# How can I improve my eq? Bareback Video



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

you ride very well bareback. your instructor can help you best.

about the only thing I could see was at the beginning you were doing a bit of "see-sawing" with the reins. but later you did not.
maybe try a bit more to make corrections/affects to the mouth with just your fingers , and less big arm movement.


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## Ariat164 (Nov 27, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> you ride very well bareback. your instructor can help you best.
> 
> about the only thing I could see was at the beginning you were doing a bit of "see-sawing" with the reins. but later you did not.
> maybe try a bit more to make corrections/affects to the mouth with just your fingers , and less big arm movement.


Thank you! I definitely need to work on quieting my hands, I think I have a tendency to let the reins get too long and then I tend to overcompensate with my hands lol.


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## etrnlflame (Oct 24, 2013)

Hey there! I really like your posture and how secure you are! Like said before, the reins and sea sawing, but I'm going to expand with a small story...

My current jumper mare, she has fantastic movement in the flat. My trainer, however, makes sure that our reins are always very very short! It's been hard for me to get used to, but now it makes sense to me. If you've ever seen one of those "webbed" reins with all of those stoppers on them, I hold mine on the second stopper, so really tight. What this trained me to do, however, is to get my arms in front of me and stay there (having a steady contact with the mare, additionally leaving no room to seasaw incessantly without really yanking the horse's mouth). The reins aren't hard on the horse's mouth because I care enough to actually do what my trainer has been training me to do and shove my arms out in front instead of pulling on her mouth.

Here's a good analogy he told me (paraphrased): when your elbows get to your sides, where do they go from there? They go back, behind you, look sloppy... You need your arms out in front of you if you're going to be effective, not look sloppy with your elbows going behind your back trying to get contact, etc.

I suggest getting some of those webbed reins, or else putting something on yours that push you out of your comfort zone with how far they make you reach. Honestly, you'll probably be hard on your horse's mouth for a little while as I was, but if you care enough about your horse you'll train yourself to stop, and then VOULA! Problem solved


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