Hi Robyn, > > There are lots of different ways to do things and you can connect to the > outside rein without pulling on it. If you have a connection on the > outside > rein and rotate to the inside and use a light signal with the side leg you > give the horse the outside 'bank' and soften the ribcage so the inside > hind > leg can come forward. > > If you think of a turn like a river, it is the outside bank that says > there > will be a turn and the inside how much. >
I agree with you. This is the end result that you are heading for. This is not what I see in a lot of riders, unfortunately. I see a lot of pulling which causes bracing and stiffness in the neck. >>>>This pulls the horse out of alignment in their spine > and makes them stiff, and can, over many years, cause spinal damage. > > Where do you get the information that contact on the outside rein causes > spinal damage? What about a one-rein stop? I have talked to several > chiropractic vets that see the result being jamming in the poll, withers > and > pelvis. > I'm not saying contact with the outside rein causes damage. It is the backward traction, caused by pulling, and the horse bracing against the pulling, that is damaging. With a single rein, done correctly, you don't get backward traction on the spinal cord. The one rein stop, done incorrectly, can also cause damage. >>>>By using the inside rein, you keep the horse in alignment and teach them > to lift the withers and free up the shoulders. > > How does tipping the nose and coming behind the vertical keep a horse in > alignment? > I didn't say that tipping the nose and coming behind the vertical keep a horse in alignment. I learned single rein riding from Josh's father, John Lyons. When I first learned it, I used more exaggerated movements than I use now. Single rein riding is not about tipping the nose and having the head behind the vertical. Sure, you can get that, but you can also get whatever you want, depending on when you time the release. Done correctly, the horse never learns to brace against a single rein. It always has a clear place to go, to find the release. It teaches the horse to soften through it's body. It gives you access to freely moving the shoulders and the hindquarters, which allows you to line up the drill team, so that the spine is in alignment. I don't know why Josh's horse is like that. Not knowing the horse or it's history, I can't judge why he's doing what he's doing, or whether he has a good reason for it or not. > I guess it is like you say, you can teach a horse anything, it always > depends on point of view and your experience with something in terms of > what > it is doing. Once again, more than one right answer : )) > There are definitely many roads to Rome. It doesn't mean one is right and all others are wrong. And certainly, many of us venture down some roads we wish we hadn't. It's all a part of the learning process. When we know better, we do better. Mary
