Galop 4In the saddle
Contents
- 01WelcomeOverview
- 02Domestic lifeKnowledge
- 03Identifying a horseKnowledge
- 04The passportKnowledge
- 05Routine careCaring for the horse
- 06Vital signs and illnessCaring for the horse
- 07Needs and feedsKnowledge
- 08Feeds to avoidKnowledge
- 09How the canter worksKnowledge
- 10The aids, flexion and bendKnowledge
- 11Boots and legsCaring for the horse
- 12Snaffle bitsKnowledge
- 13The contactIn the saddle
- 14The jumping positionIn the saddle
- 15Position and strideIn the saddle
- 16Canter from walk, quarter turnsIn the saddle
- 17GroundworkOn foot
- 18Safety and hackingKnowledge
- 19Tests and revisionRevision
The contact: soft and steady, or none at all
The contact is the link between your hand and the horse’s mouth through the reins. In Galop 4 you can take it up, keep it in all three gaits — and do without it at will.
In the exam programme
- Take and keep a steady, soft contact with your horse’s or pony’s mouth in all three gaits.Specific part
- Be able to ride without contact with the mouth, at will, in all three gaits.Specific part
- Walk in hand for a few strides keeping a soft, steady contact on both reins.Specific part
A steady contact is never lost: the reins stay taut, never flapping. A soft contact does not weigh: the tension is light, constant and elastic, as if your reins were made of rubber. This is the contact that lets the horse accept the hand and lets the rider feel what is happening at the other end of the reins.
Taking up and keeping the contact
- Adjust the reinsShorten both reins to the same length until you feel the mouth, fingers closed, thumbs on top, hands the width of the neck apart. Elbow, hand and mouth form a straight line.
- Let your arms do the workThe contact stays even because your elbows open and close. In walk and canter, the horse’s head nods back and forth: your hands follow that movement. In trot it hardly moves: your hands stay still, without going up and down with your body as you rise.
- Keep the thread through transitionsThis is where the contact gets lost: riders drop it going up a gait and pull going down. Keep your arms supple and the same light tension from one gait to the next.
- Yield without letting goWhen the horse answers, your fingers relax for a moment, without opening the hand: that is yielding, not giving up the contact.
On the contact
At the trot, reins taut: elbow, hand and mouth in a straight line.
Without contact
At the walk, long reins, a little slack: the mouth is left free.
The contact in hand
On foot at the left shoulder, one rein in each hand, never pulling.
Riding without contact
Riding without contact means leaving the reins long, slightly slack, the mouth free. The horse relaxes and stretches his neck, and you prove that your balance does not depend on your hands. It is used for warming up and as a reward, when hacking out, and Galop 4 asks for it in all three gaits.
- Steer with your eyes, the turn of your shoulders, your weight and your legs.
- Control the speed with your seat — following the movement or slowing it — and with your voice.
- Take the contact back up by shortening the reins gradually, one hand after the other, without jarring the mouth.
Safety
Without contact, always keep hold of the end of the reins, near the buckle. If the horse takes fright, you must be able to gather them up in a second.
The contact in hand
The programme also asks you to walk on foot for a few strides keeping a soft, steady contact on both reins, with the horse bridled. The reins stay over the neck. Stand at the left shoulder: your right hand holds the right rein, which passes over the neck just in front of the withers; your left hand holds the left rein further forward, along the neck. Walk briskly, keeping the same light tension in both hands; to halt, slow down, draw your shoulders up and close your fingers, just as in the saddle.
A word from the instructor
Long reins are not forgotten reins. If you have to fish for them for three strides, that was not “without contact”; that was “without rider”.