How To Soften Contact With Your Pony

Plenty of horses, both raw and trained, lay in their riders’ hands without taking correct contact. A few of these horses do it out of rawness, some out of defiance, and others might be sore, used to tugging of the reins, or unable/not keen to perform correct self carriage.

I suggest some exercises below for horses that have difficulty with staying soft. All of these exercises first should be worked on the walk, then at trots and when you are absolutely confident of your horse and yourself, at canters. You need to ensure your horse moves freely forward at all gaits.

Start by warming up your pony with a long rein. Slowly take up contact while applying leg. Try hard not to haul the horse in. While at a walk, keep up contact on the outside rein, give with the inside rein for 3 paces then softly take contact back. Repeat the process. Keep going with the exercise at a rising trot. Give with the interior rein even as your horse remains in contact on the outer one.

Next, get set to supple up your horse at a walk with a bit of flex and counter flex movements. As you’re going thru a corner, use your inner leg to bend the pony through the back. Sponge the inside rein ever so lightly so his neck and head are flexed. Hold this position over 2 strides. Straighten out over the next 2 steps; counter flex the pony at the rail with your outer leg and sponge the outside rein. Hold this position for two steps, allowing your pony to walk in a straight line. Do the exercise again in the other direction and at a trot.

It’s time to progress to a basic serpentine. Flex the pony at the corner again, but don’t straighten him. Ride on into the arena’s quarter line and straighten out for 2 steps; counter flex while heading your pony from the quarter line back to the rail. Conduct this exercise only at the arena’s longer sides. Move straight past the shorter sides. Repeat in the other direction, repeat at a walk and a trot. You may also work on full serpentines looping across from the longer side across the centre to the other longer side. Change direction for each loop. The serpentine exercises help maintain rhythm. Perform three loops of the same size and arc.

The final exercise is another version of our first exercise involving giving rein, though you give both reins here, swapping one after another. While on the walk, let go with the interior rein to lose all contact on it and push your elbow ahead. Continue over three steps. Take up contact on this rein and give with the other one for another 3 steps. Repeat with the opposite side then go through everything again at a trot.

By carrying out these exercises, you will notice that your horse feels lighter and better balanced while at self carriage. He’s going to show lower poll, softer jaw and an eagerness to stretch outward and downward as soft contact as required, and he won’t be pulling the reins from your hands.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers go here