Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and we had a request for some information for work in hand so I am going to try and give you a few points about that today!

This is our new horse Zoolander and if you come and take a close look here, both of my hands are going to be up (as shown in video) as I take the rein contact a little bit from the bit here and the other hand going up here (as shown in video) with the whip in my hand at the same time on this side. The most important thing to remember when you are doing work in hand is you’re wanting the horse to move ahead of you. Just like when you lunge you don’t stand around backwards, you stand to the front so when you step forward your almost stepping underneath the neck but your staying at the shoulder. When you work in hand horses can kick out, so the shoulder is the safest place to work with the horse because the horse has very little lateral movement of the leg that way. Once in a while you can have one that can step out and onto your toes, but those are rare. Staying at the shoulder is also where you want to be because they can’t reach you with their hind leg, which occasionally they will try to do when you work in hand, especially when you are starting a new horse.

Now this horse has only tried to do this one or two times, so he may have some resistance to it. The idea is that we have contact with the reins here and we are simply going to ask him to step away from the whip on this side. He is going to be a little confused. The idea is that we are trying to teach the horse to step into the contact with the outside rein, just like we do when we ride. Notice how I am right at the horse’s shoulder and I am faced forward making him step forward and to the side. All lateral work should be fifty percent to the front. I am right here in line with the shoulder but I am stepping forwards, so the horse will step forward. The biggest mistake people make is they end up back like this (example shown in video) and then they can’t control the horse and so the horse starts stopping on them. So you stay forward where you want the horse to go to get him ahead of your leg. This is how we start all young horses in work in hand before we get up there so it gives us a chance to explain what we want and also sometimes when we have some horses who are very uncontrolled or for horses who have learned to run behind the bridle. This is a way to get them ahead of your leg without you up there so that when you get up there, it will be corrected. When you ask him to stop always give him a pet on the neck there.

Now we will reverse and try the other way so you can see. Every horse is more difficult one way and every rider is more difficult one way. Notice the same position of the hands, just a little bit down from the bit (a foot or so) and contact with the outside rein, and once again I am going to touch him right here where the leg would be. As you can see it is a little more awkward for him this way and he is a little more resistant. Look how light my hands are on the reins. The key is never holding him back, it’s the same thing when you ride. I’m never just gripping with my hands, I am keeping them relaxed and then pretty soon he steps over and forward into the outside rein. With a young horse as soon as I get a little and he is responding to the leg, I pat him on the neck.

This is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I hope that helps. Now remember that all these kinds of work in hands are advanced techniques. So try it on your own, but if you have someone who can help you, then by all means have them do so because it is not as easy as I’m making it look here. You have to coordinate, just like when you ride, it is coordinating the hands. The whip is your leg and then you’re coordinating the contact into your hands. Thank you so much for joining us and we will see you next time at Art2Ride!

classical foundation contact coordination leg rein San Diego horse training shoulder Will Faerber work in hand