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Post by Moderators on Jun 13, 2008 9:53:10 GMT 1
A ridden question for Nicole Golding and Adam Goodfellow.
on 11.03.07
I have a fabulous Highland pony gelding who will be four in June 07. He has a very relaxed, kind, placid temperament and takes everything in his stride.
I bought him in June 2006 and spent three months doing the ground work exercises from Kelly Marks Perfect Manners book, and also did the Parelli ground work exercises from Level 1. I led him out in hand, long reined him, took him showing in hand to a local show, and let him experience as much as I could.
I backed him with the help of a friend in September 2006 ¡V and he was very straightforward. I rode him for the first 2 -3 months in a parelli hackamore because he had injured his face, and wearing a leather bridle wasn¡¦t appropriate at that time. I therefore used the parelli sequence to ask him to move forward with more impulsion ¡V ie used the phases of first - ask with seat „³ gentle squeeze with legs „³ flap rope at your body „³ flap rope at pony¡¦s quarters. I tried to be kind and consistent ¡V so as soon as he responded, I ceased asking (at whatever level I was at) and praised him. I also rode him in the same way with a wip-wop.
As things have developed, I started riding him in a bridle about 2 months ago (he was prepared for this with long-reining) ¡V and using a schooling whip rather than the flapping rope / wip wop so I can keep both hands on the reins. Ie sequence now goes ask with seat „³ gentle squeeze with legs „³ tap my boot with whip „³ tap him with whip.
The reason for writing to you, is that I wonder what else you can suggest for getting impulsion in the school. He has improved massively ¡V but is inconsistent. For example will trot a lovely circuit of the school in a forward going active way, prompted to go from walk to trot by my seat only ¡V ie phase 1 ¡V and so I praise him. Then when I ask again a minute later, he can be quite resistant ¡V swishing tail, ears back and needing phase 3 or 4 to get him to move into trot.
I make sure that I don¡¦t restrict his forward motion with my reins. I try to keep the schooling sessions short and varied. I hack him out 2 or more times a week (and he is MUCH more forward going out hacking ¡V very willing to move out actively). He is also more forward going when schooling in the outside arena ¡V in the indoor arena he is less active. He is better when alone, less active when in company in the arena.
I realize that he is young and unbalanced and I shouldn¡¦t expect too much ¡V but my instructor feels despite this, he needs to learn to consistently move forward actively when requested, when he is at this stage in his training!
I am having a riding lesson once a fortnight, and my instructor schools him twice a week ¡V and is very pleased with his progress, but says she has come across few ponies in her years which are so inconsistent in terms of how they react to your aids for forward motion / impulsion during a session.
Sorry this is so long!
Many thanks in anticipation of your response!
Ellen
Answer from Nicole Golding and Adam Goodfellow The Self-Propelling Horse
In the last edition of the Listening Post, I promised we would look at how to motivate a horse that has become switched off to the aids, to bring an end to all that unpleasant nagging.
I have taught this approach to numerous riders and found that even horses who have been ridden with almost constant leg use by the rider can quickly transform into forward-going horses if the techniques are applied consistently. I particularly remember one 25 year old gelding who had been ridden by the same rider since he had been started at age 3, and in that time she had always kicked with every stride. Her instructor’s favourite encouragement had been “legs, legs! Use your legs!” and she had taken this advice to heart. He took the change in approach completely in his stride, although his rider was somewhat astonished, particularly as the whole process only took a few minutes.
I’m sure you can picture the kind of scenario – the horse who does move his body around a school, but with the minimum of effort and a lot of kicking and shoving from the rider. The horse often looks switched off and not particularly keen. The rider often looks flustered and frustrated, and often dislikes the amount of force she feels she is having to use.
There are situations in which it is not appropriate to use our approach. These include:
· The genuinely nappy horse that is so frightened they are absolutely refusing to move. A “giddy-up” rope may well still work, but the approach is different.
· A horse that isn’t willingly going forward because there is some pain or discomfort involved. Backs, teeth, saddles and feet all have to be sorted out if there is any suspicion that the horse is uncomfortable.
