When teaching and giving clinics around the world I have noticed something quite remarkable. When a skilled rider with passive, relaxed hands mounts a horse, the horse’s movement improves drastically. This phenomenon occurs without any specific training or preparation. It’s fascinating to witness how a simple change in the rider’s hand position can alter the

It’s important to recognise common mistakes and misconceptions related to using hands during horse riding. Let’s take a look at a few of these errors that you may encounter during your riding career. Firstly, pulling on the reins with excessive force is a common mistake. This practice is not a proper technique in horse riding

Let’s discuss exercises that can help you to maintain relaxed hands during riding. Most of these exercises can be done when standing in place. It’s important to avoid riding for extended periods and keep your hands from tensing up. You should frequently stop, stand still, and repeat the exercises to correct your hands and keep

As a rider, you know that having a relaxed upper body while riding is crucial to having good contact and a shared movement with the horse. To achieve this, you need to start by looking at the whole construction, which includes the bit inserted into the horse’s mouth and the reins attached to it that

Now let’s talk about how to have relaxed hands while horse riding. It may seem easy at first. Of course, it’s not complicated because there are no complicated elements here. But it’s not super easy either, because riders have many different habits and tendencies, and these habits and tendencies will need to be changed. You

Now we will discuss the first technical detail related to contact and the use of hands during horse riding. It is about how to hold the reins and how to use your fingers to hold them. This may seem commonly known and unimportant, but it is absolutely the most important element when it comes to

Let’s now talk directly about what hands are used for in Anna’s Riding Method. If you have read carefully the previous two chapters of this module, you already know the answer. Hands are only used to create contact between the rider’s body and the horse’s mouth. Therefore, hands are passive in the sense that we

In this chapter, we will discuss the concept of contact in horse riding. Contact is something every rider desires to achieve and is a fundamental aspect of horse riding. It is one of the first things we aim to teach a horse if we intend to ride them. Contact refers to the connection between the

The primary goal of a rider’s hands is to communicate with the horse and create a smooth, harmonious connection. To do this effectively, it is crucial to understand the difference between disturbing and supporting the movement of the horse. Disturbing the movement refers to actions that negatively affect the horse’s balance, rhythm, and comfort. This