The reins should be adjusted to their proper length with the right hand so as to feel the horse’s mouth lightly before the fingers of the left hand are closed on them. With regard to the ends of the reins, it is equally correct to have all four reins one upon the other, and then put the thumb on top of them all, or to put the thumb on top of the snaffle reins and have the curb reins pass to the right of the thumb, if one is riding on the snaffle; or, if one is riding on the curb, to have the thumb resting on the curb reins and the snaffle reins passing to the right of the thumb.

The reins should be properly arranged in the left hand, as I have described, at the start, when the body and the elbow are in their correct positions, and they should be held at this same length at all times and not allowed to slip through the fingers. They should be held by pressing the edges of the reins, with the fingers, against the cushion of the hand, and not by squeezing the flat surfaces of the reins between the fingers. The principal reason why beginners let the reins slip through their fingers is that they do not hold the reins by the edges.

Correct Position of Reins
1—Off snaffle rein. 2—Off curb rein. 3—Near curb rein. 4—Near snaffle rein.
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The whip, crop, or stick, whichever may be carried, belongs in the right hand, but the whip and

stick are both carried with the handle up and the small end pointing downward whereas the crop should always be carried with the handle downward and the loop end upward. The reason for this is, probably, because in England crops which have handles are used for opening the latches of gates, and, when held in this position, the handle can be quickly used for this purpose without the crop being shifted. Another reason is because, when used in the hunting field with the lash, the lash can be got out quickly, and the crop will be in position for use at a moment’s notice. Whichever of the three, whip, stick, or crop, may be carried, hold it lightly in the palm between the thumb and first finger of the right hand.

I have already described the position of the reins in the left hand. The next thing to be considered is the position of the left hand itself when holding the reins.

As I have said, the forearm must be horizontal. The hand must be held with the knuckles nearly vertical, and not horizontal, as many hold it. The hand must be bent in toward the body at the wrist, and the wrist must be flexible so as to give slightly with the movement of the horse’s head. Nearly all beginners have great difficulty in remembering to keep the wrist bent, as they are apt to straighten it out so as to give a direct tug on the horse’s mouth with

their arm, and so lose the spring which the supple wrist would give them.

The right hand should be held symmetrically with the left, bent in at the wrist in the same way, and with the knuckles at about the same angle. For beginners, it is better, until they have acquired fairly good “hands,” to hold the bight of all four reins in the right hand between the thumb and forefinger, about an inch from the left hand and just below the whip, the bight of all four reins passing through the right hand and out under the little finger. This keeps the right hand in position ready for an emergency, but it does not allow it to interfere with the even pressure and “feel” which the left hand has on the horse’s mouth, with both the near and off reins. Remember that, under normal circumstances, all four reins must be held firmly in the left hand, and that there must be an exactly even pressure on the horse’s mouth on both sides, and that, in order to keep the reins so and prevent them from slipping, they must be held by the edges between the second joints of the fingers and the cushion of the hand, and must also be firmly pressed down between the thumb and forefinger.