· A horse that is unwell in some way, or generally seems depressed.
· A horse that is tentative because they are nervous – remember not all nervous horses rush.
· A nervous horse that is likely to react very strongly to sudden movements from the rider. It is unusual for such horses to be unresponsive to the leg, however.
· A school that is too deep for the horse to work freely in. Some schools are so tiring to even walk in that it could sap the energy of even the fittest, most enthusiastic horse.
· A horse that is going slowly because the rider is worried about going faster. This approach does require a certain amount of oomph and the rider who is frightened of sparking up the horse’s energy may not find it easy to commit fully to this approach. For the more cautious rider, this exercise could be done on long-lines first (with no one on board), or by another rider.
· A very novice rider who might be unbalanced by sudden movement from the horse.
The Aim:
For the Horse: A willingly forward, self-propelling horse who only requires a most minimal leg aid to initiate movement, and who keeps moving, without reminders, until another aid – to move up or down a pace – is given.
For the Rider: A quiet, respectful rider who can consciously control the use of their leg, who stays out of the horse’s way, doesn’t nag, and avoids conflicting or confusing signals.
Step One: Deciding what you want
Decide what an appropriate leg aid will be. I like to use a very light tap, in towards the horse, that barely touches the sides, and where it’s almost the gush of air as the leg moves away that the horse responds to. Because this is so light I think it’s appropriate to pair this with a kiss noise if there is any possibility of ambiguity. For instance, when I first get on, there’s the possibility that my leg might brush the horse’s side while I’m fiddling with the girths, and if the horse thought this meant “canter”, life would be a little inconvenient (and possibly somewhat short). So, we make sure to put in place an arrangement whereby the horse is aware that without us holding the reins up off his neck, all signals should be ignored- until we pick up the reins he is on holiday. If necessary I will back up my ‘go’ signal with a little kissing noise, so the horse knows he can safely ignore any stray signals at this point. The same approach works well when long-lining – as you’re gathering up the lines at the beginning they are likely to touch the horse, and it’s unfair to reprimand a horse for responding to these signals, but if they know to wait for a paired cue (lifting the rein/ kissing) it makes life easier for all concerned.
I would suggest you choose the lightest aid you yourself can notice. There’s no point doing this exercise if you’re going to use an audible thump to signal the horse!
It is also vital to decide how fast you want the horse to go. Sometimes we have come across people whose response to our question, ‘Is this the speed you want?’ is always ‘No- he should go faster’, regardless of how much effort the horse is making.
Step Two: Play the “Now- Then” game
You really need a friend watching you for this, preferably armed with a video camera! Every time you use your leg, say “now”. Your friend carefully watches your leg, and notices if there are any kicks slipping past your awareness. Then she can say “then!” every time she sees you use your leg which you didn’t notice. It’s likely that she might see more kicks than you are aware of making, and it’s also quite common for there to be a pattern of leg use like this: KICK, kick, kick, kick, KICK, kick, kick, kick, etc, with the rider only being aware of the big kicks. The smaller ones count, too, though. Imagine someone using their legs against your ribs in the same manner. The small nudges might not actually be painful, but they will probably be irritating enough that you would want to tune them out, or have them stop. It doesn’t make sense to have the horse defensively tune out a signal that you want them to attend to!
Step Three: Make the change
Stop kicking. It’s as simple as that. As soon as you are aware of each and every time you use your leg, and your friend agrees, stop using them. You can even turn your lower legs slightly away from the horse to make sure you’re not accidentally brushing them against the horse. Make sure you’re not shoving with your pelvis instead, but equally make sure you don’t seize your body up in such a way that your horse could think you want them to stop. Do not use your legs to steer, and direct the horse through simple, open reins (make sure your hands don’t pull back at all).
One of three things is likely to happen:
· The horse grinds to a halt. Not surprising if the horse is used to continuous kicking. It’s as if they feel that each leg aid means “move a step”, and if there are no more leg aids, the horse thinks they’re meant to stop moving.
