I was teaching a client on her young horse a few days ago. We were teaching the horse to understand the contact of the bit for riding in a frame for the first time. My client said she wasn't really sure what to do so we went through it slowly so she and her horse could understand what was happening in real-time.
I explained to her that the goal was for the horse to find a place of comfort by releasing any pressure and being still when the horse was in the correct frame. When the horse finds this, we stay with them in the release until the horse loses the contact, usually because they lose balance. In order to do this, our reins have to offer a consistent contact to the horse so that they can learn to find balance and self-carriage. We do this by using our triceps for holding a frame (as opposed to biceps, which are used for pulling and it's not possible to be stable in the saddle when we pull).
When there is no consistency in the contact for the horse to seek, horses will be unsteady in their heads and bodies and lose balance onto the forehand. My client told me that no-one had ever explained this to her and It made sense to her what she had to teach to her horse.
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