01/26/2024
This!
The curse of low hands
In the conversation of hyperflexion and riding behind vertical, I would be remiss, as a biomechanics coach, if I didn’t address the curse of low hands. I see this so often in riders and it is one of the easiest fixes. Just raise your hands!
Low hands will not get you the round, soft horse you’re attempting to create. Low hands are often pulling hands and equally creates a pulling, and resistant horse. If we think of the horse’s mouth anatomy, it is easy to see that low hands put direct bit pressure on the highly innervated lower bars of the horse’s mouth. Some horses will submit and tuck their heads away from this pressure. Some will head toss, bolt, buck and generally show conflict behaviors in an attempt to escape the pressure.
We should strive to keep the bit up in the fleshy corners of the horse’s mouth. We should not attempt to lower the horse’s nose from low reins. As riders we need to learn how to develop the horse systematically to use their bodies to the best of their individual ability. If I asked most riders to do the splits, right now, they wouldn’t even get close. But with gentle daily training it is possible. It is no different for the horse. Be prepared for years of work, not hours or days. To take shortcuts, such as seen with low hands, is to create false collection and this will only serve to damage your horses body. None of us want that.
I promise you, if you raise your hands above the wither and gently bring the bit into the fleshy corners of your horses mouth, they will thank you by softening their bodies and their minds.
We need to stop equating our self worth with the position of our horse’s head. We cannot force collection. I will not think less of you as a rider or a person if your horse’s head is ahead of vertical - no one should think less of you…including yourself ❤️
Note: Thank you to everyone who took the time to write comments. It was a lively discussion but it’s gotten so long (and sometimes off topic) so I’ve decided to turn comments off. I usually try to respond to each and every comment on my posts - yes, even those of you who aren’t so kind. Unfortunately this post got far more traction than I could have imagined and I wasn’t able to keep up. So I apologize if I didn’t respond directly to your comment. Most of the comments/questions are asked more than once so feel free to scroll through the comments to see if your question was addressed. Clearly, this is a very passionate topic for many and one that I will revisit in more detail down the road. Thank you for visiting my page.❤️
Bravehorse Ranch trains horses using gentle, natural horsemanship methods to create trust, respect and confidence in the horse. Many references available!