· The horse keeps moving exactly the same as before. This can be surprising! The horse isn’t exactly motoring on, but doesn’t appear to notice the leg “aid” has stopped. This seems good evidence that the leg meant next to nothing to the horse, and that he has learnt to tune it out.
· The horse moves a little freer and faster than before. This doesn’t happen that often, but occurs mostly when the legs have been used in a forceful squeezing pressure, blocking the necessary motion of the rider along with the horse- and the horse being an “into-pressure” animal has actually been pushing back into the legs and slowing down as a result.
Now for the fun part. Think of this as a game, and that you’re explaining the rules to the horse by being extremely clear and consistent. The horse will get it even if you make the odd mistake, but needs you to be as accurate as possible.
When I teach this in a clinic or as a demo, I have to pause and explain the rules, so the horse has usually been halted, and might even be resting a leg. So I will outline the steps from being fully halted.
It’s best to use a “giddy-up” rope (or wip-wop). These are easily made at home or are available from the IH office, and the key thing is that they don’t inflict pain at all. I usually demonstrate this by whacking myself really hard around the shoulders with one (I promise I’m not into that sort of thing). A lot of riders use it on their own shoulders, rather than on the horse. Of course, if you’re wearing a rustly jacket, this makes a great noise, but this generally isn’t necessary. If you choose to use a whip, possibly with a handkerchief or plastic bag on it (the nuclear option, be careful!), hold it in the upright position so when waved it moves in front of your face, and is more likely to hurt you than the horse if you have a momentary loss of co-ordination (mind his ears and your nose- practise off-horse if you are struggling with this. Bear in mind the horse may well lift his head in response to the stimulus). The main thing is that you put real energy into it, as explained below.
Begin and end each ride with the rein completely loose, resting on his neck with your hand holding the buckle. So your very first move is to lift up the rein and hold it in the usual fashion. That’s your hand brake, so taking that off should be a signal that something is about to happen. Then, using the leg aid that you decided was suitable, give the horse one signal, paired if you like with a kiss noise. If they were “switched off”, it’s reasonable that they don’t spring into life, although you should expect some signs of awakening. If they don’t move off immediately, give another signal of exactly the same intensity (this is very important, you are never going to be increasing the amount of this pressure), and if they don’t respond to that, it’s time to hold the front of the saddle and reins (loosely so he can move ahead freely) with one hand, and use the giddy-up with the other. This needs to be done with loads of energy, as the idea is to startle the horse. They should preferably leap forwards in surprise with a sort of “cor blimey” look in their eyes, in a “I didn’t expect that!” sort of way. (NB if you are a little unsure of how your horse might react, bearing in mind you want surprise not total freak-out, you could start more gently with the giddy-up, but the important thing to remember is that you want a strong reaction from the horse to break the pattern of general lassitude). You might also want to make a loud kiss or “pssch” sound. Blowing raspberries can also be surprisingly effective! Do whatever it takes, as long as you’re not banging your legs against the horse’s sides, or using a stick to hit the horse.
Allow the horse to move forward freely for several strides. Quietly ask the horse back to a walk (perhaps by putting their nose into the fence) if they have been trotting or cantering in response to the giddy-up, and be very careful not to use the legs. The rules here are that the horse has to keep moving their legs, in walk, but it doesn’t matter – at this stage – how fast they do so. Don’t worry, you won’t have to crawl around for ever, but it’s very important that the horse gets the first basic concept which is “stay in walk until asked otherwise”. However slowly they go, make sure you don’t remind them to keep moving. What you are asking the horse to do is to be more involved with being ridden, and to take some responsibility for their part of the deal. Your job is to let them know when they have made a mistake, not to remind them that they are about to go wrong. I often think of this bit like the old-fashioned scenario in which the wife would kiss the husband good-bye in the mornings and hand him his briefcase. As long as the wife did this, the husband never had to remember or worry about the briefcase. If she wanted him to take that responsibility for himself, she would only have to let him forget once, and for him to go to an important meeting without his essential notes, for him to never forget again. Incidentally, memory experts suggest that relying on others to remember important details like this contributes to memory loss in people – usually men- of a certain age….
