THE REIN IN JOUSTING
The reins are used to steer the front of the horse while
the legs are used to steer the back of the horse. The reins are held
in the left hand only. Many pictures of jousters and battling knights
exist. All show the reins in one hand. Holding a lance or a shield in
the same hand as a rein is potentially injurious to the extreme and
in practice I have seen several horses ruined for any practical purpose
by this irresponsible practice. Their mouths so hard that a mechanical
hackamore or bosal are all that is left for the poor animals. They develop
a fear of the arena because the impact of the lance and shield are transmitted
to the mouth in a terribly painful way. Anyone plow reining in a joust
is, simply put, wrong. Some practitioners of this inaccurate technique
have tried the equally impossible technique of dropping the reins at
the moment of impact. This of course causes the rider to lose control
when it is needed most, then the rider has to try to grab the reins
and regain control. This is of course martially impossible. The horse
being free at all during martial exercises makes almost all practical
techniques impossible. One has to question the sanity of those who systematically
give up control of the horse and try to fight a ground battle while
on horseback. They certainly can’t claim to be martial artists,
simply performers. The reins must be firmly under control by the left
hand at all times! The reins must be loose! The instructions transmitted
by the reins are momentary in every instance and a loose rein is the
normal mode. The instruction is given in three stages. The instruction
is indicated by a hint, or scaled down instruction, a moment before
the behavior. This gives the horse a chance to assume the proper stance
and balance for the maneuver while a loosened rein gives it the space
to do so. Then at the exact moment the behavior is desired the rein
instruction is applied. The rein is immediately loosened as the behavior
is begun and small tugs, called maintenance cues, maintain the behavior.
When the head position moves the hand must move accordingly to maintain
easily understood instructions. The horse must be able to move its head
in any position and the rider keep up with it. The horse requires its
head as leverage when applying its weight and strength. Martial horsemanship
is different than any other sort. The horse in martial exercise must
move with all the flexibility in its frame. As the head goes so goes
the horse. In western pleasure spins the horse must be ramrod ridgid
as it turns on its hind quarters. A jousting horse must spin on its
hind and fore both according to the needs of the moment. As it turns
against another horse it must be free to move its head up down or sideways
to lever and see its way in a tight situation. The horse will want to
turn its head and look at the action. If you want the horses help then
you must include the horse in the observation and decision making process.
This is ideally a melding of minds and spirits in pursuit of a goal.
The jousting horse should be run on four reins. This allows independent
control of curb and side pull that allows for detailed control of head
set and height. The jousting horse is frequently called on to rear or
gain hight in some other manner. With four reins “high handed”
maneuvers result in hight. Lift the hand, lift the horse. Properly trained
the jousting horse should be able to perform fighting maneuvers such
as rearing, kicking, jumping, and climbing. A properly trained horse
will win jousts for a less than skilled rider when a badly trained horse
will ensure defeat for even the best of martial artists. The reins are
handled different ways according to the situation. Techniques have developed
that fill needs. None of these techniques is good at all times and the
switch between modes must be smooth. The most common mode is the underhanded
slide. The four reins are braided into a tight knot at exactly the right
spot to provide even pressure to both the curb and side pulls at the
spot the hand most favors. The left hand is held prone with the fingers
curled under. The reins are loosly held with all the fingers under and
the thumb held clear. To turn left the hand is slid left and pressure
applied to both left reins. Stop is simply pull back at the knot. This
technique is good for easy working and non-precision maneuvers. To tighten
up and increase detail of instruction the crab is necessary. The knot
is held between the thumb and palm with the reins under the hand. The
first and second fingers grasp the right two reins and the third and
fourth fingers grasp the left reins. The effect is reminiscent of the
claws of a crab. The small tugs at the left or right being done with
those pairs of fingers. This works only as long as the reins can be
kept taut at the center. To radically change the geometry of the reins
the spider crawl is necessary. Some horseman use the spider crawl almost
exclusively. The thumb is placed under the knot and the reins clenched
in hand. All four reins extend under the hand. To turn left the forefinger
is extended and it grasps the left reins. The hand is simply pulled
back as in a stop but the left rein is now eight inches shorter than
the right. Extend the little finger to grasp the left reins again and
the left rein is now wound around the fingers of the left hand making
the left rein now twelve inches shorter than the right. Radically asymmetrical
cues can thus be transmitted with the hand held centrally and with very
little body movement. To control a runaway or bucking horse with only
one hand requires a technique to shorten the reins quickly. The spider
crawl will gather all four reins quickly and uniformly. Four bites and
the reins are sixteen inches shorter which puts your hand right behind
the horses ears. A strong pull can be applied without slipping. Strong
anything with the reins are strictly for radical misbehavior that puts
horse and or rider at risk. The reins must be strummed and stroked.
Plucked and played like a harp. Not pulled like a dog leash. Never ever
pull sharply with the reins. Never ever punish the horse by hurtfully
handling the reins. The reins are not to force the horse they are there
to communicate with the horse. All the horse needs is to know what you
want of it. If you have to force the horse get off! You cannot force
a person to fight for you. Likewise you cannot force a horse to fight
for you. Motivate the horse to want to compete and it will want to perform
winning maneuvers.
