Most riders know the basic cues to ask a horse to to do something. But once you have the basics down, it can be difficult to increase your riding skills without hiring a trainer, taking lessons or seeking guidance of a more experienced rider. So I am here to give you a few tips.
We have three ways in which we can communicate with horse while riding them, our legs, our seat, and our hands.
Legs
Our legs have three positions, each of them is used to ask the horse to do different things. Later I will discuss combining cues, but let's start with leg cues for now. We have the middle leg position, which some call on the cinch or girth, but it is actually behind the girth, where your leg falls when you are seated properly and your ears, shoulders, hips and heel all align. In addition to middle position, we have in front of of the girth and behind the girth, which really mean in front of middle position and behind middle position.
Now, it is important to remember that horses respond to pressure and release. So when you apply pressure at the front position, you are asking the horse to move its front end away from the pressure. Also remember your lower legs will be used either actively, passively, or in a yielding manner. Active is squeezing, bumping, kicking or spurring. Passive has contact, but does not give commands, yielding is temporarily used when teaching a horse something new and you need to counteract or counterbalance the horse. Some examples of how leg pressure and placement can be used are below:
When turning a horse to the right, use your inside (or right) leg with moderate activity in the middle position to create a "post" to turn around. You might need left leg in middle position to passively ask them to maintain forward motion.
If he does not bend properly when turning to the right, perhaps his hip swings out, you can use left leg in middle position to encourage him to carry his rear in a collected manner.
If he is stiff through his shoulder, use left leg in front position to ask him to pick up his shoulder. If you need more leg on the left, holding a whip in middle position can assist.
Outside leg is used passively in turns, corners and circles. If the leg comes off, the horse will become unbalanced. Be sure to maintain your leg placement in a canter, as it can be very challenging to hold proper position.
If you have a hard time staying in your seat during a canter your stirrups might be too long or too short.
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