Strong Left Hand

[fin]

When i ride i think i must twist and my left shoulder must go backwards and my left hand is strong. How do i stop this from happening as all my ponies seem to then lean on the left rein? The more i concentrate on not grabbing the left rein, the more i seem to do it. Any advice?

[nia2311]

Try riding without reins in the school, concentrate on getting a balanced seat, using your seat and legs to "steer" rather than your reins. When you feel well and truly balanced, pick up the reins again, but don't shift your seat/balance and see if that helps?

Also get an instructor to observe you riding and see if they can assist you - someone on the ground is always more able to point out what you are doing right/wrong and offer advice.

[GinaGeo]

An instructor. I had an awful habit of riding with my right rein shorter than my left and lifted over the wither, I constantly had him hooked up and crooked. I had no clue I was doing it and thought he was the crooked one

My fab instructor got me sorted in the end, constant reminders. I ended up talking to myself to remind myself when she wasn't there so I didn't subconsiously do it again. But had she not pointed it out to me I'd never have known I was doing it. I think you need someone from the ground to firstly identify exactly what you're doing and then work with you to correct it

[emzkes]

Try to open your left rein ie move your hand out away from the horse's shoulder . Also think about pulling your right shoulder back back, this should help make you a bit straighter x

[satchmo]

I have this problem! It's such a hard habit to break but you can do it, i now have the confidence and balance to totally give the left rein and not use it as a security blanket. I have a really good instructor and this is helping enormously but when riding on my own i have to constantly remind myself not to do it. The habit of this has resulted in him blocking me on the left side but we're working through this. I haven't completely stopped hanging on to him with my left rein but i now quickly realise i'm doing it and correct myself. Eventually i hope i'll stop it all together but until then i have to be constantly thinking about it. A really good exercise we use to stop this and also teach you to keep both hands still is have someone lunge you, tie your reins in a knot and to start with cup your hands together at the height you hold your reins, pick up rising trot and when you feel comfortable uncup your hands and have them as if you were holding the reins and continue rising trot, when you take the reins back you should feel even. Hope this helps

[crimsoncloverep]

have a go at crossing your reins, so each hand is holding the opposite rein as you can identify which hand is really stronger- eg: your horse will turn the opposite way to that you expect them to!
Do normal school work and I've found it evens out imbalance and you actually end reducing them emphasis on your hands.

[gooogle]

Hi, you don't specify whether you do much showing but this is a common fault as most of the time you are on the left rein and if you are riding correctly into an outside supporting rein it gets more use. I should know! Add to this that most ponies are more onward bound in the ring this rapidly turns into a blocking or dead hand.
I agree that swapping reins can help to establish which rein is stronger but I would suggest that you stick to this on exercise if you are unsupervised, not the menage as if you get in a pickle this can be worse. This is a an old pony club exercise many of us older ones remember and does work.
My advice in the school is to get a good instructor and start working on shoulder in as this relies on providing a supporting outside rein and a soft inside rein. It also requires you to slightly turn your shoulders in the direction of the movement whilst sitting deeper on the inside seatbone with your weight through your heels.
Think of your reins as elasticated side reins that give and don't completely restrict the neck. You can also ask for outside bend down the long sides to swap the supporting rein to the inside hand which lets you soften the stranglehold! Remember change of bend comes primarily from legs aids and a slight indication with the shoulders as any rein aid is a checking one!
You don't specify but many natives or cobs struggle with inside bend due to their shape so ensure that your pony brings his inside hind right underneath his body on a circle to ensure that he can cope.
Last comment try a schooling whip in each hand as you are less likely to "knit" or ride with "pram" hands in your lap or cross your your hands over. Think two mugs of hot tea and look up! Good luck. pm me if you would like simplified lesson plan

[vikki85]

I have a 'grabby' left hand, and this is caused by the fact that my left hip is not as mobile or strong as my right, so my hand over compensates for what my body can't do! I might be worth getting yourself checked out by an osteopath/chiropractor in case there's an issue somewhere in your own body - how many of us spend hundreds of pounds getting our horses backs etc checked but don't even stop to think of the effect our own body's imbalances have on the horses way of going? I'm definately guilty of this one!

Also, a good tip my riding instructor gave me was to balance a riding crop across your hands, holding onto it with your thumbs (the same way you hold onto your reins). That way you can't move the 'grabby' hand as holding onto the crop prevents you from moving it away from your other hand.