The importance of using the leg before the hand in riding
One of the important principles of riding at every level and in every discipline is that the use of the reins should not be without the use of the legs.
Many trainers, when teaching the basics, simplify the use of riding aids and tell people to use the legs to go forward and the reins to turn and stop.
But this habit is so challenging that if you learn as a beginner to use the reins without using the legs, it will be difficult to correct.
That is why I believe all riders should learn as soon as possible how to use the legs together with the reins.
I say this from personal experience as a rider who had to relearn the correct use of the legs.
In this article, I will explain why this concept is so important and provide three simple exercises to test and improve the use of the legs and your horse’s response to them.
Using the legs before the reins for better balance Using the reins without the legs is like trying to stop a bicycle using the front brake and without the rear brake.
If you ride a bicycle at high speed, there is a risk of the bicycle overturning.
Similarly, if you only use the "front brakes" (reins) on your horse, he will fall forward and become heavy in the reins.
Adding the "rear brakes" (legs) activates his hind legs and encourages him to step more under his body.
This helps him maintain his balance while using his whole body to respond to your commands, whether you are asking him to turn, circle, or make a downward transition.
For example, if you are turning him to the right, you use your right leg to ask for bend through the turn, then add the left leg to bring him back to a straight line after the turn.
In this way he comes out of the turn as balanced as he went into it.
The more you use hand aids without the accompaniment of leg aids, the more your horse will lean forward and become heavier in the reins.
That is why many horses need stronger and stronger reins.
Clients often send horses to my stable for training with big, strong reins.
It may seem contradictory, but these horses need more use of the legs, not less.
My goal is always to send them home with a simple rein.
That is the best proof that you have trained a horse correctly to respond to leg aids.
My goal with every horse is to ride more with my legs and seat and encourage him to respond to the lightest rein contact.
Here, the Westphalian horse named Casual Pleasure shows a balanced and active movement.
©Amy K.
Dragoo To do this, you need to create a new habit in yourself that every time you use your hands, you also use your legs.
Even when you are not making any change in your speed or direction, you are probably doing something with your hands, such as maintaining light contact with the horse’s mouth.
You should use your legs just as much and consistently.
At the very least, there should always be a light connection between your leg aids and the horse’s sides.
This applies to all horses, no matter how hot or sensitive they are.
Conconcreto Believe, the mare with whom I won the Rolex U.
S.
Open Grand Prix at the Central Park 2015 horse show, is an excellent example.
She has a lot of Thoroughbred blood, but I still have to drive her with a lot of leg.
If your horse is very sensitive, you can ride him with smaller spurs or without spurs, but you must know that using your legs is essential.
One of the great ways to test whether you are using your legs correctly and your horse is responding correctly is to perform the backing-up movement.
A horse that obediently backs up to your hand and leg aids without any sign of tension truly understands your aids.
As an added benefit, backing-up exercises engage, strengthen, and relax your horse’s back muscles.
So it is a great exercise to include in his training and conditioning program.
Exercise 1: Test use the following technique to ask your horse to back up five steps in a straight line (Caution: if you are using any type of auxiliary reins or restrictive headgear such as draw reins, de Gogue, fixed martingale, or chambon, do not do this): 1.
Start at the walk.
Sit quietly and evenly in the middle of the saddle and keep your upper body relaxed while maintaining a light contact on the reins.
2.
Then use a little more leg aid to increase the “intent” of forward movement in your horse—create the feeling that he is actively moving more into the rein.
How you use your legs and how much power you apply depends on your horse.
Some horses may need a gentle squeeze with your calves, while others may need you to tap their sides a few times with your legs or spurs.
3.
When you feel that intent to move forward, increase the pressure on both reins equally so your horse stops, while continuing to use your leg aids.
Imagine that you are filling a bicycle tire with a hole in it.
Your legs are putting air into the tire.
Your hands should put pressure on the hole to prevent the air from escaping.
The amount of pressure you apply with your hands depends on how much air you are putting into the tire with your legs.
4.
Once your horse has stopped, use your leg and hand aids again in the same way you used them for the halt, while keeping the rest of your body relaxed and centered in the saddle.
Squeeze or tap your legs while maintaining pressure on the reins to prevent him from moving forward.
