Ride Better With One Rein Riding

Got a pushy older horse that leans on the bit? Or a youngster still learning the ropes and worried about the bit? Then I have good news for you. The solution to help both of them is the same one rein riding.
One rein riding is simply riding your horse without a bridle using instead a regular halter and lead with the lead as your single rein. Its a simple tack change but a great way to brush up on the basics with all levels of horses. It will very quickly reveal to you how well started your horse really is.
I start all my young horses with one rein riding and use it with older horses as a refresher. I also use this technique as a review to test my human students skills. I call it a foundational technique. Later as the ability of horse and rider increases I reintroduce a bit and second rein into the equation.
How does one rein riding help?
One rein riding improves your horsemanship and horse training four ways by 
Allowing you to find your focus
Teaching you to use all of your aids
Helping you distinguish between outside and inside rein aids
Enabling you to use obstacles to your advantage
The first and most important thing that one rein riding will teach you is how to ride with focus. This includes where you are looking as well as how you position your body. 
Remember to look up the next time you ride. Instead of focusing down at your horses ears like many riders do direct your gaze where you want to go. That simple act will automatically help focus the rest of your body which signals your intent to the horse.
Riding with one rein also teaches us to use all our aids to balance and ride with our entire body rather than relying solely on our reins as a crutch. 
Usually when a riding instructor advises a rider to use their aids more when cueing the horse its because the rider is relying too heavily on the reins which is just one tool in the toolkit and neglecting the other tools of seat and legs. To correct this the instructor asks for more seat and leg aid and less rein.
In FIGURE 1 see main photo above I am guiding my horse with an open direct rein. The rein cue is actually a fairly light supporting contact. I am really using my