Eques Horse & Rider Magazine

We often hear of riders who return from lessons saying "my legs are killing me!" The instructor has been insisting the rider use his or her legs more, "squeeze harder, don't kick"! The rider, grim and red-faced, has a vice-like grip on the horse's ribs and, you guessed it, the horse is stolidly ignoring these "imperceptible aids" and is crawling at a snail's pace around the arena.

One wonders in anguish, what does the instructor really want? Legs with the power to crush macadamia shells? "Use your legs" ... the only thing you can think of is to tear one off and beat the horse around the head with it.

Now, you don't have to retreat to the gymnasium to strengthen your legs. There is no need to develop "thunder thighs" just to make your horse move into second gear. The idea is to have the horse going forward without obvious effort on the part of the rider. The rider should not appear to work harder than the horse.

The correct use of the legs is largely dependent on the correct seat. Without a relaxed and balanced seat, independent of hands and legs, the rider will not be able to correctly influence the horse. We all understand the importance of not hanging on with the reins , you can't steer while applying the hand brake!

The same applied to the legs. The rider must be able to sit on the horse without gripping. Unless the legs are free to move, the rider will be unable to apply the correct aids. This becomes more important as the training progresses. For example, in the lateral work (shoulder-in, half pass) the legs must be free to move, firstly to create the sideways movement and then to keep and maintain the bend. Ultimately in flying changes every stride, the rider's legs must move to give a new aid every stride. This requires not only the ability to move the legs, but also the rider must have absolute control. A bump in the ribs at the wrong time, or too much pressure or too little pressure can confuse the horse and spell disaster in a dressage test.

The best way to develop this seat, which is independent of both hands and legs, is to avail yourself of a lunge horse. You can either find a friend to lunge you on your horse, or if your horse is unsuitable, find an instructor who has a horse on which you can have a lunge lesson. Remember, correct lunging should benefit you horse as much as you. The idea of working on the lunge is to have a horse that will go willingly and calmly forward, so the rider can concentrate on his/her position, without having to control the horse.

The basis of the correct seat is balance and balance cannot be achieved without relaxation. To this end, we do exercises, firstly at the halt, then at the walk, trot and canter. The exercises stretch and contract the muscles of the legs and the body and by moving around we learn to relax in the saddle. Take these exercises slowly at first.

There cannot be relaxation if the exercises cause tension. This usually results from apprehension , sometimes fear , on the rider's part. The exercises must be introduced gradually so the rider at all times feels confident with the horse and the instructor. If the rider is tense, the muscles in the body and legs will also be tense and will not allow the rider's weight to drop down into the lowest part of the saddle. next page>>>