Ride Better With One Rein Riding

focus seat and legs to ask him to move and using the rein to guide that movements direction.
One rein riding also helps the rider to distinguish the outside rein from the inside rein. The concept is easy enough to grasp but trickier to put into practice when you have to react quickly.
Imagine youre riding a circle to the right the horses body curving around as he walks the path. In that circle your right rein is the inside rein and your left rein the outside rein. Below Ill discuss the open direct rein and outside rein exercises which will help you distinguish between inside and outside rein cues as you teach the horse to become more responsive to those cues.
I also like to use natural obstacles such as logs or trees to my advantage. Obstacles whether natural or manmade give my horse a clear idea of where were going and help him understand what Im asking of him. Obstacles give the horse a visual target to navigate around and give purpose to my cues.
Trying it out
Ready to try one rein riding? Below are some exercises to get you started. Youll be amazed at the difference you will see in your riding ability because you have to enlist your seat and legs due to the lack of a bridle. When you transition back to the bridle youll also notice how much better your horse will respond to your seat and leg cues. 
First practice riding with one rein until you can comfortably walk trot and canter with control. Also back your horse if he knows how. If you can get him to back with one rein he will be even better when you return to using two. Reviewing tasks hes already familiar with will give you a starting point before you move on to new more difficult exercises.
Once you have that foundation laid try flipping the rein from one hand to the other over the horses head back and forth. Begin with the horse standing still before you add any speed. When you can change sides with your rein while in motion you are balancing correctly in the saddle. If not you may be pulling on the reins to keep your balance.
The next exercise I work on is the neutral lateral bend to the stop also called an emergency stop. It is important to teach the horse that when he feels