# Direct rein AND neck rein



## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

Honestly I don't see a reason any horse should't be able to do both. Mine does, and so did every other horse I've ridden. Yes I ride western, so predominately neck reining. But when I try to teach something new or am re-working basics I go back down to direct. I also use direct when I ride English.

I'm no trainer, so no real advise to offer, other than yes, mine does both

I think it's a great thing for any horse to know how to do. Well rounded is always good, so certainly worth it.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Ridden correctly, an English house should be able to do something like a neck rein. They should be turning entirely off the outside rein (+ body) anyway. Might take more contact, but you don't need an inside rein to turn.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

It just takes consistency in cues.
Use your legs/body along with a neck rein with out dragging your hand across the neck causing the horse to tip his nose to the outside. Use inside rein to reinforce the cue if needed. Most well trained horses pick it up fast.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I used to lead my children off another horse and also had to exercise a lot of horses by leading them off another one - they were all 'english' trained but could all be ridden using a variation on neck reining.
If you think about it English riders use a combination of direct and indirect rein with leg cues for turning anyway so shouldn't be that hard.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Yep. Most neck rein horses were initially taught a direct rein in a sidepull, bosal, or snaffle and progressed to neck reining in a curb bit as their training progressed. My new gelding is very green and came to me knowing 'go' and 'stop' and would sometimes direct-rein and sometimes fight it. I've done some groundwork with him teaching him to give his face, and in four rides, his direct rein has improved drastically and he's picking up the beginnings of neck reining and is starting to realize how to move off my leg.

I teach neck reining by riding two-handed, and laying the rein against the horse's neck, then applying the direct rein and leg. So, if I want to turn right, I lay the left rein against the neck, apply my left leg, and if the horse hasn't started his turn in about a second, pick up the right rein and tip the nose and initiate the turn. It's important to 'lay' the left rein on the neck, not pull on it to avoid conflicting cues. Most horses figure it out pretty quickly-- some take longer, but if you have good hands and good timing, you should see a reliable neck rein starting to appear within a few rides.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

I use both with my mare, and the filly I'm training will learn direct first, then be introduced to neck reining. I think knowing how to do both might come in handy some day.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

All my event horses did both. Too many times, after a bad jumping effort, you might land in a mes of loose reins. It is essential that you are able to grab up those reins and neck rein a tight turn. Too often, there are angled jumps you will miss, otherwise.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I see absolutely no reason your horse can't learn to do both! 

There's a good Warwick Schiller video here about how to go about teaching neck reining, that makes a lot of sense. Hopefully it's helpful!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

SilverMaple said:


> Yep. Most neck rein horses were initially taught a direct rein in a sidepull, bosal, or snaffle and progressed to neck reining in a curb bit as their training progressed. My new gelding is very green and came to me knowing 'go' and 'stop' and would sometimes direct-rein and sometimes fight it. I've done some groundwork with him teaching him to give his face, and in four rides, his direct rein has improved drastically and he's picking up the beginnings of neck reining and is starting to realize how to move off my leg.
> 
> I teach neck reining by riding two-handed, and laying the rein against the horse's neck, then applying the direct rein and leg. So, if I want to turn right, I lay the left rein against the neck, apply my left leg, and if the horse hasn't started his turn in about a second, pick up the right rein and tip the nose and initiate the turn. It's important to 'lay' the left rein on the neck, not pull on it to avoid conflicting cues. Most horses figure it out pretty quickly-- some take longer, but if you have good hands and good timing, you should see a reliable neck rein starting to appear within a few rides.


All western horses are ridden in the beginning, using direct reining, so certainly under stand it
The only difference,being, during that initial training, you works towards that horse eventually riding totally off the indirect rein, WHILE keeping all body aleignment correct

This is done, by at first using the direct rein, while laying that indirect rein against the neck, and using legs to keep body aleignment correct. You then start to ask with the indirect rein first, using the direct rein only if the horse needs help. You also start pretty early to hold the two reins closer together, as you eventually will, riding one handed. Many well broke horse, including those trained English, can be ridden off the indirect rein, turning off of it, just riding down the trail. Hubby's horse does so, but I would not say that the horse works totally off the indirect rein, able to perform all maneuvers, gaits, totally off of that indirect rein, while keeping body position correct
Many people think that all there is to \neck reining', and why many people prefer the term, ;working off of the indirect rein, only means you can steer that horse by laying that outside rein against his neck.
Far from it. If you can run a complicated pattern, including lead changes, working obstacles, like backing around barrels, backing an L, and so on, just using that neck rein, then you have a horse that truly neck reins


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

All four of our horses will do both. Def worth training IMO.


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## InexcessiveThings (Oct 22, 2016)

I agree with everyone else here. I think it's worth training any horse to do both, and quite easy for an already well trained animal to learn to neck rein. Mine does both, and the neck rein comes in handy in a variety of situations, though I trained mine to do it specifically for ponying other horses and for obstacles on CTR's where I need a hand free. It also makes for a more well rounded horse.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Of course, if you show western, then any horse over 5 has to be ridden one handed in a curb
Hubby's trail horse rides off the neck rein enough for trail riding and to lead a pack horse off of, but in is a little more involved then that, to have a horse learn to truly neck rein, thus able to run a reining pattern that way, or ride a complicated trail course
So, depends on your end goal, if you just want ahrose that you can ride with one hand on the trails,or one you can show that way, far as the learning process and time needed


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I had an instructor, back when I was 12, crab at my for neck-reining my own horse during a cool down after a clinic. She was a wonderfully responsive Western horse, but I had been switching her over to English after buying her, because that's what I mainly needed. My instructor laid into me about how I was "confusing" the horse, which at the time I didn't get at ALL, but assumed she knew better than I did so I never tried neck reining her again.