So, the rider’s job is to concentrate on not kicking the horse and just to wait until the horse actually stops. As soon as all four feet have come to a complete stop, she can go crazy again with the Giddy-up. Again, the horse should be startled and move strongly forward around the school, and then quietly asked back to a walk. It’s not that you want the horse to trot or canter particularly, it’s that you want them to be adrenalized enough to do so. The Giddy-up isn’t a signal in itself, it’s a consequence delivered to the horse for either not responding to a signal, or forgetting that one still applies. It must not hurt the horse, but must be unsettling enough that the horse doesn’t want you to do it again, and is motivated to find out how to make sure you don’t.
The horse usually tries this out 2-3 times to be sure of the cause and effect, and may also need to be sure that it applies on the other rein, too. Still, done well, you may only need to reach for the Giddy-Up a handful of times to overcome years of constant kicking.
Another reason to make sure you don’t jump in with the Giddy-Up in a reminding fashion, when you feel the horse is about to stop, is that you know the horse has well and truly grasped the concept when they are walking along in the absence of kicking, slow down as if they are about to stop, and then think better of it and speed up again. That’s a moment when you could hop off or stroke him to congratulate him for his effort! If you had already jumped in at this point you would have missed this, and are also confusing the issue and going back to taking over responsibility for keeping the horse moving.
Once the horse has got the idea in walk, the next step is to check it out in trot. The same deal applies – the horse can be trotting slowly, but must be doing an identifiable two-time movement. The rider takes sitting trot or a sort of middling rising trot – not thrusting strongly with the pelvis to indicate a particular tempo and speed, but not doing such a minor rise the horse could be forgiven for thinking he’s being asked to slow down. If the horse actually walks, the rider delivers the negative consequence with the Giddy Up again.
We don’t usually go through the same process for canter. Although breaking out of the canter is not ideal, sometimes the horse does it because they’ve become too unbalanced to continue. I think using the Giddy-Up in this situation would be unfair, and could result in the horse panicking. Many riders are not brilliantly balanced and aligned in the canter, either (the same is true of trot and walk but imbalance is harder for a horse to deal with in canter). What I tend to do if I think the horse has “bailed out” and could’ve maintained the canter is to stop the horse when they lose the canter, rein back to before where they broke, and go straight back into the canter. This is a little like we’re rewinding the video tape and recording what we wanted to happen over the top of what actually did. It’s hard enough work for the horse to want to avoid doing it, but doesn’t involve flying around the school in an even more unbalanced canter than the horse dropped out of. Plus the rein-back to canter move often helps with the quality of the canter, anyway. Obviously, your rein-back has to be in place, but anyone who has ever seen Monty or Kelly, or been on a riding clinic with us, would already know how important that is, and have been working on it!
Usually, at this point, the horse has pretty much got the idea, and although the emphasis hasn’t been on maintaining a certain speed, the horse is usually more forward going in the walk and trot. Another way to encourage optimal forwardness is to use that old-fashioned expedient of lots of transitions one after the other. Of course, the emphasis is on the horse responding immediately to the lightest request. Since the horse hasn’t been standing around whilst explanations have been discussed, it is perfectly reasonable to expect the horse to be on alert to any signals, and to respond to one request and not need the back up of a second. If the horse doesn’t respond immediately the Giddy-Up is used. It’s rare to have a horse who responds straight away to a succession of quick transitions without also moving nicely forwards.
The horse that has been habitually sluggish and uninspired needs to learn a new habit of moving forwards in a self-sustaining way. It makes sense to keep the sessions short to start with, and to put in plenty of walk and halt so the horse doesn’t feel that they are in a perpetual motion that might never stop! If there are other things that the horse enjoys, like jumping or trotting poles, incorporate those, too.
Energy doesn’t equal anger!
