by Linda Ann Nickerson

Created on: July 25, 2007   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Neck reining is a simple skill to master, provided the horse already recognizes what it means. Usually, rental horses and well-trained school horses will have been trained to neck rein. However, show horses and performance horses may not understand the cue at all.

If you rent or borrow a horse for a trail ride, for example, you might find it extremely handy to discover whether this horse knows neck reining. Neck reining makes steering a horse quite simple to do, so it is a wonderful skill for horses that will be ridden by beginners or non-horsemen.

HOW IT WORKS

Suppose you are mounted on a horse in a riding arena. If you are traveling in a straight line, and you wish to turn left, then you will lay your right-hand rein on the horse's neck. This signals him to move off to the left.

If you wish to turn right, you simply place the left rein on the horse's neck.

Simply put, neck reining applies an indirect rein on the horse.

POINTER: Never let your hands (or the reins) cross over the horse's withers. Each hand (and each rein) should remain on its own side of the horse's mane.

ENGLISH vs. WESTERN NECK REINING

English riders use both hands, with one rein in each. Although neck reining is the preferred method of steering in English riding, it can be a helpful skill.

Western riders may use one hand (usually the left) to hold both reins. To neck rein, a Western rider moves his hand (both reins) towards the direction he wishes to go. This places the indirect rein against the horse's neck (as described above).

CUING THE HORSE

For a skilled rider, the legs and seat are the primary means of communicating with the horse. Advanced riders (with well-trained horses) can actually steer their horses without applying the reins at all. Using leg pressure and weight shifts, they can guide the horse in any direction they wish to go.

The reins are used only lightly to finish the job.

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