What is the Proper Position for the Hands and Arms?
The arm should be bent at the elbow. Lower arm, wrist and hand should be straight, forming a straight line from the horse's mouth to the rider's elbow.
The rider's elbow should be in line with the bit in the horses mouth. Hands should remain flexible and not stiff with a tight grip. Fingers should remain around the reins with the thumb on top. Loose fingers are dangerous and not useful. The hands should be placed slightly above and in front of the withers. They should be spread apart as far as the horse's mouth width. The thumbs should slightly turn into the vertical but never become horizontal. Flat hands are weak and passive and perfectly upright hands become hard and too strong. Wrists should be straight. Twisting or bending the wrist causes the arm to become stiff and if the horse pulls it can cause the body to forced into a wrong position. The arm should be strong yet flexible, following the movement of the horse's head and neck yet in position and strong enough to control and guide the horse.