Canter aid - inside or outside leg?

[Art Nouveau]

I've recently been very fortunate in being offered the opportunity to ride an Elementary schooled dressage horse a few times a week.

I've always been taught that the canter aid is inside leg on the girth, outside leg just behind the girth. The horse I'm riding now canters from just using the inside leg, so I don't do anything with my outside leg. I'm intrigued to know whether this is a common way to ask for canter?

As a second question, would you train a horse to canter from an inside leg aid right from the start of it's training? Or would you start with inside leg on the girth and outside leg back, then progress to not using your outside leg as much until it is no longer needed?

 

[kassieg]

Just inside leg. I do keep my outside leg on the girth but to support and stop them falling out (if young) but not actually used as the leg aid

 

[Kikke]

I was taught the same thing. outside asks for the correct lead seeing the horse starts canter from the outside hind.

But whatever works works, you could teach you horse to canter by pulling on the left rein, if that is what was taught that is what the horse does.

 

[GinaGeo]

Mine canters from inside leg, seems to get his inside hind under him better.

 

[Farma]

Outside leg back, inside leg on girth. I watched a programme on h&c with carl hester saying how some people use inside leg for canter which then becomes confusing when it comes to changes.

 

[Butterbean]

My horse prefers just the inside leg aid. In contrast to the post above, in one of Carl Hester's DVDs he said how using the outside leg for the canter aid would become confusing when asking for changes later on! (not that that is something I will be worrying about for a long long time.. or ever)

 

[FfionWinnie]

My last horse was extremely sensitive and did not like you putting your leg on at all never mind behind the girth so I just used an inside leg aid and we were all happy. Current horses all trained to have inside leg on and outside leg behind but not really on if that makes sense just "there".

 

[Deseado]

Inside leg (well, seatbone really), no need for outside leg back unless he/she is crooked - and wouldn't be asking then anyway. If you actually read books of instruction on the aids it pretty much always says use the inside leg actively, outside is only to keep 1/4's straight. But I do see most RC's teaching people to actually kick with the outside leg, which is incorrect.

 

[Goldenstar]

I prepare the horse for the transition using the outside leg it my canter is coming cue but the cue for the strike off is the inside one .
As time goes on and training progress the aid comes more and more from the inside seat bone.

 

[star]

I prepare the horse for the transition using the outside leg it my canter is coming cue but the cue for the strike off is the inside one .
As time goes on and training progress the aid comes more and more from the inside seat bone.

Same as this. Outside leg moves to warn horse transition coming but aid from inside leg. If he's listening properly to me I can just move my inside seatbone forwards and get the right response.

 

[FlashyP]

I found the Carl Hester quote;
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/dressage/carl-hester-teaching-flying-changes-dressage-384147

"I use the outside leg not the inside to give aid to canter because that's the aid in the tempi changes later"

 

[meardsall_millie]

Outside leg for a canter aid - the outside hind is the first in the canter sequence so that's the one you need to activate first.

 

[j1ffy]

Outside leg for a canter aid - the outside hind is the first in the canter sequence so that's the one you need to activate first.

This is what I've always been taught. It confuses me if I'm on a horse that goes from the inside leg.

Having said that, the best canter transitions IME are when your legs are 'there' but the transition comes from the inside seatbone.

 

[milliepops]

This is what I've always been taught. It confuses me if I'm on a horse that goes from the inside leg.

Having said that, the best canter transitions IME are when your legs are 'there' but the transition comes from the inside seatbone.

yep me too. Nice when you just *think* canter and off you go but definitely in the outside leg gang. In the middle of refining changes on 2 horses and I think we'd be in a mess without the outside aid being solidly trained.

 

[LittleGinger]

I use inside hip forward, momentary 'give' with inside hand, both legs close. Outside leg only moves if the horse has a tendency to go on the wrong lead.

Changes are not yet a concern with my horse so I'll ask for those the way I'm taught to when I get there - it would make sense to me to switch which hip is forward and potentially put inside leg back a fraction to make it clear (mare knows that both hips becoming level again means 'stop cantering').