Continue these aids until he takes one step back.
Then repeat the aids and use your right and left legs and hands equally so that he backs up in a straight line.
When you apply these backing-up aids, a typical horse does one of three things: either he goes backward, he runs forward, or he resists your hand and blocks his shoulders, giving you the feeling that he has turned to stone.
If he runs forward, apply more rein aids.
If he freezes, do not try to force the issue.
He clearly has not yet learned to back up correctly.
If you push him harder, he may show a dangerous reaction such as rearing.
Instead, ask someone on the ground to help you with an exercise that I explain in Exercise 2.
Some horses may only take two or three steps back and then stop.
These horses are blocked in their bodies because their muscles are not accustomed to this type of movement.
This movement may even be painful for them, just as your muscles would ache if you had not gone to the gym for a long time and then suddenly tried to do a big workout.
If your horse blocks in this way, immediately go forward and let it relax its muscles.
Then stop it and ask for just a few more steps back.
Never push it to the point where it becomes irritated or uncomfortable.
1.
To test the understanding of the 9-year-old Westfalen horse named Casual Pleasure of leg aids, I am doing a simple backing-up exercise.
I start at the walk, sitting slowly and straight in the middle of the saddle, and while keeping my upper body relaxed, I have a light contact with the reins.
Then I use the leg aids a little more to create a feeling of more active movement toward the reins.
He responds well to these aids, as you can tell from his hind leg, which is nicely stepping under his body.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 2.
Then, with a slight shift of my upper body weight backward and increased pressure on both reins equally, while still using the leg aids, I ask him to halt.
Casual Pleasure has lifted his head a little in the final moment before the halt, but I am not worried about that.
When he first came to my stable, he was very weak and stiff in his back.
It was difficult to soften his back muscles.
He has become much stronger in a short time, but I still do not expect him to maintain the rounder frame and relatively vertical head carriage of a more advanced horse.
At this stage, the focus on the responsiveness and activity of his hind legs is much more important.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 3.
When Casual Pleasure comes to a complete halt, I briefly give with the reins to encourage him for his correct response to my aids.
His head is still up, but many people make the mistake of focusing too much on the position of their horses’ heads.
This can be misleading.
A horse with a low, round head can still be weak and unbalanced in the back.
Among horses ridden by high-level riders, there is a great deal of variation in head position.
But one thing all these horses have in common is the active use of the hindquarters.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 4.
Then, by tapping my legs against Casual Pleasure’s sides and simultaneously applying pressure to the reins, I prevent him from moving forward.
Note that I have maintained a straight line between his elbow and mouth and am using both hands equally so that my intention is completely clear.
Although this horse has not been with me for long, we do backing-up exercises repeatedly.
So he is very familiar with these aids.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 5.
He immediately responds with one step back.
I repeat the same leg and hand aids to ask him to back up slowly and in a straight line.
Again, at this stage I am not worried about his head position.
He is producing something much more important: obedient responsiveness to my aids, a soft and round back, and active use of the hindquarters.
©Amy K.
Dragoo Exercise 2: Teaching the horse to back up to improve the horse’s understanding of the aids. If he refuses to back up or backs up with a lot of resistance, try this exercise.
Only do this if you are an experienced rider and have good balance.
Otherwise, introduce the concept to him first without getting on him, or ask a professional to teach the horse the basics.
1.
Create a triangular path with two verticals that are 5 or 6 feet apart at one end and meet at the other end to form the point of the triangle.
Alternatively, you can form a triangle using a fence or the arena wall and a vertical placed at an angle next to it.
Set the jump heights at 3 or 4 feet so there is no risk of the horse falling onto them.
2.
Have the person on the ground stand at the point of the triangle and point a long whip toward the ground.
3.
Lead your horse at the walk into the open end of the triangle.
Using the same aids I explained earlier, ask him to stop a few steps away from the person on the ground.
4.
Next, use the aids I described to ask your horse to back up.
At the same time, the person helping on the ground should make a “click click” sound and move the whip in a spiral on the ground, enough to startle your horse a little and make him take a step back.
If the horse does not back up, ask the helper to wave the whip closer to the horse’s front legs.
If that is not effective either, gently tap the horse’s chest with the firm part of the whip.
