What side of the horse do the end of your reins lay on? [Archive]

findeight

Mar. 9, 2009, 12:37 PM

Traditionally it's on the right for the above mentioned reason-so you don't hook it with a body part mounting/dismounting.

If you show Eq, it might be noticed and docked but otherwise, whatever works for you, doubt it matters.

LSM1212

Mar. 9, 2009, 12:45 PM

Like most, on the right. It feels funny to me to have it on the left and I'll flip it back over. The reins just seem to lay flatter that way. *shrug* :)

AlterStrength

Mar. 9, 2009, 12:49 PM

I rode w/a BNT this past fall and was told they should ALWAYS be on the left, and George Morris would have it "no other way" :lol:

Somehow even knowing that - mine are always on the right. :yes:

dghunter

Mar. 9, 2009, 12:51 PM

I used to always keep it on the outside because I carried my crop on the inside and it just annoyed me to have them both on the same side lol. Now I usually keep it on the left because I mostly keep my crop in my right hand.

War Admiral

Mar. 9, 2009, 12:54 PM

Bight on the right.

eclipse

Mar. 9, 2009, 01:44 PM

Can't say I've ever really taken much notice! :lol: But I think mine lay on the left as I carry my crop in my right hand & it just is more comfortable for me! (shrugs shoulders)

dogchushu

Mar. 9, 2009, 02:13 PM

It's usually on the opposite side of my crop, and the crop is on whichever side needs it. If I flip my crop to the other hand, I may or may not flip the bight depending on how much trouble/busy that is.

Xanthoria

Mar. 9, 2009, 02:33 PM

I was drilled that it should always be on the left by the Pony Club.

Parker_Rider

Mar. 9, 2009, 02:38 PM

I'm OCD about it and have to have them on the left... correct or not, my mental state depends on it when first getting on ;)

Tiffani B

Mar. 9, 2009, 02:40 PM

Opposite side from my whip.

MissIndependence

Mar. 9, 2009, 02:46 PM

Always on the right.

SoldierBoy96

Mar. 9, 2009, 03:53 PM

Always, always on the left for me. I don't remember being taught that, either. I don't seem to notice the bight when it's on the left, but when it flips over on the right, it SURE bothers me for some reason. So weird. :)

CraziiPonii

Mar. 9, 2009, 04:34 PM

Always on the right side.

BuddyRoo

Mar. 9, 2009, 04:38 PM

Lefty here as well...crop in right.

But I do recall hearing that you should swap both the bight and the crop in say a flat class...to keep your crop on the outside. Am I on crack here?

BLBGP

Mar. 9, 2009, 04:45 PM

Lefty here as well...crop in right.

But I do recall hearing that you should swap both the bight and the crop in say a flat class...to keep your crop on the outside. Am I on crack here?

You shouldn't carry a crop in a flat class.

ExJumper

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:01 PM

Lefty here as well...crop in right.

But I do recall hearing that you should swap both the bight and the crop in say a flat class...to keep your crop on the outside. Am I on crack here?

I was told that in a flat class, the bight should be on the outside. So right when you're going to the left, and left when you're going to the right. In theory keeping it out of sight to the judge who is looking at you from the inside of the ring. Although I suppose lots of judges just stay in their boxes during the flat these days :)

You shouldn't carry a crop in a flat class.

I disagree. I see it all the time at AA shows and have done it myself.

edited to add: I keep it to the right under normal circumstances because it feels more natural to me.

Janet

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:04 PM

I sincerly hope my reins don't lay on anything!! The image indeed!:eek:

They typically lie on the right, but it isn't a big deal if they don't.

fair judy

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:06 PM

i think this was actually a judge's test question at regionals one year.....

bight on the right. it is even more ancient than just not tangling your self dismounting, and mounting. the practical tradition goes back to war and calvary and getting Thy Jousting Stick or Sword caught in thY reins. ;)

MHM

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:10 PM

Bight to the right for me as well. The reason has been lost to the mists of time in my brain, but I daresay it was for safety reasons while mounting and dismounting, as others have said.

I don't have access to my (autographed!) copy of Hunter Seat Equitation, but I'm tempted to stop at the tack shop to check the official GM verdict.

I always switch my stick when I change directions, in order to be comfortable using the stick with either hand, as needed.

