But WHICH leg.....?

[janhebb]

I need advice and/or a new brain!

I've just had my weekly lesson and have been trying to learn how to ask the horse to bend round corners, by using the inside leg. BUT then we got to "moving away from the leg", and it seems that I should have been using my other leg...but WHY??? And how does the horse know what I mean??? And how does all this work with inside leg and outside hand (or is it the other way round?) AAAARGH!

My instructor is very patient and the horse is very willing, but I feel very stooooopid!

Has anyone any words (one syllable only please - I am a bear of little brain!) of advice???

Thanks in advance
Jan:confused:

[Shiny McShine]

Horses like to avoid bending through corners, they prefer to just keep their bodies straight - it is far less work.

You use the inside leg to bend them into the line of the corner you are taking. But when you bend the horse he will try and avoid you in other ways....so....

You also use the outside rein when you ride through the corner .... the outside rein keeps the shoulder from moving off the track.

Lastly you must use your outside leg or the horse will avoid riding a correct corner by stepping out with his hindquarters....the outside leg stops the hindquarters swinging out.

The horse understands all these aids because you are simply telling him to move inbetween your legs and reins. Your aids hold him on the intended track.

I hope this explanation is okay...although it does seem a bit long winded...sorry :)

[janhebb]

Thanks - I think the light is beginning to dawn, but do you apply both legs together, or one then the other?? Or just the inside for the bend round the corner and only use the outside if the HQ start to go out??

Sorry if these are really dumb questions! Its difficult to think of all of these things at once - will I ever be co-ordinated?!

Thanks
Jan

[kedwards]

The leg on the inside is at the girth and sending him forward into your outside rein, while the outside leg is slightly farther back to keep his hindquarters in. How much of each leg you use depends upon how the horse is going. For example, the outside leg may just stay passive and supportive until you need it (for example, if the horse's hindquarters start to fall out).

I hope that made sense. I'm sure someone else will chime in with a better explanation if it didn't.

[Tumbleweed]

It is different writing about it when you can't see the horse and rider but I will have a go.

A corner of an arena is a quarter of a 10 metre circle, and your aids should be the same as a circle. Your inside hip comes forward and at the same time you look the way you are going to go. This will keep you in the correct position.

Your inside leg creats the impulsion, and encourages the horse to bend round it. The inside hand asks for the bend by moving outwards very slightly and leaves the neck free to bend. Quite often when a horse feels the rein on his neck when he tries to bend, it stops the bend.

The outside hand controls the impulsion that the inside leg has created, and it also helps stop the outside shoulder from falling out, this is why you need a contact on this rein. The outside leg should already be in position if you inside hip has moved forward, stops the quarters from swinging out. Try this on a high stool and you will then get the feel of what your body is doing. This is how I have always worked out what to do and why.

If you have seen a horse go round a corner without bending, especially the faster they are going, they lean like a motor bike and are not balanced and can slip, so it is for safety as well as looks that a horse bends.

Hope you can understand this.

Margaret.

[Shiny McShine]

The outside leg and rein are what you might call 'guarding' aids. They are simply there if something goes wrong. The outside leg moves back a little and a little more tension goes on the outside rein so that they are prepared to react if the horse steps out with shoulder or hindquarters.

They only come into action when the horse steps out but they are positioned so as to be used immediately.

The more advanced the horse the less it takes to keep them straight through the corner (or a straight line for that matter, it is a similar principle). With less advanced horses the rider has to be constantly checking the horse with those guarding aids when he steps off the track.

The one challange of riding a correct corner is that it often takes a lot of co-ordination to get all the aids working simultaneously and precisely when you need them. :)

[janhebb]

Thanks for your responses _ I can't wait for Sundays lesson to put this into practice!

Jan