# Gloves - my grip on the reins slip



## horsecv (Jan 21, 2014)

Hi guys, when I ride, I have noticed myself constantly adjusting the length between on my grip on the reins. They're constantly slipping in and out so I'm constantly lengthening and shortening. 

This had led me to fiddle around while I'm riding through jumps and is causing me extra work. 

I was wondering if this is a common problem? If not, are my thumbs just weak in the grip? my grip is usually pretty relaxed. 

Has anyone tried using football wide receiver gloves? The palms are very sticky and made of this plasticky/rubber material.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

what makes the reins slip through your hand>? is the horse pulling them through? are you riding with your fingers open? are the reins plain, braided, with stops?


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I would think a weak grip is more to blame then slippery reins or sweaty plams etc. The riders I know, myself included, who wear gloves are doing so to prevent blisters or burns from the reins. When I'm riding a little absentmindedly I notice my reins slip more since I have a bad habit of letting my hands relax. 

Also, if I remember correctly you're just learning to ride? When I worked with beginners I noticed rein lengthening was more of a problem. It's something that comes with practice. Tiny makes a good point too, your horse shouldn't be pulling the reins through your fingers. If this is a cause tighten your fingers around the reins and keep your hands steady.
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## horsecv (Jan 21, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> what makes the reins slip through your hand>? is the horse pulling them through? are you riding with your fingers open? are the reins plain, braided, with stops?


I'm riding generally with a light grip. The reins I use are usually braided. 

I hold the reins light enough that if the horse puts his neck down suddenly the reins would slip through. 

Sometimes my instructor says to "soften the reins", which I've probably incorrectly understood as not having a kung fu grip. I'm actually not sure what she means now that I think about it.

Are you supposed to have a kung fu grip? It seems like being too heavy on the grip would be a bad idea, i feel like I would be jerking the horse around a lot.


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

Soften the reins means to not be pulling so much on them, not to loosen your grip. You need to find a happy medium with your grip. It shouldn't be "kung fu", but it also should not be so loose that the reins are constantly slipping through your fingers.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

horsecv said:


> I'm riding generally with a light grip. The reins I use are usually braided.
> 
> I hold the reins light enough that if the horse puts his neck down suddenly the reins would slip through.
> 
> ...


You're riding with your grip too loose. The horse should not be able to pull the reins through your hands. This does not mean to tense up your body or pull back, just maintain a firm grip. Unless your hands are dripping sweat or something you should be able to hold on to a pair of braided reins with or without gloves.

I used to have this problem. For the first couple of years of riding I was actually holding the reins incorrectly. Instead of holding them between my fingers I was just closing my fingertips tightly on them  My trainer would yell CLOSE YOUR HANDS and I knew darn well that I was squeezing those reins! It took the pony I was riding at the time tripping or throwing his head or something at the canter and the reins popping right out of my hands for us to finally figure out the problem, and it still took awhile to fix the habit. Luckily that pony was a pretty chill fellow and just slowed to a walk when he was suddenly cantering along with me reinless!

That said, they DO make horse riding gloves and reins with more grip to them. I think that working on your grip with your current equipment is a better first approach.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

i have never liked that statement; "soften the reins". to me, it mean more like, "get the horse to soften to the bit a little more". you can't do that by just opening your hand and dropping the contact.

to me , if someone says soften on the inside rein, I would very gently close my hand on the rein with my fingers so that it's the tiniest of "milking" motion to the rein. it's enough to get the horse's attention and ask him to give ever so slightly to that side, so the net result it that the HORSE creates some looseness there, and the result of that is that the hrose puts himself more on the outside rein, softer on the inside. 

So , YOU don't soften that rein so much as you ask the horse to be soft on it, and you reward him by giving him a tiny release there.


Close your hands more around the rein. being soft on the rein does not mean openning it so much that your fingers look all spidery out in every direction.


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

Yup, you're holding the reins too loose! My instructor likes to remind me to close my fingers around the reins by telling me to imagine that I have a bird in each hand and I need to hold them tight enough that they don't fly away but not so tight that I squish them! 

I would practice better grip without gloves as its more a muscle memory problem for you then anything.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Zeke said:


> Yup, you're holding the reins too loose! My instructor likes to remind me to close my fingers around the reins by telling me to imagine that I have a bird in each hand and I need to hold them tight enough that they don't fly away but not so tight that I squish them!
> 
> I would practice better grip without gloves as its more a muscle memory problem for you then anything.


Haha, my trainer used the same analogy!


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I have a bad habit of holding plenty tight with my thumb, pointer and middle fingers but then my ring finger and pinky just kinda...hang loose for lack of a better word. My birds would totally scoot out the bottom!


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## horsecv (Jan 21, 2014)

Lost the gloves today. I did much better to have a tight grip on the reins and I think it went well. Less confusion for the horse, though there was one point when he started to buck- but i think it was bad leg placement, I must have got him with the spurs.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

I have the same problem...I know exactly where it's became rooted for me - a horse I used to ride a lot needed *extremely* light contact otherwise he'd get very irritated, very fast. 

Accordingly, I got into riding with a very elastic fingers. He NEVER yanked the reins out of my hands, but had other ways of showing his displeasure, hence why I got into the habit of being very soft on him.