PolymerChem

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:29 PM

I don't have access to my (autographed!) copy of Hunter Seat Equitation, but I'm tempted to stop at the tack shop to check the official GM verdict.

I couldn't find where GM addressed it specifically (admittedly, I only skimmed through), but every picture he had taken for the book has the bight on the right.

Personally, I put the bight on the right and it feels odd to do otherwise, but I don't know if I was ever told to do so or not.

MHM

Mar. 9, 2009, 05:59 PM

I couldn't find where GM addressed it specifically (admittedly, I only skimmed through), but every picture he had taken for the book has the bight on the right.

What about his picture on the cover, where's he's rocking the rust breeches? Bight on the right?

I would think he would follow it as he's such a strict traditionalist. :winkgrin:

takethestage

Mar. 9, 2009, 07:19 PM

I keep mine on the right side so it doesn't catch my martingale/breastcollar buckle on the left. My right hand is my crop hand too, and I've never had a problem.

dogchushu

Mar. 9, 2009, 07:25 PM

I was told that in a flat class, the bight should be on the outside. So right when you're going to the left, and left when you're going to the right. In theory keeping it out of sight to the judge who is looking at you from the inside of the ring. Although I suppose lots of judges just stay in their boxes during the flat these days :)

This is what I do. I didn't know there was a right or wrong. It's just worked out better for me because I like my crop on the inside during a flat class. It's pretty easy to flip the crop to the inside and bight to the outside in a flat class. Would never do it over fences (that would be very busy), but it's not a problem on the flat.

I've seen crops being held in many flat classes at all levels. Using it will put you out of the ribbons, but many people carry one every ride.

IsolaBella09

Mar. 9, 2009, 07:41 PM

Always on the right. Left feels awkward, plus my stick is in my left hand always, unless the animal needs some "extra" on the right.

indygirl2560

Mar. 9, 2009, 09:25 PM

Left! Always left! It bugs me when my reins are on the right. It don't think it really matters as far as being proper unlike having the mane on the right side. I think it's up to the rider.

IrishWillow

Mar. 9, 2009, 09:56 PM

I've been told, by an Eq coach, that for an Eq on the Flat class, that you switch the reins and crop to the outside hand. :)

Janet

Mar. 9, 2009, 10:03 PM

I've been told, by an Eq coach, that for an Eq on the Flat class, that you switch the reins and crop to the outside hand. :)
George Morris was adamant that you DON'T CHANGE the crop from one hand to the other when you change direction.

MHM

Mar. 9, 2009, 10:25 PM

George Morris was adamant that you DON'T CHANGE the crop from one hand to the other when you change direction.

Really? Did he give a reason?

WorthTheWait95

Mar. 9, 2009, 10:54 PM

George Morris was adamant that you DON'T CHANGE the crop from one hand to the other when you change direction.

I did that once in a clinic with him and he stressed that for a while to my whole group. I have a 'bad' (I guess?) habit of swapping my reins whenever I switch direction. I always keep the bight on the outside even when jumping.

I used to swap my crop to the outside too when I did the hunters (plenty of time on those not so technical courses!) but quickly stopped doing that when I moved on to the jumpers. Still swap the bight, though. Its been a habit with me since I started riding pretty much and I have no idea that I do it unless someone points it out to me. I do it unobtrusivley, however, and most people never even notice that I do it unless looking for it. I never lose my connection or anything with my horses either (maybe they're just used to it!).

When the bight is on the inside I feel like my hands are 'stuck' and I can't open my outside rein. Totally psychological but it is what it is.

JumpWithPanache

Mar. 10, 2009, 09:44 AM

Right or wrong, mine ends up being on the left... feels odd when it's on the right.

Tilly

Mar. 10, 2009, 10:41 AM

On the right :yes:

caradino

Mar. 10, 2009, 10:47 AM

i honestly have never been taught one way or the other, never much cared, and don't think it makes a difference!

but i will carry my stick in my right hand unless i need to carry it in the left for a specific reason. (reinforce a leg aid, horse is running out/drifting to the left, etc.) it's just more comfortable there.

KnKShowmom

Mar. 10, 2009, 10:48 AM

On the right and carry the crop in right hand unless trying to address a left side issue (drifting/bulging)with the horse.

