Leg aids clarification

[Piper93]

Hi everyone. I just needed some clarification on the use of leg aids. I am currently training a horse to be broke to ride, which I have never done before. When training her I did teach her to turn into my leg pressure so when I asked for a left turn, I would press with my left leg and have her turn around it. This helped me to teach her to turn using the reins while doing ground work, since I would pull on the left rein then put pressure on her girth and ask her to yield her hindquarters to create a turn.

Now I am in the process of trying to teach her to side pass... which requires using my outside leg to create the pressure. Should I start over with her training and begin to use my outside leg for turns instead on making her turn around my inside leg? Any advice on how to go about this which would help make the re training process easier for my horse? Thanks!

 

[Bob notacob]

Dear piper 93 , It is so important in the early stages of training to establish the basics (which arnt so basic actually).The use of the leg on the girth is to move the shoulder.I am concerned about pulling on reins .Reins are used to balance ,positioning the head. We dont steer horses with the reins. We shouldnt have to pull on reins . Do you have a good instructor with a knowledge of classical dressage . If not ,find one. Life will become so much easier.The above advice is offered by someone who has been horse bothering for half a century but who has finally seen the light and is learning to ride properly.

 

[Equi]

You need to teach that the outside leg is used to push over, and thats usually better to teach from the ground first. Moving away from pressure. But you will be keeping your hands silent and opening your inside rein slightly to encourage the bend but NOT pulling on it or pulling back...just opening.

 

[Piper93]

Thanks for the reply, how exactly would I train my horse to move off the outside leg from the ground?

 

[Shay]

You teach basic ground work - yield away from pressure. Touch where the leg pressure would be and reward the horse when he yields over. The distinction between the aids for turn and side pass is quite sophisticated and really rely on body weight. I would not be trying to teach side pass from long reins or the ground. You might get a parallel step over from the ground - but it isn't a true side pass and nor is it correct to teach yield for a turn where you want to horse to be able to differentiate between shoulders and hindquarters. I would echo Bob. A good instructor sounds like an excellent idea.