Quiet Riding

Horses and Riders Working in Harmony


Horses in the Fog

Hands

[As additional resources, links to book reviews and book purchasing information can be found beneath the quotations when this information is available.]

"Lightness of hand is absolutely necessary for using the reins with precision and without jerking them."

James Fillis, Breaking and Riding
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"The action of the bit on the mouth of the horse should be produced only by the tightening and slackening of the fingers on the reins."

James Fillis, Breaking and Riding
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"A good rider, with good hands can communicate through the reins with the horse's mouth. This is not a one-way street. The good rider's hands can also feel each of the horse's hind legs with his hands."

Eitan Beth-Halachmy, Cowboy Dressage
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"It is only with a good position and a supple horse that the rider may succeed in stabilising his hands, thus being certain of never pulling on the horse's mouth."

Nuno Oliveira (translated by Phyllis Field), Reflections on Equestrian Art
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"Quiet, sensitive hands are important in all aspects of riding. Your arms and hands, from the shoulder joints to the tips of the fingers and through the reins, belong to the horse. He directs the movement of your hands, and the level of his head determines the level of your hands."

Sally Swift, Centered Riding
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"All major motion of the horse's head will be absorbed by your shoulders and elbows."

Sally Swift, Centered Riding
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"Good hands are profoundly dependent on a good seat."

Sally Swift, Centered Riding
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"Professional horsemen know how important good hands and a light feel of a horse's mouth are in getting a good performance from the horse."

Donna Snyder–Smith, The Classic Western Rider
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"The rider's contact with the horse's mouth must be gentle and elastic so that the horse doesn't feel 'claustrophobic.'"

Jane Savoie, Cross-Train Your Horse, Simple Dressage for Every Sport
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"A steady contact, even if it's a bit too firm, is preferable to the contact that repeatedly touches the horse's mouth and then gets loose."

Jane Savoie, Cross-Train Your Horse, Simple Dressage for Every Sport
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"De la Broue and after him the Duke of Newcastle have both said that a good bridle hand must be light, gentle, and firm. This kind of perfection comes not only from the action of the hand itself, but also from the rider's seat."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"The height of the rider's hand usually regulates the height of the horse's head."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"We have mentioned that a good hand combines three qualities: lightness, gentleness, and firmness. The light hand is that which does not feel any contact at all of the bit on the bars. The gentle hand is that which feels a little of the effect of the bit without giving too much contact. The firm hand is that which holds the horse in full contact with the bit."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"The effects [of the hands] must be applied without constraining the animal and without suddenly abandoning contact with its mouth."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"The hand should never suddenly yield or resist. This can ruin a horse's mouth and cause head-tossing."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"When the rider feels that his horse is on its haunches, then is the time to subtly yield the bridle hand or even to perform the 'descente de main'."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"Softly bent around the rein, the fingers speak to the horse through nuances of pressure. These actions do not disturb the position of the hand whatsoever, but exert sufficient feel to be noticed by the horse."

Sylvia Loch, The Classical Rider
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"These [the fingers] give and take a little in swift alternating actions when the horse feels heavy, dull or inattentive to say, 'Hey! I'm talking to you! Please attend!'"

Sylvia Loch, The Classical Rider
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"Humans are very hand-oriented by nature."

Kathleen Schmitt, The Seamless Seat
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"The rider's hands, like our seat, have two jobs: they can receive information and they can transmit information. By far the more important job is to receive information."

Kathleen Schmitt, The Seamless Seat
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"A hand with fingertips lightly touching the palm can open to soften and yield pressure on the rein quite easily. An open hand has nothing more to give."

Kathleen Schmitt, The Seamless Seat
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"The clearly defined enemy is an inside hand that pulls backward and pushes down!"

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"When you focus on developing a sensitive, giving, independent hand, you will be a long way down the road to improving the seat."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"A giving hand of the rider is fundamental to suppleness of the horse's back."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"She who believes a horse must be dominated with the hand will never experience how wonderfully light a through, balanced horse feels, and how much fun he is to ride!"

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"In training for contact, the horse must play the active part and the rider's hand the waiting, passive part."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Hand techniques and force must become less and less important on the path to a through horse. Actually, they must completely disappear!"

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Light hands yield (soften by relaxing the fingers slightly) when the horse yields."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
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"Contact, remember, is a firm but soft, elastic feel between your hands and the horse's mouth."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
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