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A Solid Base of Support - Your Legs
Nothing personal, but you’ve just got to love those legs! Especially, if your goal is to have an independent seat that enhances both your balance and your effectiveness for controlled movement.
Everything starts with the leg. Go forward, go faster, slow down, stop, back up, leg yield, side pass, control the shoulders, control the hindquarters, initiate a lope departure, signal a flying change, guide on a circle, roll over the hocks, turn on the forehand, and to promote suppleness throughout the body. The list just goes on and on. It is your leg/legs that should “always” be applied first!
It’s your legs that starts the engine, becomes the gas pedal, and guides
your horse. They are responsible for keeping your horse balanced, supple,
and straight. Your legs give your horse something to bend around, prevent
him from falling in on a circle and his hindquarters from falling out, and
help to increase the activity of his inside hind leg.
Developing a good leg gives you balance and control which equates to a solid base of support and a safe riding program. Your balance is key to your horse’s performance! Without balance you are at risk of being dislodged from the saddle should your horse make a sudden move and, furthermore, you have no way of effectively controlling your horses speed or direction. It is only when you are balanced and secure that your horse will be balance and secure too.
A secure horse is a confident horse and the more confidence your horse feels, the more that he will respond to you without tension or resistance.
Having good balance requires a quiet solid leg and the ability to sit centered, over top of two seat bones, in the middle of your saddle. Your legs not only enhance your balance and security, but if used correctly, they are a very valuable “natural aid” in the art of communicating with your horse.
Did you know that your leg is responsible for eighty percent of your cues and that your hands/reins make up the other twenty percent? Why such a spread between the hand and leg ratio? Simply to help keep your horse soft and willing by minimizing bit pressure. Overuse of the bit leads to jaw and neck tension, which resonates throughout his body. Not only is this ineffective, it is down right irritating and annoying for any horse
The more we can direct, guide, control, or bend a horse with our legs, the less we will need to ride with our hands. In other words; the better our leg, the better our seat, and the lighter our hands become. The result; a lighter, softer, more responsive horse.
Your legs control the horse’s body from whither to tail and your hands control him from the wither forward. Your left leg controls the left barrel/rib cage, hip, and hindquarter. Your right leg controls the corresponding parts on the opposite side.
When your two legs act together, they create, maintain, or increase forward impulsion. They tell your horse to go, maintain a specific gait, increase speed within a gait, and cue him for a change of gait.
When you use a leg independently behind the cinch, you can bend or supple his body, turn him, push his hips to one side or the other, and block unwanted movement in a specific direction.
Correct leg position is critical. If your feet, legs, or seat bones are out of position, it will cause insecurity and stiffness making it difficult to effectively apply your leg aids.
Heel alignment with the hips, shoulders, and ears is essential for both centering your weight over top of your seat bones and your horse’s center of gravity. You should have a relaxed leg along with a slight bend in the knee, but just as importantly, you should have a lower leg that stretches down and around your horse to maximize contact with his sides.
Your legs have more direct contact with your horse than any other body part. The more you can reach and stretch down withy our lower legs, the more surface area you have to wrap around your horse’s sides, which is crucial for security, balance, and communication.
HERE ARE TWO COMMON LEG PROBLEMS TO AVOID:
Toed-In: In this position your lower leg comes off the horse’s sides causing the rider to pinch or grip with his or her knees. This results in a weak ineffective lower leg which, in turn, creates a loss of balance, security, and communication. Visualize draping your legs down and around your horse’s sides with your heels lower than your toes.
Toed-Out: Riders with this problem tend to grab their horse’s sides with the backs of their calves applying too much “constant” pressure, thereby desensitizing their horse to leg cues and causing ineffective communication. This problem usually originates in the upper leg and can be corrected by rotating the thigh inward.
We can avoid toe-in and toe-out problems by placing our feet squarely in the stirrups, concentrating on keeping even pressure across the balls of our feet. Remember, too much pressure on the inside of the foot will rotate the toes out.
Anytime you brace with your legs, you “push up” from the stirrups. This literally pushes your seat out of the saddle causing you to work against your horse’s motion rather than flowing with it. You are likely to bounce at the trot and lope, making life miserable for both you and your horse.
Our legs are our foundation! There is a saying that can be applied to any
riding program: “The more solid the foundation, the more solid the structure.”
By constantly reminding ourselves to strengthen and correct our leg position
as we ride, we will form correct habits. Then, and only then, will we have
a solid foundation to develop skill and finesse – our ultimate goal.
Remember - “Success with horses starts with us”!
This article was written for the August issue of Horses All magazine.