Rein Length: Part 3 - Bad Distances
Feb 16, 2024
Rein Length: Part 3 - Bad Distances
Again, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but I felt this was a good educational moment to discuss. Did I ride as well as I would've like through here? No, absolutely not. But I also reacted decently well and think that not only are my reactions a good example to discuss and educate, but I also wanted to keep pushing back on the social media landscape where everything is "sunshine and rainbows".
Far too frequently, people only post the "good" on their social media in terms of riding. Part of that may be vanity, part may be embarrassment, and part may be that social media in the past handful of years has devolved into a nasty, vindictive place where people feel free to spread hate and bring others down. Armchair experts love to do nothing but critique others (and you'll frequently find that the biggest, nastiest critics are the ones who know the least).
Posting "only perfection" though gives us a biased view of riding and can discourage people when they have struggles. We all have struggles, we all make mistakes. Even the top riders in the sport.
So I strive to do my part in changing the narrative and landscape. Especially because 99% of the knowledge we gain as riders typically comes from making mistakes. Mistakes are necessary and inevitable. It's how you view them and move forward that matters.
So anyway, this post continues on the subject of rein length and uses and example of my recent jump school with Charlie - our 3rd together here since I've owned him. I realized about 6-8 strides away that the distance was not going to be great, but have been focusing on his consistency rather than distance and changing the canter. And it was a good trial to see how he would act in a not-perfect situation.
For those that really want to learn, I encourage you to thoroughly read through each picture's comments, analyze the photo, close your eyes and feel what I am explaining.
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