Alexandra Kurland has done it again!!! I finally got around to watching the 'Helen House Horse - The Mechanics of Single Rein Riding' DVD. I haven't been in a hurry to watch it because, although I was sure that I'd find some useful tips on there, I knew that it was all about the finer details of single rein mechanics, and with no horses, so I thought that I'd have trouble staying awake.

Oh, how wrong can I be?!!! As soon as the action began I got the tingling feeling of excitement that I always get when I know that I've found something that's going to make a huge difference. I had sort of worked out the basics of the mechanics about right. Some minor details I'd found for myself - the necessity of having my little finger inside the rein, instead of the rein being between ring and little finger, and the taking the slack from the inside rein by lifting the buckle hand rather than reaching forward down the rein (not something you do if you think your horse might suddenly spin and run) - but there is SO much more than that to be had!

As Alexandra Kurland says on the DVD, if you have a confident, easy horse you can get away with blue murder, but the more difficulties and uncertainties the horse has, the more all the tiny details really matter. As I watched the riders working through the finer details of the mechanics - the lifting of the reins from the shoulder blades, the bone rotations followed by setting the shoulder blades down - the riders were transformed. They all began to look like martial artists; so grounded and centred into the saddle, that it would take an earthquake to shift them.

This is all achieved in a relaxed way, that leaves the rider neutral, with no tension or stiffness anywhere. Their stability is tested by someone pulling on the reins, which is resisted with ease and with no alteration to the rider. You can see how effortlessly powerful the rider becomes, but in a gentle, receptive way. The rider becomes locked into their own core, and the horse responds from his own core.

There are also the details of the mechanics of the emergency one rein stop. I've had to do this twice with Jack and, although I did manage to stop him, it didn't work as quickly or easily as I'd hoped. I can now see why, and, if I ever have to use it again, it will work much better next time.

It was fascinating listening to AK explaining that how far you need to go down the rein to find your horse's hip alters all the time, depending on how connected to you, and to himself, the horse is, mentally and physically. I'd noticed this myself, without really realising what was going on.

Alexandra Kurland says that, by paying attention to the finer details of these mechanics, you can take control of the horse in a way that makes him feel safe. That you can learn to begin to do the things that very talented riders, the sort that "just get on a horse and the horse melts underneath them", take a lifetime of riding to perfect.

These are exactly the details I need for Jack. If I only had Grace and Bella I might think that it didn't matter too much (although I know that they are going to benefit from the results too) but I have known all along that, while giving Jack the reins every time he gets anxious works well for us at home (now that he knows how to keep himself calm), I can't rely on it out on the road or at a show. He doesn't have enough experience or see well enough. I've known that I have to find a way to persuade him that he must listen to me, without the idea of him giving away control pushing him over the edge into flight.

Now I have! These details will give me the all the tools I need to be an irresistible leader in all circumstances, even with Jack, and the way they anchor the rider to the saddle will give me that last bit of confidence I need to keep myself calm, focused and centred, no matter what.

I've got a lot of work to do, perfecting the bone rotations and making everything effortless, fluid and automatic, but the final result will be SO worth the effort - a horse who is always trusting and confident, happy and willing to let his rider make the decisions!

What would I have done, where would Jack and I be now, without Alexandra Kurland? I am so, so grateful to her. All this information is worth it's weight in gold to me!