Legs aids..

[toppedoff]

My instructor is happy with my riding and I am getting stronger and more in control but my leg aids aren't so much

She was a bit vague of what she meant, right now and today I rode 2 lots. First lot was a very much kick along and it took ages for him to get into trot and that's why she said I need to work on leg aids especially with my second lot (aka my favourite to ride) can sometimes slow down (but equally will go as fast) and I need to kick on but ultimately loose my leg during trot whilst trying to kick which leads to a lost stirrup

Thought to ask here about what i can do to improve on it, I think I just forget my legs are there sometimes

 

[Hackback]

Not much help but I do remember this problem. When I returned to riding after a 30 year break I vividly remember my RI shouting "leg on!" and I was really trying - my brain was doing it but there was zero response from my legs. I think people who have ridden all their lives take it for granted and think it's normal to have inner leg muscles of steel, but it really isn't Good news is that they will develop with more riding.

Wide legged squats with your toes turned out at 45 degrees work on inner thighs, as far as I remember from Pilates. Not sure about lower leg though.

 

[little_critter]

You don’t want to have strong legs ALL the time, the horse will just learn to ignore you. When you want more activity from the horse give a short clear leg aid then DONT TOUCH THEM.
When the horse slows down, give another short clear aid, then go back to being quiet.
To begin with you might need to remind them quite frequently, but you must be quiet in between reminders.

 

[AmyMay]

As you sit (in rising trot) practice giving a good squeeze with you lower leg.

 

[toppedoff]

As you sit (in rising trot) practice giving a good squeeze with you lower leg.

This especially gets me I just don't have the mental capacity to be able to time everything perfectly ill sit, kick then loose the beat then have to sit till I find the rhythm

 

[Arzada]

This especially gets me I just don't have the mental capacity to be able to time everything perfectly ill sit, kick then loose the beat then have to sit till I find the rhythm

Is there a mechanical horse that you could practice on?

 

[Red-1]

With a dull horse, I think about the leg aid being applied a few inches below the skin, as opposed to flapping on the skin. It has a different feel, even if the actual aid isn't hard.

 

[Cortez]

Well actually you're not supposed to kick at all, your legs are to give firm, quiet signals to the horse in conjunction with your seat, weight, back and hands. But that's all much further along the long road that is learning to ride. For the moment just learning to control your body and strengthening your muscles is a priority. Work without stirrups, especially rising trot (yes, without stirrups) will help with this, preferably on a good lunge horse.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Are you riding race style with impossibly short stirrups, or are you riding with a more 'normal' length stirrup?

ETA: not sure it makes a difference but its no good me suggesting you to have your leg around the horse if this is your racehorse stuff

 

[toppedoff]

Are you riding race style with impossibly short stirrups, or are you riding with a more 'normal' length stirrup?

ETA: not sure it makes a difference but its no good me suggesting you to have your leg around the horse if this is your racehorse stuff

They do normal riding at the start but then it transitions into racing style i just get told to kick and kick I imagine it'll be very different to ask a horse to go into a trot or something from a racing style

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

They do normal riding at the start but then it transitions into racing style i just get told to kick and kick I imagine it'll be very different to ask a horse to go into a trot or something from a racing style

Ahh, okay that helps.

So obviously ask the instructor and clarify if you aren't sure. They won't laugh or think less of you, they will be glad you asked.

For me a kick is more a case of applying my leg more forcefully but it is then kept on with a firm squeeze which is where the strength is required. The horse reacts and I release the pressure.

Alternatively they may expect a pony club kick which is what you see small children do which I think has more of an annoyance effect on the horse (in the same way I tap my horse gently but annoyingly with a hoofpick if he can't remember how to pick his foot up).

You could also check your leg position with the instructor. I ride a few horses who will completely ignore my leg if it isn't in the position which they expect it to be to deliver the correct aid.

 

[toppedoff]

Well actually you're not supposed to kick at all, your legs are to give firm, quiet signals to the horse in conjunction with your seat, weight, back and hands. But that's all much further along the long road that is learning to ride. For the moment just learning to control your body and strengthening your muscles is a priority. Work without stirrups, especially rising trot (yes, without stirrups) will help with this, preferably on a good lunge horse.

How do I get the horse forward with my seat? Just put all the weight forward? And yep we are doing no stirrups at the end of the week I think

 

[Cortez]

First you need a properly trained horse to understand and respond to your aids. IMO it is not the job of the novice rider to ride and train the unschooled horse.

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

First you need a properly trained horse to understand and respond to your aids. IMO it is not the job of the novice rider to ride and train the unschooled horse.

Different context to OP, although sounds like maybe there is some overlap - those of us not riding our own horses don't always have a huge amount of choice about the level of schooling of the horses we're riding.

I will follow this thread with interest as 'riding forwards' is a mindset shift I've been really working on but it can be tricky on horses that are not so responsive!

