My husband and I have agreed to disagree on
this issue. He says the reins are not a "sky-hook" and cannot pull a horse
up out of a fall. I say that if I can use the reins to collect a horse
that is threatening to go down and get him rocked back on his hind end a little,
he is less likely to go down. I have experienced this collection too many
times to dispute its validity.
Karen Lynd wrote: Oh, and I'm not a horse trainer, but I
think you should give the horse his head when he stumbles. He needs head
freedom to be able to recover. If you follow your trainer's advice, you
may end up causing the horse to fall or making him shy of the bit. Think
about when you stumble - if someone was holding your head and not letting you
move it so you could balance yourself when you stumble, would you be more
likely to fall? I would.
