The Power Of The Inside Rein

I want to briefly talk about the inside rein (I know, you probably don’t think I can talk about anything briefly!).

The ability of a horse to soften in response to a feel from the inside rein is arguably one of the most powerful tools in the training of a horse. It is because of its ability to alter a horse’s thoughts that the inside rein can influence the lateral flexion of a horse, relax the top line of a horse, connect to the inside hind leg, and via all these mechanisms it can mediate the balance, straightness, and softness through the entire horse. The inside rein is like the Swiss army knife of correctness when riding and training a horse.

Yet, despite its importance, it is rare to come across a horse that does not resist the inside rein. This resistance comes in various forms. Most people think of resistance to the inside rein as a horse that leans on the rein. Often this is true. Many horses lean on the inside rein when a rider applies a feel. But it is not the only form of resistance. Sometimes this resistance presents as lightness on the rein, but a brace across the top line, leaking to the outside, tightness in the hindquarters, and lack of activity of the inside hind leg. More often than not these issues appear together or in various combinations. 

When a horse stops resisting the inside rein and yields mentally to the feel it is amazing how straight, balanced, calm, and soft a horse can become. But when the yield is purely a physical "giving" to the pressure there continues to be resistance in the way a horse moves. This is because a mental change physically affects the whole horse, whereas giving to the rein pressure generally results in only a partial evasion of the pressure in that part of the body that the horse feels the most discomfort or in need to escape from discomfort.

It can be hard to feel the difference between when a horse mentally yields or when it physically evades the inside rein. To the novice rider, they can feel the same. Most times when a horse is physically evading the inside rein it will flex its neck both vertically and laterally to avoid the discomfort of the bit. To some, this can look pretty and feel great because the horse feels light. But to a rider who is aware of feeling the whole horse, from mouth to hocks, it becomes apparent when there is a superficial change on the outside of a horse and when there is a mental change to the inside of a horse. This aspect of feel is not something riders can appreciate and usually remains theoretical and confusing until the first time they feel the difference. Then it is often a cathartic experience that changes everything about their understanding of correctness in a horse. It’s a skill all riders should develop as they progress.

I read an article recently about the importance of a horse learning to yield to the outside rein. It was such an interesting article because there was almost no mention of the importance of the inside rein and getting that right. But even more importantly there was no mention of a mental yielding. The emphasis was only on how the outside rein affected the shoulders. Whether you want to argue which is more important, outside or inside rein, the value and effectiveness of the reins will always come back to the ability to get a mental change in a horse.

Nevertheless, for me, this all begins with an appreciation of the power of the inside rein to influence both a mental and physical okay-ness in a horse. Until that’s in place, it’s hard for a horse to be anything more than a polite robot. That’s why for many years to come students at my clinics will have to suffer me yelling at them to “get him to soften to the inside rein.”