AN IRISH REIN
Lucinda notes that Allison rides with her reins very short. She’s doing this so that she has a consistent contact with the horse’s mouth, but when Brooks looks down at a fence and then takes off, he pulls his rider forward, out of the saddle. Lucinda recommends holding the reins 2in further back. This means they are slightly longer, but without losing the contact. “I don’t mean have a long or loose contact,” stresses Lucinda. “The extra length just lets you sit up and stay in a position to get out of trouble if you need to. I call it being plugged in with your horse.” Lucinda explains this is sometimes referred to as an ‘Irish rein’. “The term comes from Irish nagsmen who probably hadn’t had any riding lessons. They would lengthen the rein to let their horse drop his head and look at ditches. They could also then use the length of their necks to balance as they scrambled up and down banks.”