JRG

Mar. 10, 2009, 12:10 PM

I am a lefty when it comes to the bight, and my crop in the right. I too don't know where I picked it up, but for me it feels odd when it is the opposite.

fair judy

Mar. 10, 2009, 12:15 PM

George Morris was adamant that you DON'T CHANGE the crop from one hand to the other when you change direction.

absolutely. he also has a real aversion to the current fashion of cocking the wrist so hard that the crop is up on the rider's hip........

things do change, though. foot position on the stirrup is one......... when i rode with GM in the dark ages he always placed my foot in the inside branch of the stirrup. now, that foot, along with an old stuben saddle are clear marks of someone who is now over fifty.......

midnightdream

Mar. 10, 2009, 12:21 PM

Never really paid attention but thinking about it now, usually on the left. Although if my whip is on the left I sometimes flip them over to the right.

Beethoven

Mar. 10, 2009, 12:22 PM

Do not ever remember being told what side to keep it on, but I ride with it on the left. If it even gets switched to the right, I change it without even thinking.

Ready2Ride

Mar. 11, 2009, 03:49 PM

I looked at my copy of hunter seat equitation, and I think that both on the cover and in a pic of George Morris inside the book he had the bight on the left. There are lots of pics in the book that have the bight on the right though. I wonder why it isn't standard. Does it matter or does it not matter?

MHM

Mar. 11, 2009, 04:03 PM

Does it matter or does it not matter?

I can honestly say the right/left issue has never crossed my mind as a judge.

I have noticed (and pointed out) when the bight was too long, and could get tangled around a rider's foot. That's really a safety hazard.

nycrider2004

Mar. 11, 2009, 11:50 PM

I too was taught to always have the bight on the right ...but do agree that it probably really doesn't matter as far as judging goes.

What I'm now curious about is the whole "to switch the crop or not switch the crop" debate. I beleive I was taught that whether you switched or not depended on why you were carrying it - if it's because a horse is more dead on a certain side and it's an additional aide in that respect, you didn't switch. If however it was as an additional aide for impulsion it wa carried on the outisde and switched when you changed direction with the idea that it was used to support your outside leg when asking for transitions, extensions, etc.

I rode in a bunch of GM clinics when I was younger and not once can I remember him ever saying anything about me switching my crop...either that it was wrong or right? I don't think any other trainer I've ever ridden with has said anything either?

PS - what I do remember him commenting on - not on me but someone else in one of my groups - was the placement of the crop, i..e on you thigh, not down in front of your knee...again, unless you were using it to reinforce a specific behavior like moving off the shoulder?

HandsomeRansom

Mar. 12, 2009, 09:10 AM

I was taught that the reins should fall on the opposite side of where the martingale neck buckle is, so the loop of your reins do not get caught in it.

Phaxxton

Mar. 12, 2009, 10:16 AM

Do not ever remember being told what side to keep it on, but I ride with it on the left. If it even gets switched to the right, I change it without even thinking.

Same here.

mjmvet

Mar. 12, 2009, 01:01 PM

That's funny - I was always taught that the reins went on the OUTSIDE, whichever side that is when you're in the ring. Obviously that would only be practical in flat classes...Change direction, change reins...

DMK

Mar. 12, 2009, 01:21 PM

for sure if you showed inbred u/s classes you would have been told to swap the bight so it isn't towards the inside (where the judge - and photog! - always is). Now it's just habit for me in the hack, but I don't think I pay an ounce of attention to it otherwise. Then again, I haven't used a martingale on a horse at home more than a half dozen times in the last 20 years, so that's the one place where I can see paying attention.

SpartanVirtue

Mar. 12, 2009, 07:35 PM

I can honestly say the right/left issue has never crossed my mind as a judge.

I have noticed (and pointed out) when the bight was too long, and could get tangled around a rider's foot. That's really a safety hazard

Pt. 1: Ditto - I agree as I judge - it never crosses my mind. As a rider - it depends on the horse. As trainer - it depends on the rider and the horse. To all of you that always ride with it on the same side try changing it....you might just find that you have a very different feel.

Pt 2: Absolutely agree with this one!! I have all too frequently radioed the in-gate requesting a trainer to put a knot in the bight of the reins when he/she has let a child go around with such a horrible safety issue.

SV