Some people find the energy required for this technique difficult to source, and may need almost to feel indignant at the horse forgetting to keep moving their feet – almost in a Victor Meldrew “I don’t believe it!” sort of way. However, there should never be actual anger felt on the part of the rider – you are simply delivering a consequence – albeit with energy and possibly noise – but nothing more. We recommend you do not use a voice command as it may contribute to riders losing their temper. If you find yourself shouting “No!” or “Oi!” instead of psshing, or flapping with the Giddy-Up, you’re on the wrong track.
Happy Riding! Here are a couple of things to be aware of: Occasionally the horse may have to stop to pee, and it would be a bit unfair to reach for the Giddy-Up at this point. What I’ve found is that horses quickly learn to make it very clear that they are stopping for this reason- they stop very definitely and immediately go into peeing position, and it often seems to resolve that annoying “is he stopping to pee or just stopping” question.
You may also find initially that when you go to pick up or adjust your rein, the horse responds with some tension. A simple reassuring stroke usually makes it clear to him that there’s no need to be worried.
It may also be the case that you need to be a bit clearer with your downwards request, as the horse may be very careful not to make the mistake of stopping when he’s not meant to. Some people who have horses that aren’t forward going find that they don’t really have a downwards aid – they’ve only ever had to stop kicking for the horse to halt! I would suggest a definite closing or lifting of the hand on the rein as part of the aid, just so it’s very clear to the horse. Make sure there’s no backward pull, however. There’s plenty to be said about the bit and the rein aids and how the horse responds to them, but at this stage we’re just looking at being clear, and having the horse understand the principle of being responsible for maintaining their own forward movement until they are asked for something else.
Finally, I should mention that years ago I decided never to write an instruction manual, because every second sentence would start, ‘but if…’. Every horse is an individual and this article will probably not suit everyone. If you want help with this or any other issue, we’d be delighted to help out in person, through a riding clinic, or visit.
In the next issue, we will tackle the following frequently asked questions, plus any others that you send to Nicole@whisperingback.co.uk.
Can I never use my legs in a supporting way again?
What about out on a hack? Do I do the same thing?
What about steering with the legs?
Anything else I can do to get the horse really forwards?
Is it ok to use the Giddy-Up to tell the horse that they’ve slowed down too much?
Can I use this technique with a youngster?
I ride riding school horses, can I use this technique with them, too? What if the school won’t let me use a Giddy-Up, or insists I use a whip?
What if the horse slows down rather than speeds up when I use the Giddy-Up?
Dealing with a Problem Kicker
Kicking is considered one of the worst vices a horse can have, particularly if it’s habitual. We’re so concerned about being kicked that “don’t walk behind a horse” is one of the first things we say to children or people unfamiliar with horses. Yet fortunately, being kicked by a horse is really rather rare, and usually only happens when we shut down their other options.
The same is not true of the horse’s chances of being kicked by a human. The “problem kicker” I’m writing about here is the rider. Whether it’s one who uses their legs only rarely or the one who incessantly nags, I’m questioning whether kicking of any sort is ever really appropriate, or has any part in the sort of finessed riding we would all aspire to…
I’d like to define “kicking” in terms of the amount of force used, rather than a particular action of the leg. So to kick would move a football, for example, and it could be either a bit punt across the entire pitch, or a little nudge, but the ball would move. Looking at it another way, I would consider anything more than the sort of touch you would use if you were tapping someone on the shoulder to get their attention to be kicking. I was going to write “anything more than is necessary for the horse to notice”, but I realised this paves the way for people to thump their legs against their distracted horse’s sides, and that’s not what I meant at all. If you do tap someone on the shoulder and they don’t appear to notice, you don’t immediately resort to thumping them (I hope), you’ll find another way to attract their attention.