I'll find out when I get to that stage, I guess!

 

[BethH]

I just move my inside hip forward an inch!

 

[mandwhy]

Definitely from the hip ideally but with a lot of horses I think the inside leg back makes it all a bit more obvious for them to start with, and helps with correct leads.

 

[meardsall_millie]

To be honest, you can teach a horse to do pretty much what you want by any consistent repetition - if you want to teach your horse to canter by tickling the left wither, then go ahead!

However, if you're planning to move beyond the basics it's better to put the correct building blocks in place at the earliest stage (and understand why you're doing what you're doing) - trying to change something that has become engrained at a later stage is incredibly difficult and very confusing for the horse.

 

[NinjaPony]

Outside leg- sets things up for changes plus gives a very clear, distinctive aid. When I used to use inside leg and outside leg, we used to get the wrong lead on the right rein. Now, I just slide my outside leg back and get the right leg nearly every time. For me, it clears up confusion and helps set up the horse for changes (not that my own pony is doing changes)

 

[Art Nouveau]

Fascinating, thanks everyone. I was wondering about the implications for changes, but as I won't be the one teaching her new tricks I can wait and see what her owner does.
I don't move my inside hip forward on her, but I think I just put a bit more weight on that seat bone as I put my leg on.
I'm planning on having a lesson on a mechanical horse soon so it will be interesting to see what that shows up.

 

[Imogen Rose]

I make a kiss noise, then put my outside leg back slightly to indicate what lead I want.

 

[Farma]

I make a kiss noise, then put my outside leg back slightly to indicate what lead I want.

No good for dressage that though you'd be marked down for every upward canter transition x

 

[mairiwick]

Interesting thread, we've recently come across the differences with a new sharer. Mine will respond with inside or outside leg, but her transition is a lot more rushed and off balance with the inside leg - sharer was having trouble getting canter without several steps of speedy trot first. It was only when I thought about what I do, and had a play around that I found by far her best transitions were positioning the outside leg back, lifting my inside seat bone and then asking with outside leg and supporting with inside leg, she's still coming back into work so can be unbalanced but this method really sets her up well. Sharer tried this way too and noticed a big improvement.

 

[Kelpie]

If you use the outside leg as your main canter aid, what about the risks of confusion when asking haunches in, or half pass?

 

[j1ffy]

If you use the outside leg as your main canter aid, what about the risks of confusion when asking haunches in, or half pass?

I've never had any problem with this as the weight aids and contact, and general 'intent' through the body, are so different. I'm not sure what the 'correct' answer is though as I'm very inexperienced with lateral work and changes!

 

[BraidedTail]

I make a kiss noise, then put my outside leg back slightly to indicate what lead I want.

Me too (Western lope) Lift inside rein, sit on ouside seatbone, ouside leg back and kiss.

 

[milliepops]

I've never had any problem with this as the weight aids and contact, and general 'intent' through the body, are so different. I'm not sure what the 'correct' answer is though as I'm very inexperienced with lateral work and changes!

Agree with you J, aids for half pass (for my horses, at least - as m_m says you can teach them to react to anything if you are consistent enough) are much more around body weight/seat and much less about outside leg. I weight inside seatbone slightly, keep inside leg there, outside contact and ask the horse to come with me outside leg is just a reminder really, rather than a sideways driving aid particularly.

Plus, the aid for canter strike off is a fraction of a second, unlikely to result in shooting sideways in half pass, and straightness is maintained with the other aids

 

[Cortez]

There are as many ways to ask for canter as there are riders, the important thing is to be absolutely consistent and sit straight. Most "wrong" leads are caused by people sitting crooked (which is why one canter lead will be fine, the other a problem). I use the inside leg and most horses on the continent are trained this way. For flying changes the less movement of the rider's legs when asking for the change the better as too much swinging will affect the straightness (also see people throwing the upper body about too).

 

[nikkimariet]

outside leg.

riding tempis off inside leg is much harder than off outside leg.

 

[oldhag]

Inside leg. Riding sequences is easier that way. By that time horse has learnt to respond to slight change of weight anyway.