 

[Wishfilly]

My instructor is happy with my riding and I am getting stronger and more in control but my leg aids aren't so much

She was a bit vague of what she meant, right now and today I rode 2 lots. First lot was a very much kick along and it took ages for him to get into trot and that's why she said I need to work on leg aids especially with my second lot (aka my favourite to ride) can sometimes slow down (but equally will go as fast) and I need to kick on but ultimately loose my leg during trot whilst trying to kick which leads to a lost stirrup

Thought to ask here about what i can do to improve on it, I think I just forget my legs are there sometimes

My advice with riding school style horses (which I think these are?) would be to squeeze with your legs, and don't back off until you get a response- if you get no response, increase the pressure. Some instructors will ask you to kick, because you can't deliver the squeeze with the strength that's needed. But basically, don't back off until the horse has done what you want them to do! I found, when I used to teach newer riders, they'd often give one brief aid, get no response, then ask again 10-15 seconds later, which is too long (IMO) for a horse- if you can ask for a little bit longer, often they'll figure out what they are being asked to do.

I would also suggest (if you don't already) that you sit the first 5 beats or so of the trot, keeping your leg firmly on, and then start rising. That should give the horse a clear signal that they can't just drop back to walk.It's also essential that you're allowing the horse to go forward- again, for this sort of horse, I'd try to really give with my hands when asking for the trot. If you trot, they give it, and then you give them a pull in the mouth, they'll be less keen to trot again next time! Can you rise independently from your hands?

Are your stirrups short enough?

FWIW, I do think with newer riders, there is a balance between a horse that is responsive and allows the rider to learn, and something that sometimes people will find scary, even though to a more experienced rider it feels like a responsive, well schooled ride!

 

[Arzada]

Different context to OP, although sounds like maybe there is some overlap - those of us not riding our own horses don't always have a huge amount of choice about the level of schooling of the horses we're riding.

This is true but we get to choose how we ride the horse. TO is being told to kick and kick. At some point in its life I like to imagine that the horse responded to an aid given once. Kick and kick does not give the horse the time it needs to respond to the first request/first kick. And it certainly doesn't teach the rider to wait, to recognise the try, to listen to the horse and build responsiveness to the aids. Somewhere there's a video of Mary Rose FBHS dealing with a young rider who had kicked their horse. At halt she asks the rider to lift their arms and then she whacks the rider's waist with her hands.

 

[ThreeFurs]

I actually 'roll the imaginary ball' in my pelvis forward of horse's centre of gravity, loosen bum cheeks and take leg off to trot. Gives the horse an 'open space' to move into. Can be refined/initially trained with whip taps but they get the idea very quickly. My seat, all the way down to calves/ankles and heels on each side, is for asking for and maintaining bend through the ribs.
Steffen Peters and Janet Foy in the US made a good video clip about working with a horse that had come to ignore leg aids, which is a useful watch. Good luck
Edited to add: my trot aids weren't originally like that, however I've been working for the last two years with a Wanless certified biomechanics coach and certain things I've adapted if they work and the horse 'gets it'.

 

[humblepie]

The horses will I think at this stage be ex racehorses so whilst used to working in the arena will not be your general riding school horse or school master. I think chat to the instructor - you can chat one to one if you don’t want to ask in front of the others. We all understand and learn differently and it’s a bit like being told about contact - no one knows what others think or feel by that. It’s like me and Pilates. Never any idea if actually doing it right.

 

[toppedoff]

First you need a properly trained horse to understand and respond to your aids. IMO it is not the job of the novice rider to ride and train the unschooled horse.

Am afraid I don't think any are school masters, we just got to figure it out with each horse all ex racers but all very different so it is hard to put leg aids into practice and get a feel for what I could do

 

[Skib]

Work without stirrups, especially rising trot (yes, without stirrups) will help with this, preferably on a good lunge horse.

That is what experts always say. However, I never managed rsing trot with no stirrups and yet became a perfectly adequate rider.

There are horses, like my current share, mostly ex RS horses who need leg on at every step in trot to tell them to keep trotting. However leg means a brief touch. If you push both legs against the sides of the horse, that actually slows the horse down as it stops the barrel (rib cage) from swinging from side to side. Four legged animals need that swing to make room for the back leg to step forward.

 

[Cortez]

That is what experts always say. However, I never managed rsing trot with no stirrups and yet became a perfectly adequate rider.

There are horses, like my current share, mostly ex RS horses who need leg on at every step in trot to tell them to keep trotting. However leg means a brief touch. If you push both legs against the sides of the horse, that actually slows the horse down as it stops the barrel (rib cage) from swinging from side to side. Four legged animals need that swing to make room for the back leg to step forward.

With all due respect, this is fundamentally not how it works. A horse that needs leg at every step is simply a badly trained horse, and if your horse is slowing down it isn’t because you are physically stopping it.

Rising without stirrups is an excellent exercise for building the strength that you need to maintain the correct posture and balance you need to ride properly.

 

[humblepie]

OP - remember you are still in very early days at the BRS so not expected to get a tune out of every horse.