10/27/2025
I have always been a proponent of the soft, straight line from elbow to bit.
👌It’s B and here is why…
Many riders are told to ride with low hands, often justified as being “softer” for a green horse. But this isn’t about these specifc circumstances, it about how biomechanics shows that low hands usually create more problems than they solve.
This rider always felt like her arms were too short trying to put her hands down and she was unsure oh where her hands should be.
👉 When the hands drop (A), the elbow extends and the wrist normally pronates, removing the elbow’s spring-like function. Consistent rein tension becomes harder to maintain. The trunk should naturally brace to compensate for a change in arm position but many riders either get pulled forward, lean back to counterbalance or tense their ‘core’ (ie bracing wity their abdominal) . In all three cases, the hands end up being used for stability, not communication.
👉 Low hands also turn the wrist into a pulley. Instead of subtle finger aids, the rein load redirects around the wrist, over-recruiting muscles like flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU). This creates forearm tension and can lead to golfer’s elbow or carpal tunnel strain. Contact becomes harder, less elastic, and more fatiguing for both rider and horse.
👉 Research shows rein angle matters. Low reins increase downward pressure on the bit, while a straight line from elbow to bit distributes pressure more evenly. For the horse, low reins usually create poll flexion without lifting the base of the neck or back - producing an outline without true self-carriage.
In (B) the rider uses finger muscles correctly to adapt the bend of the fingers and change rein tension dynamically - no forearm tension, and the elbow can move forward and back on the same angle to the horses mouth as the horse moves.
It’s also important to remember that rider proportions and the horse’s movement influence how this looks. A taller rider will naturally have their hands higher than a shorter rider, and different horses with different head and neck carriage - altering optimum hand level.
The key is not that everyone looks the same, but that they function the same: elbows softly bent and spring-like, fingers in control, and a straight elastic line from elbow to bit that follows the horse.
Low hands may look “better” to some, but they mechanically disadvantage both rider and horse.
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