I think perhaps that for people who ride schooled horses (I’m using the term very loosely here to mean an established horse, ie, not one who’s only just been backed), the oddness of the way in which we’re often taught to use the legs (strongly, repetitively, and inwards) isn’t that apparent. But you only need to be the first rider on a few youngsters to realise that there’s not much intuitively obvious about these leg “aids”, as commonly taught to the horse. The same is true for the action of the bit, and yet not true, in my experience, of the action of the seatbones. Once a starter is happy with the concept of a rider on board, and isn’t being led by a handler (so perhaps the second or third backing), they very often seem to “get” stopping and turning by the use of the seatbones, but the required response to the legs needs to be taught. If a youngster does move forward when they feel the legs against their sides, it’s usually very rapidly and clearly because they were surprised by the legs.
So what I’m asking the reader to consider here, is what the role of the rider’s legs should really be, and exactly what we want to be teaching the horse about these possible “aids”.
‘AIDS’- Literally, something that helps or aids the horse, and as such a lot of the signals we habitually use don’t fall into this category.
I’ve mentioned that I would consider anything other than a very light tap to be inappropriate, but I would also add that the number of taps is at issue, too. Continuous use of the legs does not fit into the “release of pressure” model, and we work very much on the basis that the ground rules shouldn’t suddenly change because we’re on board. If we expect the horse to lead politely beside us without pressure on the head, is it too much to expect the horse to move forward under their own steam whilst being ridden without continuous pressure from the legs?
During the riding lecture on the Foundation course I always introduce this notion of the self-propelling horse, and almost always someone is incredulous. What I suggest is that the horse should be trained in such a way that one “please go forward” request, whether delivered by the legs or some other means, lasts until another request – say to stop, or go up a pace- is made. So if you were only working in walk for an entire hour, there would be one request made at the start of the ride, and it wouldn’t need to be repeated – at all. If you made ten transitions to trot, there would be ten of the very lightest leg taps, and no more. If you made a hundred upward transitions there would be a hundred requests, but you would never within the pace be using the legs to say to the horse “please keep going, that’s it, continue moving your legs, that’s right, another step, ooops, you’ve slowed down, please go on, that’s it, keep moving”. Once the horse was moving as requested there would be no further conversation from the legs, and they would never be used as a reminder. In this way, we’re asking the horse to take responsibility for their actions, and also giving them a chance to fail, two key IH concepts, applied in a ridden context.
Some people love this idea, and only want to know how to make it happen, because they know it isn’t the case with the horses they ride, and they hate the constant nagging they feel they have to do just to get the horse to move. Don’t worry, there are detailed instructions on how to get this desired response coming up in the next issue! Other people have a more fundamental problem with the concept. They feel that the strong use of the legs is simply an integral part of riding, and being asked not to use them takes away one of their key tools. I’ve even had someone ask “but if you can’t kick, how can you make a horse jump a fence?”. I wasn’t sure where to start with this one. But I am clear that you can’t make a horse jump a fence, although strong leg aids might sell the case to him a bit, and that if a horse wants to jump, the use of legs against his side, whether gently pressing, lightly tapping, or brutishly thumping, is in no way necessary to him being able to launch his body off the ground, and in the case of thumping or hard squeezing, could be positively detrimental. It sounds mad when written out, but people have claimed to have an epiphany moment when we’ve pointed out to them that horses manage to move across fields on their own – even reaching quite impressive speeds and clearing obstacles – without the benefit of a rider on their back pressing their heels into their sides… I think perhaps this idea derives from riding bikes, which really do have to grind to a halt unless we keep pedalling (or are going downhill, of course) that makes us feel that somehow horses can’t move without constant input from the rider, but we only have to look a little closer to see the fundamental difference, and to work out that horses have their own legs and muscles and cardio-vascular systems, and are perfectly capable of moving without us.
Sarcasm aside, I feel so strongly about this because I feel that it’s one of those many unexamined assumptions about riding, and it’s an assumption I feel a lot of horses would like us to re-evaluate. Of course, I’m not claiming to be somehow morally superior to anyone in this. I’ve been a riding instructor for long enough to have shouted “leg, leg, use your leg!” more times than I care to count in my earlier days, and even now, years into pretty intensive training to improve my own riding, I still have an annoying default that would bring my heel up and into the horse’s side if things aren’t going too well in one way or another. But for years now I have been riding with the most minimal leg signals, and the joy of having a forward-going horse that I don’t have to cajole is such that I would really like to share the method with as many people as possible. I’m sure that the horses appreciate it too!
