How to Train a Horse to Neck Rein

Neck reining is a method of indirect reining that trains the horse to respond to very gentle pressure from the reins. See how neck reining works with helpful advice in this video on training horses.

Hi, Rick Gore from Travis Equestrian Center. Today we're going to talk about how to neck rein or how to teach a horse to neck rein. This is probably one of the most confusing and misunderstood things out here. A true neck reined horse, reins on a very light, loose rein. You'll see a lot of people teaching a horse to neck rein because they pull the horse around. This is not a neck rein, even though I'm pulling across my neck. I did not neck rein this horse to make him turn. What I did is I pulled and I forced and I put pressure, I confused him. I'm pulling on both reins and I'm making him go, that's not neck reining. Neck reining is a nice, easy left turn or I lay this rein over his neck, and I give him a little lay. That's a neck rein. I gave him an additional queue of pulling on this side, which teaches him, I'm teaching him with the direct rein here and this is called an indirect rein. A neck rein is an indirect reining, so if this horse is truly neck reined, when I lay the reins like this, he would go this way. I don't think he's really neck reined, although he's getting it. If I want him to go left, all I should have to do is with the reins loose, I should be able. Do you want to walk off on me? I want to go loose, I want to lay the reins this way, and he should move this way. That's what a neck, back, that's what a neck reined horse is. It's not pulling on a rein, it's not using a bitten pressure. It's basically using your body, your hips and your legs to give a horse a queue, to where when this rein touches his neck and leg pushes him, he turns to the left. So when people tell you they're neck reined or the horse is neck reined and you see him pulling and both the reins are tight and they're yanking the horse around, that's not neck reined. A neck reined is a very finessed and it takes years and years of training. And it takes a horse on a loose rein to be able to lean and to slowly go left, when you give him a left. Easy, come, good boy. I know, you're a good boy. And that's how you basically start to neck rein a horse.