• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Murdoch Method

Horseback Riding Instruction Redefined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • About
    • About Wendy Murdoch
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Reviews
  • Clinics
    • 2023 Clinic Schedule
    • Types of Clinics
    • Courses & Workshops
    • Clinic Request Form
    • Participant Feedback
    • Private Intensives
  • SURE FOOT
    • SURE FOOT Pads – Where to Start?
    • BUY SURE FOOT
    • Register Pads
    • SURE FOOT Videos
    • SURE FOOT Case Studies
    • SURE FOOT FAQs
    • Find A Practitioner
    • Online Courses
  • Resources
    • Murdoch Minutes
    • Free Video Lessons
    • In Wendy’s Library
    • Articles
    • Interviews
    • Recommended Books & DVDS
    • Blog
    • Follow Wendy’s Articles
    • Links
  • Shop
    • SURE FOOT Equine Pads
    • Webinars with Wendy
    • From Wendy Murdoch
    • Health
    • Rare Books
    • The Book Case
    • DVDs
    • Rider Aids
  • Safari
  • Contact
    • My Account
    • Checkout
    • Cart
Home / Murdoch Minutes / Murdoch Minute No. 75: Carry Your Hands

Murdoch Minute No. 75: Carry Your Hands

by Wendy Murdoch

Do your hands lean on your horse’s mouth? Unconsciously drop one or both hands? Lean forward and lower your hands when using the reins? Does your horse rush when you ask for downward transitions? Learning to carry the weight of your forearms and hands can help you stay away from the neck and avoid leaning on your horse’s mouth. This will make your rein aids more effective and your horse more responsive.

The rider has long arms and lets her forearms rest on her thighs instead of carrying her hands.
The rider has long arms and lets her forearms rest on her thighs instead of carrying her hands.

Many riders are taught to keep the hands low, close to the horse. Ideally, when riding on the flat the bottom of the pinky finger should rest on the withers. However, the exact position should be determined by your arm conformation, your horse’s neck set and the riding style you choose (hunters, dressage, western, etc.). No matter where you place them, it is important to carry your hands. In other words, they need to feel connected to the rest of your body, not sit there like limp dead fish.

Riding with limp forearms and hands has an adverse affect at all gaits and disciplines because your hands weight on the horse’s mouth. To you this would feel like someone with an extremely limp handshake– not pleasant at all! If you are one of those people who have a limp handshake it is time to firm it up for your horse’s sake.

As an instructor from the ground it is easy to tell if the rider’ hand is too limp and understand why the horse won’t like the rein contact. Simply take ahold of one rein at a time and pull a little. Sense the weight of the rider’s forearm and hand. Does the arm come toward you without any resistance? Does if feel heavy or floppy as if these body parts are no longer connected to the rest of the rider? Does the rein feel vacant? You might discover that the rider has the opposite problem and grabs at the rein but this solution to that is another Fix!

To solve a limp contact, do the following exercise. Start by holding a short whip between your two hands while holding the

Adding the whip keeps the hands connected so that they stay at the same height but did not change the tone in her forearms.
Adding the whip keeps the hands connected so that they stay at the same height but did not change the tone in her forearms.

reins. Hold the whip under your thumbs with the reins held in two hands as normal. After getting accustomed to this add a lightweight pad on top of the whip. A gardener’s kneeling pad or in this case a balance cushion works fine. You want something that isn’t very heavy but at the same time will make you pay attention to your forearms and hands. Walk with the pad on top of the whip.

Now imagine placing a glass of your favorite beverage on top of the pad. If you don’t carry the pad you will spill it all over your horse. Can you keep the pad level so that you don’t spill your drink? Feel how you have to maintain a certain amount of tone in your forearms and hands to balance the pad. Be careful not to stiffen your elbows. They still need to be able to open and close in order to follow your horse’s mouth.

Adding a lightweight pad made her pay attention and carry her hands while still maintaining a straight line from elbow to bit.
Adding a lightweight pad made her pay attention and carry her hands while still maintaining a straight line from elbow to bit.

If you have short upper arms you may discover that you have to carry your hands above the withers in order to keep the pad level. If you have very long arms you may have to bend your elbow more that usual to clear the horse’s withers with the pad. During this exercise having your hands higher than normal is fine. The key is to sense that your have to maintain tone in the forearms and hands.

Remove the pad and ride with your hands lower while maintaining a firm feeling through your arms to the horse’s mouth – like a firm handshake and notice what happens to your transitions. When your arms are connected your horse can hear your seat much more clearly.

Use this Murdoch Minute to connect your arms and hands to the rest of your body so that your horse feels a kind yet firm connection through the reins and always remember to enjoy the ride!

Filed Under: Murdoch Minutes

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Primary Sidebar

Your Cart

Article Categories

  • Courses & Workshops
  • Horseback Riding Video Lessons
  • Horseback Safari
  • In Wendy's Library
  • Interviews
  • Murdoch Minutes
  • Past Event Archive
  • Podcast
  • Related Equine Articles
  • Reviews
  • SURE FOOT Case Studies
  • SURE FOOT Videos
  • Tails from the Trail
  • Top News
  • Uncategorized

Performance Resources

  • Downloadable Products
  • DVDs
  • FREE Downloads
  • From Wendy Murdoch
  • Health
  • Online Courses
  • Rare Books
  • Rider Aids
  • SURE FOOT Equine Pads
  • The Book Case
  • Webinars with Wendy

Quick Links

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Register SURE FOOT
  • My Account
  • Checkout
  • Cart

Footer

RIDE WITH WENDY MURDOCH

ALL ABOUT SURE FOOT

STABILIZATION! IT’S AT OUR CORE


Copyright © 2023 The Murdoch Method LLC
All trademarks, photographs, and text on this website are the property of The Murdoch Method, LLC.
Any unauthorized use is expressly prohibited.
Privacy + Terms & Conditions

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT