[CindyDawg]

Hey but I have split reins:') I just Dork ride lol (They are tied together right now). I reined with one hand on the hobby horses but not with Okie yet even though I practice sometimes with him. I tend to reach for the horn and don't want to get into that habit.

[HairOfTheDog]

Does Okie neck rein? Bay really doesn't, or I'd have had ecurbh start out that way out of simplicity.

I am not one that would discourage the impulse to reach for the horn (or sometimes better yet, mane) if they lurch or startle, or if you are feeling unsteady in a situation like posting. If you are unsteady, you'll use ~something~ as that handle, and the only other thing in your hands is the reins. I've been known to grab a handful of mane, right tight at the root, to be steady posting Bay's big huge extended trot on trail. He gets into his steady racing rhythm there where he covers a lot of ground, but if he's going that fast and shies suddenly, I want to have mane. I can also connect with tension level in his neck, and usually sense the instant before he is going to break rhythm.