Quick Tip #21--Why We Ride With Our Hands Down

There are a few adaptions of the riding style that I teach that vary from what is often taught as proper riding. I am always open to learning better ways but the adaptations that I use all come back to two thing, comfort for the horse and safety for the rider.

Later posts will deal with developing extreme lightness in the horse's response to cues. This post is only on the why we do it rather than the how.

We ride with two hands, palms to the ground, limp rein unless cueing a horse. Turns are three part maneuvers. A left turn is accomplished by looking hard left, pushing the horse's hips to the right with the left foot, and then moving the horse's nose to the direction of the left knee. That's right the hand goes to the knee, not the belt, and certainly not the chest. With a light enough horse and an experienced rider the turn is usually accomplished before the rein is ever full engaged. Of course, the pressure is released as soon as the horse begins to think about considering the possibility of perhaps turning in the manner desired. One should not keep up the pressure until the maneuver is complete. The quickness of the release is more important than the pressure itself.

A right turn is completed the same way on the opposite side.

This riding style is developed with rider safety in mind. The reason that I do not want my riders to raise their hand upward while turning is because I can flip a horse over doing that. More importantly I saw an adrenaline filled 12 year old girl on a spooked big horse who was already moving backwards flip the horse over with that move.

I never want to see that happen again. This style makes it easier for a kid to execute an emergency stop. By holding the hands low, palms down, a child engages her triceps and back muscles and has a great deal of potential range of backward movement with her hand. The triceps and back are stronger than the biceps and pectoral muscles on nearly all people. A seventy pound kid needs all the strength she can muster in an emergency situation.

I recognize that this is not how most people are taught to cue horses. I am often greeted by shocked statements that this is not the "right way" to do it. Again, I am always open to learning a better way, I think that our track record shows a lot about the validity of these cues.

I have kids riding formerly wild horses though cut overs and swamps that most people would not take a horse through and our rate of injury to either horse or rider is infintisimal.

I am not afraid to make adaptations to suit the needs of my riders. Sometimes you even need to stand in a chair to reach the microphone.

Self Defense?

From its inception our program has incurred the wrath of some who consider themselves spokesman for the established horse world. We promote natural horse care, natural horsemanship and natural hoof care. We teach little children to tame and ride wild horses. We promote affordable horsemanship that absolutely rejects the values of the established horse world and the big equibusiness money that it generates. We promote the preservation of rare historic horses.

Every single aspect of what we do is a threat to those who view horses as vehicles to make money. So it is no surprise that our program generates hate mail.

I do not respond to these attacks for several reasons.

1. To do so is utterly undignified. I do not engage in debates with such people.
2. To do so is a tacit acceptance of the legitimacy of the established horse world.
3. To do so would be nothing but an effort to gain the respect of the established horse world. I have absolutely no interest in seeking any common ground with that world.
4. To do so would be to fail to recognize the value that such attacks have for the promotion of our goals. It seems that the permanent numbers of readership of our blog increases with each attack.


But the most important reasons to refuse to engage or even recognize such attacks are sitting before me as I type this morning--the clock and the calendar. The clock reminds me that there are only 24 hours in each day and I do not have time to waste on petty squabbling. I have animals to care for, kids to teach and lives to work to improve.

The calendar reminds me that as each day passes the Corollas could be moving closer to extinction. It would be wrong for me to take even a moment out of one of those days to defend our program.

There are not enough days left for such a luxury.


"They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes.
They tell me revenge is sweet. From where they stand I'm sure it is
But I have no use for their game. Where beauty goes unrecognized.
And all I feel is heat and flame. And all I see are Dark Eyes."

 --Bob Dylan,"All I See Are Dark Eyes"

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