Finesse Your Neck Reining

A step-by-step progression when teaching neck-reining can lead to success.

- BY AL DUNNING, WITH JENNIFER PAULSON

When you first start a horse or ride one that hasn't been well-trained to neck-rein, his natural tendency when the rein lies against his neck is to turn his head in the opposite direction of the way you want to turn. That rein has shortened just enough to make him think, “They want me to tip my nose that way.” Meanwhile, you're in the saddle thinking, “How the heck am I going to get him to connect the dots and look to the left when I lay the right rein on his neck?”

There's a natural progression for training your horse to neck-rein, and the foundational elements are essential for success. Otherwise, you'll end up with a confused horse and a frustrated rider. Here's the process I use.

It Starts With a Pull

For this article, let's focus on steering your horse to the left. When he's a solid neck-reiner, that means you lay the right rein on your horse's neck, and he steers to the left following his head. But that doesn't come without putting in a good foundation.

When teaching the neck rein, start with two hands. Lay your right rein across your horse's neck, wait a split second to see how he responds, then give a slight tug on the left rein to lead him in the correct direction.