drop (A), the elbow extends and the wrist normally pronates, removing the elbow’s spring-like function. Consistent rein tension becomes harder to maintain. The trunk should naturally brace to compensate for a change in arm position but many riders either get pulled forward, lean back to counterbalance or tense their ‘core’ (ie bracing wity their abdominal) . In all three cases, the hands end up being used for stability, not communication.

👉 Low hands also turn the wrist into a pulley. Instead of subtle finger aids, the rein load redirects around the wrist, over-recruiting muscles like flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU). This creates forearm tension and can lead to golfer’s elbow or carpal tunnel strain. Contact becomes harder, less elastic, and more fatiguing for both rider and horse.

👉 Research shows rein angle matters. Low reins increase downward pressure on the bit, while a straight line from elbow to bit distributes pressure more evenly. For the horse, low reins usually create poll flexion without lifting the base of the neck or back - producing an outline without true self-carriage.

In (B) the rider uses finger muscles correctly to adapt the bend of the fingers and change rein tension dynamically - no forearm tension, and the elbow can move forward and back on the same angle to the horses mouth as the horse moves.

It’s also important to remember that rider proportions and the horse’s movement influence how this looks. A taller rider will naturally have their hands higher than a shorter rider, and different horses with different head and neck carriage - altering optimum hand level.

The key is not that everyone looks the same, but that they function the same: elbows softly bent and spring-like, fingers in control, and a straight elastic line from elbow to bit that follows the horse.

Low hands may look “better” to some, but they mechanically disadvantage both rider and horse.

Want help with your hand and arm position in the saddle - book a Rider Physio session or sign up to the Video Subscription 🙌

🔗 www.pegasusphysio.co.uk