Which leg do you use to ask for canter

which leg do you ask for canter with

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jesterfaerie

jesterfaerie

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I am posting this from my phone so please excuse my poor spelling and if i end up posting this without finishing the post, which is highly likely :o

I am curious who has been taught to ask for canter with their inside leg? Also what reason your instructor gave for this?
The last few lessons I have had we have worked on the cater and canter transition however she has been telling me to ask for the canter with my inside leg, not with my outside/both. Admittedly this, I struggled with as I have always been taught by every instructors (all ages, qualified and non- qualified) to use the outside leg.

However I do remember reading a post in CR saying some dressages riders prefer to use the inside leg as it saves confusion later on when teaching half pass. This I can undertand but as much as I love my horse I don't think we are quiet there yet :D
 
Always been taught to ask with the outside leg and it works for me and my horse.
I know someone who has had some classical training lessons and this is how she is training her youngster and the horse is working very well. I'm not really sure of the differences as I'm not very experienced and knowledge is limited but it may be something to do with asking for the transition with the shoulder rather than hind leg. Probably completely wrong there : s sorry
 
I do outside leg behind but then its my inside leg that dictates when to strike off. So for example on the left rein i would put right leg behind to let him know which leg i will be asking for and then i then apply my left leg when i want him to make the transition.

Not sure if this is the norm but Charlie has struggled with canter right (he raced for 11 years and much preferred his left lead!) so we tried several ways and this was the best for him.

I know others that just put outside leg behind for the strike off which is fun when i get on them, forgetting that they will go immediatley!
 
so far your posts agree with how i have always ridden, taught and been taught myself, outside leg slightly behind the girth but also used with inside leg on the girth so now having to just stretch down with my inside leg and apply it on the girth without even using my outside leg on the girth is alien to me i am not saying it is wrong just diferent
 
Dirty_Deckthehalls said:
I do outside leg behind but then its my inside leg that dictates when to strike off. So for example on the left rein i would put right leg behind to let him know which leg i will be asking for and then i then apply my left leg when i want him to make the transition.
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Same for me.
For the most part,which aid you use does not matter at all as long as you and the horse understand what is being asked for!
 
My amazing instructor who's helping me bring on my 4 yr old has been teaching to put the inside leg behind the girth (this is new to me as I've always put my outside leg behind the girth asking for canter), but this new method seems to be working well for me and my boy now :).
 
jesterfaerie said:
I am posting this from my phone so please excuse my poor spelling and if i end up posting this without finishing the post, which is highly likely :o

I am curious who has been taught to ask for canter with their inside leg? Also what reason your instructor gave for this?
The last few lessons I have had we have worked on the cater and canter transition however she has been telling me to ask for the canter with my inside leg, not with my outside/both. Admittedly this, I struggled with as I have always been taught by every instructors (all ages, qualified and non- qualified) to use the outside leg.

However I do remember reading a post in CR saying some dressages riders prefer to use the inside leg as it saves confusion later on when teaching half pass. This I can undertand but as much as I love my horse I don't think we are quiet there yet :D
Click to expand...
It seem to me that the outside leg behind the girth will ask the outside hind to initiate the canter, so far so good
However if your horse is out hacking in a group and ready for the off, a touch on the inside girth and a tweak of the inside rein will make him canter, but I would also be holding him straight with my outside leg.
Not sure about BHS teaching, on average, I only have one lesson [on average] per year, and I don't recall ever being told the aids.[memory has dimmed]
With my youngster balance is the main thing, so I have been asked to collect him and then apply the aid.
Most kids who have been "taught" in a riding school apply "welly in the belly" and my horse trots faster, they seem surprised!
 
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foxy1 said:
Weight on outside seatbone which is back, inside leg aid on girth.
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Yes that is great for a schooled horse, but when we start teaching the young horse, we use more obvious aids, and as they progress the aids become more sophisticated, and it is done by balance, thus the paralympic type dressage rider will usually be looking for a well schooled horse to compete with, and they do not need to use leg aids, it is mostly balance.
 
I bring my inside leg forward to put it on the girth, and leave my outside leg where it is, which if I'm maintaining my shoulder, hip and heel alignment, is slightly behind the girth.
Kx
 
I don't even need to apply pressure anymore - I just tilt my pelvis and he canters, though I do keep my outside leg slightly behind the girth because changing my leg position is his aid to do a flying change :)
 
MrsD123 said:
Yes that is great for a schooled horse, but when we start teaching the young horse, we use more obvious aids, and as they progress the aids become more sophisticated, and it is done by balance, thus the paralympic type dressage rider will usually be looking for a well schooled horse to compete with, and they do not need to use leg aids, it is mostly balance.
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No I still use this aid for a green horse but make it more obvious ie. outside shoulder right back to make sure my outside seatbone obviously weighted, a clear nudge with the inside leg, with a voice aid. I have broken lots of horses with this method, makes the walk to canter a piece of cake, and simple changes easier later on.
 
Outside leg back an inch or two and just a tiny squeeze with the inside leg keeping it where it is as it should be on the girth already - or so my instructor says ! However my body doesn't always do what my brain thinks......
 
Yunalesca said:
Same for me.
For the most part,which aid you use does not matter at all as long as you and the horse understand what is being asked for!
Click to expand...

See I agree it shouldn't really matter however I'm happy to admit the trot-canter transition is my biggest weakness on the flat work so now I feel I am having to learn all over again and I don't want to unbalance myself and my horse more (he is weakest in the canter) than I would do asking the 'normal' way
 
I was taught and also teach - outside leg behind the girth as the active leg and then the inside takes over to maintain the canter.

Asking with the outside leg sets off the correct sequence in canter asking the outside hind leg to take the first step.
 
OH says 'both... or I just stop holding horse back'. :-)

I've mostly been taught outside leg behind the girth but rode one horse who really hated that so learnt to use both, or even more inside than outside, with him.

Latest horse is trained for outside leg back so I'll do that now.

Not sure what I'd do if riding own horse... obviously aim for a bit of consistency with other people's.
 
Used to use outside leg now because im a lazy rider just voice now. I must do something though because they all know when im going to ask.
 
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