Close your fingers!! When holding your reins there should be minimal change in your rein length once you have warmed up and established the contact you want. When you ride with your fingers open or your thumbs to the inside this allows for your reins to slip, thus changeing the ammount of contact you have constantly. The reason this impeads your connection is that when the horse is feeling constant changes of pressure going on in his mouth how should he know what changes are meant as an "aid" or signal and which are just you adjusting your contact. In other words it makes your message to the horse foggy. The clearer your messages the better the response. Strive to help your horse understand you better.
If you close your thumb down on the extra part of the reins this will not allow them to slip. Its a good habit to get into.