Yeah, no. I COULD have had an awesome multidisciplinary horse, but bad advice killed that.


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

It's hard to say what the end game is for my boys learning to neck rein. I don't show anymore and doubt my son will want to do much more than trail ride, that will probably be another topic for another time. 


I guess I am just slacking on training them for it, and this advice will be helpful in getting me motivated. I really only mess with neck reining them during our cool down/on the 1/3 mile ride home.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

The short version is that it's no big deal. 

Of my four Tennessee Walkers only one had the basics of neck reining down when I bought him and that was only because a trail rider had bought him and was teaching him. Two of the four had come from show training barns.

My two remaining TWHs are 21 and 23. Both of them are now better at neck reining as that is what I prefer. However sometimes I need them to direct reign and they respond nicely.

Of course I have never shown so my reining morals are a lot less rigid than those who do my idea of no big deal may be a big deal to someone in the show ring


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

All of ours do both. Some better than others. My project horse, Trigger the Timid Paint neck reins with the lightest touch and some knee pressure, Superman can but likes to act like he's an old fart and needs a little reminding that at 20 he's not too old to still neck rein; Sarge is hard headed and pretends he only knows direct reining; Gina neck reins like a champ unless someone rides her and plow-reins her... then she thinks she doesn't have to neck rein any more.

Leroy acted like he barely knew how to neck rein, but after a few times of using direct rein AND neck rein at the same time, we were able to plow-rein less and less. My cousin's daughter now has him, rides him daily, and he no longer needs or wants to be direct reined. 

And I'm not sure that's entirely helpful, but yeah. There you go. Most horses do either, at least in this area, but we are 99% western/ranch riding in style and training.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

evilgreen1 said:


> I guess I am just slacking on training them for it, and this advice will be helpful in getting me motivated. I really only mess with neck reining them during our cool down/on the 1/3 mile ride home.


If the horse already understands basic leg and seat cues, transitioning to basic neck reining isn't that big a jump - just keep doing what you are doing and you will be amazed at what the horse picks up if you stay consistent. Because I am used to riding one-handed with my own horses, I often default to it on horses I catch ride (assuming they are behaving themselves, of course) and I have had horses have the gist of reining one-handed by the end of the 50 miles just due to simple repetition.


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## DanisMom (Jan 26, 2014)

I expect all of my horses to neck rein and direct rein. If they don't do both when they come here, they learn it quickly.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

teaching a responsive horse to guide, ride one handed, can take only a day or so,
Teaching a horse to correctly work off of the indirect rein, no matter the maneuver, takes months
At any rate, direct reining is the kindergarten stage of all western horses that eventually learn to ride totally off of seat , legs and the indirect rein, so no confusion involved at all, using direct reins on a western horse that has progressed beyond that
In fact, it is common practice by good trainers, if a western hrose is taught a new maneuver, re schooled on something, to teach that using two hands on the reins, in a snaffle or bosal, regardless as to what bit that horse is usually ridden in


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Neck reining and riding with draped reins are different. This is a type of neck reining:








​ 
It doesn't take long at all to teach a horse to neck rein. Just ask with a neck rein cue, then back up if needed with a direct rein. Before long, the horse will figure out that if he turns off the neck rein, he won't get the direct rein. It is really very simple. This is the video I watched before first trying to teach my horse, and it worked:






FWIW, I found my horse figured it out faster if I first moved the reins slightly forward of their resting place, and THEN sideways. It seems to make it clearer: The move forward means I'm about to give a cue, and the sideways motion then says where to go. Makes it very simple for the horse.


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

After reading all the responses, I rode over the weekend and felt like an absolute fool for even questioning. I thought a little more about utilizing the indirect rein and both horses responded well. Thanks for helping me realize I was drastically over thinking things.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Key point when neck reining, the rein hand should never move more then an inch or so, from mane center.
You will often see some horse, being ridden one handed, at a local sale, for instance, with the rider's rein hand way out in the direction he wishes to go, while the horse has his head tipped in the opposite direction.
Why is this? well, you are giving that horse mixed signal. When your rein hand is way out to the side, the opposite rein of where you are trying to go, is telling the horse to turn in that direction.
The rein against the horse's neck, should only indicate direction of turn, with the horse having learned to try and seek the place where he is equally between both reins again. If the rest of the body does not follow through, you either help with the direst rein, going to two hands, or use legs, or a correct combo of both


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## highwayvagabond (Oct 4, 2017)

My horse does both and I use both regularly! I like to use neck reigning when I'm working with her to get her to pay attention to her cues and work on my leg positioning, pressure and keeping her soft from both sides. I like direct when I'm trying to work on focusing on my seat and being a more balanced rider. For some reason, direct reigning always helps me keep light and loose on the bit-- and I am more conscious of my seat, posture and keeping out of her mouth with too much contact-- but maybe that is just me!


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