Ken McNabb: How to Ride Your Horse with Light Hands | Learn Shoulder, Ribcage & Hindquarter Control

Join Wyoming horseman Ken McNabb and one of his favorite horses in the world to learn a lesson in “light hands.” How to ride your horse totally relaxed with light hands.
KEY POINTS IN THIS EPISODE
-Legs are key factors in light hands.
-Light doesn’t mean you won’t add pressure. It means you won’t jerk, tug and hang on your horse’s mouth.
-It is important to realize your hands are the single most aggressive tool you can use.
-A common misconception that people often have is just because I am riding in a snaffle bit I have soft hands. Or just because I am riding in a hackamore my horse and I are soft.
-Learn how to “give it back” to your horse (give your horse slack in the rein when you can). Use your body more to ride. Learn how to move the ribcage, shoulders and hindquarters with a light rein to gain total control of the horse’s body.
-Learn how to stop not only off of your bridle, but also verbal “whoa” and seat! All combined will make a much better stop and lighter hands.
Until Next Time, May God Bless the Trails You Ride ~Ken McNabb

[@meghanlongua625]

This video is great! I interact with lots of young inexperienced riders who don't understand soft hands very well. This video explains it so clearly!!!!

[@hesadandyjule4990]

Great video and instructions. Just what I'm looking for!

[@user-ld5yh3ry6g]

Thanks for that lesson. I need to practice those exercises

[@FfStar]

Glad i found this. I remember watching you on RFDTV years ago.

[@KarenInCalif]

Makes a lot of sense. Trying this tomorrow with my gelding.

[@Youreout]

This can take a fair amount of training and patience. Be slow and kind, don't lose your temper and when you get even the slightest "try" from your horse, reward him! Cheers.

[@stephaniesmith5974]

This is great. Yes, def should be able to turn ur horse without ur reins. I realized that they have to learn to bend first-just bend in a circle with basic training-even lunging-this takes time but once your horse gets it it makes you and ur horse so connected.

[@josebarrientes177]

Your great I got a lot of good ideas on these tecniques thank you so much.

[@bqualitysnake6549]

This is very clear and representative of how light horses are and can be, and I think this applies just as well to english riding where you either have to have contact or you'll get disqualified in dressage, and in jumping where you have to have some degree of contact to safely get the horse upright enough to jump without tripping or throwing down poles left and right. The only real difference is where zero is, you can have light consistent contact and still get your horse soft and responsive, but as you already hold the rein it's way easier for both parties to start leaning on the bit instead of listening to it (which some trainers even encourage, eliminating SELFcarriage as a step in the training scale) This is why we see many riders with just as if not stronger bits being used in the english world with 50 times the pressure applied as the equivalent western bit and rider. If you don't use the bit for balance or as a weapon you can use the same principles to get yourself and your horse soft. Seat, weight, voice legs and then slow, soft but clear and consistent rein as needed. Softest english horse I ever rode was ridden with these principles. You could pick him up in a fancy passage frame and he wasn't heavy if you weren't, you could get a perfect circle if you just looked the right way -and as long as those hands were soft and followed his movement you could have him in a long and low or high and collected frame in every gait and extension/collection you could think of. That opened my eyes. Many don't know different when it's so much more common for advanced dressage horses to lean so heavy on your hand that you physically can't slow them down or turn without pulling your arms off. The riders don't know any different and the trainers don't teach anything different so little changes. Many riders also fall in the rabbit hole of all or nothing, saying that it's impossible to both have consistent contact and a soft horse.

[@carlaeskelsen]

This is one of the best comments, and attitudes, that I have ever seen. I certainly hope it's contagious. 🙏🏼

[@sherrykaltenborn]

Fantastic

[@Zangalwaal]

Really nice- thank you

[@maggsm3392]

That's a really good example of a reverse arc. I've been learning this in my western riding lessons. Not that successful yet but I'm going to try it again my next lesson. (my lesson horse is a very well trained cutting/reining horse so I should be able to do it!) This has been a big help. I've also ridden in my lessons with no reins and only body and leg control. This has made me want to do more of this. I'll speak to my instructor next time I go!

[@BLYFACTOR]

What if a horse doesn't know those feet positions of shoulders and hindquarters and means to move those over?