Question: I am having a difficult time understanding the concept of following the horse's head up or down with your hands to maintain a straight line from elbow to bit. I understand that to keep your hands low when the horse is carrying his head high pulls on the bars of his mouth; however, isn't that what side reins do when you are lungeing? The side reins do not go up and down with the horse's head ... they remain in a fixed position, and the horse seems to find that place and stay there. I've watched riders schooling green horses, and I've noticed the hands inching down when the horse's head is flying high, and I've seen it result in the horse's head returning to a more balanced position. As my trainer coaches, I am trying to keep that straight line from elbow to bit, but when my horse's head goes up and I'm told to follow it, it feels so wrong to me. Please help me understand this concept better.

Answer: Side reins aren't intended to hold a horse's head down, but instead are supposed to steady the horse on each side of its body, so that it won't drift to the outside of the circle and step on itself while being longed. The side reins should be adjusted so that when the horse is at a standstill, the plane of its face is slightly in front of the vertical. If the plane of the face is at the vertical or behind it, then the side reins are adjusted too tightly.

The concept of a "following hand" is not really based upon the necessity of keeping a straight line from the rider's elbow to the horse's mouth, but rather is based upon the idea that you don't want the horse to find a place where it can escape direct pressure from the rider's hands. If the hands follow the horse's head as the animal tries to go above the bit, then the horse can't evade the hands. It finally realizes it might as well keep its head in normal position since it isn't successfully escaping by going upward--a point which is especially brought home if the rider presses more forcefully with his legs each time the horse tries to raise its head too high.