There is a superpower to the reins that a rider’s seat and legs do not have - at least to anywhere near the same degree. When used well, reins can create mental and physical softness. They can turn a tight, worried, resistant, and stiff-as-a-board horse into a relaxed, comfortable, and soft horse. Conversely, when used badly they can do the opposite, but I try to avoid that as much as I can.

The reason proper use of the reins has this superpower is that they can convey a feel with such subtlety and finesse, yet with a huge range of feel that is unmatched by the seat and legs. With good hands, there is a feel available for every situation. For every wayward thought a horse may have there is a feel on the reins that can centre that thought. For every moment of worry,  imbalance, resistance, distraction, argument, etc, there is a feel available through the reins to help. A horse can feel so much more with micro-adjustment of the reins than it can with that of the rider’s seat and legs. This means there is a feel in the reins available for every situation where a horse is searching for an answer, which is not there when trying to influence a horse’s thought from seat or legs alone.

I am not saying that a rider’s seat and legs don’t form part of the solution or are inconsequential. But I am suggesting that the reins have a subtlety, clarity, and comfort that is unmatched by the seat or legs when it comes to helping a horse find softness.

It is the ambition of a lot of riders to have a horse working from their seat and legs and have the reins play a less influential role. I don’t have a problem with that. But I often see people trying to instill this approach to their training before a horse is accurate and soft from a feel in the reins. This is a mistake in my view. Unless a horse is soft to the reins, you’ll never get softness when riding without them. 

I have never seen a horse working to its best unless it has first learned to respond to the reins with mental, emotional, and physical softness.