Unfortunately riding with extremely light/elastic contact as I did for a long while turned into a bad habit, and now my lease horse (who does occasionally yank on the reins) often causes them to slide through my fingers because my grip isn't tight enough.

I was actually contemplating buying a set of the coloured rubber-coated reins to give me more grip versus the traditional braided leather ones on there now, although I know the ultimate solution is for me to work on my hands.


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## equitate (Dec 14, 2012)

There should be no fisted grip on the reins, the hand should be closed so that the fingertips rest on the palm (an open hand is Inelastic). The thumb is what keeps the rein adjusted, and for people who have a problem with slipping 'tenting the thumb'/bending its joint so that nail is into the rein can help.

If a horse is jerking the reins from the hand, that is a condition of the elbow placement (upper arm should be vertical) and straight line from elbow to horse's mouth. Also whether the horse is in balance (up/open/active) makes a huge difference, as well as how the rider connects with the mouth.

Gloves are helpful for sure.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I always ride better with good riding gloves than without. only ride without gloves when I am riding with thick rope reins and a mecate.


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## horsecv (Jan 21, 2014)

Another ride without the gloves today. Went well again. The only downside is that it is tearing up my ring fingers from where the reins sit between them and the pinky. I think i will get some sort of finger tape like the football players use and wrap that area up. 

Today the girls that were sitting on the bleachers clapped after I did a line of jumps. One of the girls said that I did a really advanced communication thing with the reins after the horse wanted to speed up after the first jump. I have no idea what I did but very excited I did it! One of them gave me a really nice compliment after the line! Very Pumped!


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

Yuck, I've ripped up between my fingers before and it's no fun! Sounds like your lesson horse definitely likes to pull on the reins. Glad you're getting the hang out it though. 

My guess on the "advanced communication" would be a half halt to slow the horse down? Not a bad thing if you're picking that up naturally, I'm sure your trainer can teach you about them more.
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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I was taught to ride western but I ride mostly with two hands now (because I am riding a 3 yr old and also his momma is gaited and she rides better with two hands) and anyway, I never really understood the need to ride with gloves. I never have needed gloves (unless it's cold out and I just want to keep my hands warm).

I ride like Zeke does...."I have a bad habit of holding plenty tight with my thumb, pointer and middle fingers but then my ring finger and pinky just kinda...hang loose for lack of a better word." 

If the horse trips the reins are pulled right out of my hands, but under normal riding situations loosing the reins is not a problem. But wouldn't you want your hands to loose the reins if the horse trips? Otherwise I could see one of two things happening.....1. the horse would get a really big jerk on his mouth if he fell or 2. If your grip held and he tripped, wouldn't you get jerked right out of the saddle?

So I guess I'm just wondering why a loose grip is a bad thing? I do lengthen and shorten my reins a lot, but I don't think it's because my grip is slipping but rather I let rein out when my horse is walking relaxed and take rein up when we trot or canter or he's nervous. So I am constantly adjusting rein length. 

I ride with plain smooth leather roping reins and have never needed gloves. But I am riding with two hands, more english than western. Why don't I need gloves? And isn't that a good thing? 

I guess I'm trying to figure out what people are doing differently than me? My Foxtrotter mare pulls like a freight train going home because she is barn sour, but she has never sored my hands. Maybe the secret is not having the reins go between your ring finger and pinky?


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

As I sat here on the computer, I played with a cable like it was reins and yup, I think the reason I don't need gloves is that I don't hold the reins between my rein fingers and pinkies. 

So is that the "correct" way to ride, with the reins between your ring fingers and pinkies? Because nobody ever taught me that. :lol: But the three finger thing (thumb, pointer and middle finger) holding the reins really works well for me. I use my ring fingers to feather the reins for finer communication and my pinkies just stick out. Incorrect? (The plus side is you will never get sore fingers :wink


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

horsecv said:


> Another ride without the gloves today. Went well again. The only downside is that it is tearing up my ring fingers from where the reins sit between them and the pinky. I think i will get some sort of finger tape like the football players use and wrap that area up.
> 
> Today the girls that were sitting on the bleachers clapped after I did a line of jumps. One of the girls said that I did a really advanced communication thing with the reins after the horse wanted to speed up after the first jump. I have no idea what I did but very excited I did it! One of them gave me a really nice compliment after the line! Very Pumped!



are you using thick rubber reins? I find them very hard to work with, since they don't bend around the fingers very well, and thus end up actually harder to keep in your hands.


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I do ride with the reins between my ring and pinky finger, I've just always found this comfortable I suppose. I've only ever had sores between my fingers when using the nylon/cotton sort of blended reins. The rough material causes some uncomfortable friction. Leather, even braided, reins haven't caused problems for me even with a strong horse.
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## bkylem (Sep 21, 2013)

I bought a pair of gloves thinking they would help, but I found they took away the "feel" and just didn't seem natural. They now sit on the shelf as a reminder that my hand control or grip was the problem I needed to deal with. In my case the gloves made it worse.

All the best !


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## horsecv (Jan 21, 2014)

bkylem said:


> I bought a pair of gloves thinking they would help, but I found they took away the "feel" and just didn't seem natural. They now sit on the shelf as a reminder that my hand control or grip was the problem I needed to deal with. In my case the gloves made it worse.
> 
> All the best !




Same, I think I will start using tape on my ring finger on both hands where the rein rubs against.


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