Be patient and watch carefully so that the situation does not reach the point where your horse becomes upset or nervous.
5.
When the horse finally takes one or two steps back, immediately pet him and stop using your hand and leg aids.
Then ask him to take one or two steps forward so that his back muscles relax again.
6.
Repeat this exercise several times until the concept is reinforced.
Then end the session for that day.
With practice, you will be able to do this exercise without help from the person on the ground, and you can ask the horse to back up several steps.
Always focus on keeping the horse straight and relaxed.
As his muscles become stronger, this will become easier for him.
He will also generally respond better to your leg aids.
1.
An excellent way to teach a horse to back up correctly in response to your aids without tightening his body is to use a path made of standards and rails.
To demonstrate, I lead the horse Casual Pleasure into this temporary path and give him time to settle down and get used to it.
My assistant, Eric Molina, is standing directly in front of us with a whip pointed toward the ground.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 2.
Then, I use my hand and leg aids simultaneously to ask Casual Pleasure to back up.
At the same time, Eric makes a “click click” sound and moves the whip in a spiral on the ground, enough to make the horse take a step back.
Because this particular horse is already familiar with my backing-up aids, I hardly need any rein pressure.
(If this were a less experienced horse, I would use the direct, steady pressure shown in Exercise 1.)
) As soon as he starts backing up, I immediately soften the rein to encourage him.
Eric walks toward us and is ready to reinforce my aids using his presence and whip.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 3.
If your horse does not back up right away, ask your helper to touch the horse’s legs or chest with the whip, as Eric demonstrates here.
Notice how comfortable Casual Pleasure looks.
It is very important never to frighten or upset your horse during these sessions.
For the exercise to be truly beneficial, he must remain relaxed both physically and mentally.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 4.
When your horse finally takes one or two steps back, immediately pet him and stop applying your leg and hand pressure.
Then ask him to take one or two steps forward so his back muscles can relax.
Repeat this exercise several times to reinforce the concept.
If necessary, ask your helper to continue tapping his chest or legs with the whip each time you ask the horse to back up, so that your aids are reinforced, as Eric does here.
When your horse backs up well with someone on the ground helping, you can try it on your own.
©Amy K.
Dragoo Exercise 3: Transition from trot to halt When your horse backs up well, take this concept to the next level and do downward transitions, always asking him to come forward before applying hand aids.
Use enough leg that you feel your horse taking the bit.
(Don’t worry about overdoing it.
You can never use too much leg.
) Then use equal hand pressure to ask for the downward transition.
Start with simple transitions like trot to walk and canter to trot, then progress to canter to walk and trot to halt.
Remember, without legs, hands are useless.
1.
Downward transitions are another great way to reinforce your horse’s correct response to leg aids and strengthen his back muscles.
In preparation for the trot-to-halt transition, I close my legs to ask for the same forward intent I requested in the backing-up exercise.
Because I also have forward movement here, I can more easily keep him round through the topline.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 2.
Then I shift my upper body weight slightly back and make a little more contact with the bit.
Continue to apply both leg and hand aids until .
.
.
©Amy K.
Dragoo 3.
.
.
.
he comes to a balanced and beautiful halt.
Notice how, in response to my leg aids, he has kept his back round and has stepped both hind legs under his body.
©Amy K.
Dragoo About Daniel Bluman, the Grand Prix rider, Daniel Bluman was born in Medellín, Colombia.
He began riding at the age of three and competed as a teenager in Colombia, Germany, and the United States.
In 2007, he moved to Wellington, Florida, and began working as a professional rider.
Representing his native country, Colombia, he competed at the World Equestrian Games in 2010, the Pan American Games in 2011, and the 2012 Olympics.
In 2015, with Conconcreto Believe, he won the $212,000 U. S.
Open CSI*** Grand Prix at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show and also competed last year at the Olympics with the horse Apardi.
Daniel credits most of his training to two legendary Olympic riders, the Canadian Eric Lamaze and the Brazilian Nelson Pessoa.
He now spends half of his time in Brussels, Belgium and the other half in East Norwich, New York, where he and his cousin Ilan run their business, Bluman Equestrian.
This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.
Source: Practical Horseman – Training