Tag: bending


The Correct Use of Side Reins

17th April

Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and this is Kristen Balch with her horse Contigo demonstrating in our video here this morning. We had a question come in yesterday about the correct position or the correct length of the side reins.

The correct length of the side reins is so long that the horse simply can’t put it’s head all the way up (In the video, you can see how Kristen raises his head a little bit to show how free his head is), he has plenty of room to bring his head reasonably in front of the vertical but he can’t put his head up so far that he can turn completely upside down. So that is the correct length of side reins.

The side reins should never be so tight that they draw the horse’s head back (Kristen pulls …




From the Blog!

Join me as I post weekly blogs covering many topics relating to Classical Foundation Training. I have intentionally left out the word "dressage" because many people have a negative association with the prevalent "crank and spank" approach or that it is a sport for only those who are afraid to jump.

Dressage as it is meant to be is an understanding of how to best optimize a horse's movement and ability to carry a rider, surely a benefit for any horse, any discipline. It is also important in maintaining your horse's safety, soundness and sanity.

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