Contact Connection On a Loose Rein Without a Bit?

            Can you have a contact connection on a loose rein? Or even bitless? Yes you can! And you can achieve this through half halts!

            Contact connection is all about catching the energy the horse creates from the hind to the hand. Energy is created from the hind quarters of the horse and travels up the horse’s body to their nose. You ‘catch’ the energy through your hands and ask the horse to create more energy with your seat and legs. And around and around the energy goes.

When you ‘catch’ the energy through your hands, this is a connection. And you maintain this through half halts. There are a billion different types of half halts and they all vary in degrees depending on what you are trying to tell the horse to do or maintain.

            But how do you achieve this connection on a loose rein? Squeezing your hand on the outside rein even if you’re riding on a loose rein is a very effective half halt. The majority of your half halts will come from the outside rein. Half halting on the inside rein is only for suppling the bend and shouldn’t be over used.

            The horse does not need a bit to feel and understand these half halts. The light pressure on the horse’s nose is enough for him. The lighter your hands are, the more you will find your horse start to move into the contact more and more seeking that connection. Working on contact does not have to be a tug of war battle. And this is not to say that full rein contact is bad, it just isn’t 100% necessary all the time or for every horse. And you will find that some horses work better with more or less rein contact. But neither is needed for a great connection.