Hi Janice and Nancy > are you supposed to ride a horse with no slack at all in the reins? > Is that what they call bit contact??
I would say 'it depends'. Remember that if you are riding with heavish rope reins then a slight slack in the rein will feel the same , as far as weight goes, as a light contact with a regular leather rein. >>The straight answer is there is no "supposed to" to it. It would depend >>on the discipline, the stage of the horse's training, the "moment in >>time". My goal with my trail horses is to ride on a loose rein. I would agree with this Nancy. I have used a fish scale with riders to let them feel what 1 lb of pressure feels like and that is just a connection to the horses mouth but without pull. I ride with a variety of rein contact and on the trail often use what I call supported slack - there is a slack in the rein but it stays the same amount of slack, as opposed to loosening and tightening as the horse moves. We have people 'play horse' with the bridle and having a really loose rein isn't necessarily very clear to the horse. So much also depends on what you are doing with the rest of your body. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
