bridle-less riding

Question
How can i teach my horse to ride reinless? I can get her to go faster with leg pressure, but I cant get her to slow down, stop or turn without the use of a halter or bridle. She doesnt turn when you give leg pressure, she just goes faster. Do you have any tips as to how to teach her this? Any help would be great!

Answer
Hi Betta!

Your horse needs more education and time.  When your horse can do everything you ask for and you are riding with quality in the bridle, then reins become a moot point.  When we are training a horse in general, this is what we are all hoping to do...make the communication so clear, accurate and precise that our legs are the horses legs, we are working in sinc and as one.  At this point reins really are no longer necessary, HOWEVER...reins always serve a purpose and that is for assistance and support.  I never want to be in a position where I could not support my horse if something bad were to happen.  After all a horse is ALWAYS going to be a horse!  They will always do what they think they need to do to survive.

Case in point, a few years ago at the AQHA World Show there was a huge retirement party and celebration for Rugged Lark, a very famous quarter horse and an ambassador for  AQHA.  Lynn Palm, his primary trainer, rode the beautiful bay stallion in front of a crowd of about 30 thousand people all packed into the main arena in Oklahoma City for the event.  Lynn rode the horse and performed an FEI freestyle dressage test with him and jumped him...bridle-less.  The horse did have a wire garland of flowers around his neck that he was ridden with.  The performance was wonderful and such a tribute to a great horse.  The second part of the performance was to have Lark ridden western.  Clinton Anderson was doing the western part of the show.  He did not have quite as good a go as Lynn Palm but his ride was quite memorable.  After performing the reining pattern with a bridle, Clinton then did the pattern bridleless using only the wire garland.  He then turned around in the saddle to the pattern bridleless and while sitting backward.  How very dumb.  The horse always knows when we humans are acting stupid, arrogant, and prideful and they will humble us.  Just as it should be.  Mr. Anderson hooked "Lark" with a spur, the saddle slipped, Clinton did not check his cinch before stepping on backward, and Lark did what any self respecting equine would do in the face of monumental human stupidity...he took off!  Fast!!!  After several break neck trips around the arena, with Clinton trying his best to grab a hold of the wire garland, he was dumped, face first into the arena dirt.

At this point Lark was scared.  Unsupported and feeling very alone, this wonderful, talented superstar tried to jump out of the arena which by now had gone from cheers and tears to silence.  He had no support.  He was on his own and only the voice of his owner, Carol Harris, was able to stop him.  Lark heard Carol's voice call his name, only once, and he slowed, trotted right to her and put her head in her chest.  She offered him security, trust and support.  There is a huge lesson in this story.  All of this was of course edited out of Larks retirement video, again a great decision.  There was no reason to damage the glowing reputation of a wonderful horse because of the actions of an arrogant human.  Only the people in attendance that evening were able to see this.  It was the strangest thing, I did not hear anyone talking about it the next day.  I think we were all given a lot to think about and we were all feeling a bit humble.  

Horses will always be horses.  We use halters, bridles, bosals, reins, bits in order to SUPPORT and communicate.  A horses natural instinct is flight!  We have to offer support and confidence in order to show the horse that we are leaders they can believe in.  We have to show them and prove to them that we can be trusted as herd leaders.  The horse has to know that we have the answers they are looking for.  Without the means of communication, a simple mistake or an unseen accident can turn into tragedy.  

Betta, by the time you are able to ride bridleless, you will no longer feel that is is necessary.  Most humans do things for the sake of their ego.  They do things to show off.  I'm pretty sure the more time you spend with your horse and the more time you spend working on real quality, the less important bridleless riding will be.

Work on the basics with real quality.  Use your halter, bosal, reins, bridle to really communicate with your horse.  Get to the feet and to the mind!  When you are riding in such a way that your reins never move and that your cues are invisible and you and your horse are thinking the same thoughts...nothing else will matter.

Think, enjoy the journey and SMILE!
Denise