Rein usage- The Indirect vs Direct Rein Practice
What you'll need:
Chair, desk/table, string ( or something similar such as baling twine, clip-on reins, etc.), strainer/pot with two handles, something slightly heavy- box of rocks, etc.
Place the box or weighted object in the middle between the pot and where you are sitting- with it resting against the pot.
Sit in the chair with your forearms resting on the table, and hold the reins as you would when you ride with your thumbs up.
The pot is your horse's head. The weighted box is his neck.
Indirect rein:
Starting with your hands parallel to one another, draw the right rein in towards the "middle" (or your left).
Watch the pot's right handle over-rotate to the right and then it will start to move back towards the box.
Imagine if this was the horse; his head would be overturning towards the right and then his neck would be shortening towards his right shoulder. The pressure from his head pushing into his neck would cause a diagonal weight onto his left shoulder, causing him to compensate by moving his right hind leg up under his stomach, and stepping towards his left side to maintain balance.