“Leg or other forward request”.
If a leg “aid” isn’t intuitively obvious to the horse, then any other signal could be taught just as easily. You’ve probably come across this idea plenty of times; pull the left ear to turn left, right ear to turn right, sneeze to go faster, that sort of thing. Any aid would do, if taught consistently to the horse, but some (like all of the above) have obvious disadvantages. Legs perhaps seem obvious to us because they are the means by which we get around when we walk, and there are two of them, one on each side, and that’s quite handy. (Or leggy, rather.) The suggestion that you don’t need to use your lower legs at all to communicate with a horse is true, but usually more than people want to take in, and I would prefer that people used legs sensitively rather than be alienated by a concept that’s a little too “out there”.
Another little issue we need to quickly address is the whole using the legs to steer thing. I’m not fundamentally against this approach – indeed, a horse that moves sideways away from the leg is very useful when opening gates, for example, but I feel that for most riders, most of the time, all the stuff about bending the horse around the inside leg and pushing the horse across the school in some lateral movement is counter-productive. The horse isn’t clear, often, whether the leg means go faster or go sideways, and the exaggerated movement of the rider’s leg destroys the rider’s alignment and often disrupts their balance. This is a big topic and for now I just want to say that during the process of teaching the horse to respond to a very light leg aid and to stay self-propelling, it’s better that the legs aren’t used to steer, and that if the horse doesn’t respond brilliantly to direction from the rein, it’s probably best not to sweat precision of movement for the moment. It will be something that can be looked at later. If you already steer from the core, seatbones, reins and thighs, hopefully you should be able to continue doing that!
So am I saying that you would never use a strong leg aid, that there are never situations when it is appropriate to “support” the horse with the use of the leg? Not at all. In fact, that’s part of the point. If you don’t have to kick the rest of the time, imagine how seriously the horse will take it when you’re coming into a drop fence and you feel him back off, and you do dig in your heels and say “go on!”. If the horse is fully accepting of the concept of being responsible for their own forward motion, and consistently does so, then if you feel a questioning hesitation a little touch wouldn’t be out of place. It’s just that the use of force with the leg introduces stiffness and risks unbalancing the rider. It’s not at all common for a calm horse to have the idea of “keep going until there’s a new request to the contrary”. (There are plenty of nervous horses that keep going like steam trains, but it’s clearly adrenaline, not training, that is fuelling this forward motion, and a horse that doesn’t stop and stand when asked is also missing out on the basics).
The Basics:
The horse would probably prefer it if the signals we give them are minimal both in terms of frequency and force.
The horse is able to be self-propelling and to take responsibility for remembering the last signal he was given and to continue responding to it until another signal appears.
Excessive use of the legs either irritates the horse or causes him to switch off and ignore the constant flow.
Excessive leg use is excessive movement in the rider, and is also likely to cause a change in position and alignment, and possibly balance.
If you have rubbed off some fur with your legs, you have used them way too much!
The horse may need to be re-educated as to his new role and what your expectations are for him. (Details to follow)
You may need to re-educate yourself and be very strict and innovative about noticing because generally people who use their legs a lot do so unconsciously.
But it’s all worth it because having a horse that moves willingly forwards and is attentive and responsive and listens out for your requests is a joy to ride, and our experience suggests they enjoy being ridden more!
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If you have rubbed off some fur with your legs, you have used them way too much!
The horse may need to be re-educated as to his new role and what your expectations are for him. (Details to follow)
You may need to re-educate yourself and be very strict and innovative about noticing because generally people who use their legs a lot do so unconsciously.
But it’s all worth it because having a horse that moves willingly forwards and is attentive and responsive and listens out for your requests is a joy to ride, and our experience suggests they enjoy being ridden more!
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