Lower Leg Position

[Mary Ann Bright]

Recently i went on a trail ride, which was lovely except for a few things. The horse i rode was slightly dead to the leg and hard to get going at first, but later improved after a few canters :) . The lady who took us on the ride told me to 'kick him hard, about ten times, and use the whip' to get him to canter!:mad: I think a horse should need a firm squeeze, not thumping kicks, to canter, which is what i did, using the whip once to re-enforce this when i got no responce. Am i right to expect this? I should mention that the horse is often used for non-riders, (if that makes a difference)- they wouldn't want it to race of at the slightest bump, but there are extremes.

Also, she told me that it is really your lower leg keeping you on the horse, so it should be pressed/ wrapped against the horse, and mine was to loose or soft. None of my instructors have told me this before, so i am a little confused about lower leg position now. I thought it should be against the horse, but not firmly except when squeezing to give an aid, and that balance was the main thing keeping you on, not your legs?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[kedwards]

Yikes! This doesn't sound like someone from whom you want to take advice. Stick with what you learned from your instructors.

[saddlesore]

i can't speak for anywhere else but i know the stables where i ride the trailhorses are like that (not the lesson horses), sort of deaden to pressure on their sides (probably due to nonexperienced riders kicking the h*** out of their sides) and only responding to the lead horse's lead, when lead trots you trot when lead stops you stop, etc. not very exciting if you have some ability but it must serve the purpose for nonexperienced riders...and i would disregard anything said by the person who told you to kick the horse 10 times

[Em 1]

Certainly I would have thought reschooling would be better than telling riders to boot the horse! However, she's right about your lower leg holding you on the horse. Your leg should be wrapped 'like a wet cloth' round the horse's sides. You don't squeeze, as you say, this is the way to give an aid. Just try to make sure there is no daylight between your leg and the horse's sides.

[Mary Ann Bright]

Thanks for your replies.

Em 1, the 'wet cloth' comparrison is a very useful explanation, much clearer than the 'gripping' type description which confused me the other day.

[mikka]

Mary Ann, if you watch really accomplished riders, say at jumping, what you'll see is that their lower legs are stuck to the horse as if they'd been stitched on. They don't move at all, they're completely solid. The wet cloth image might work for some (it doesn't for me - but then, I don't have a good lower leg) but, clearly, you want to have a stable lower leg. This, truly, is your stability, all other things being equal, and given a decent seat.

Really, watch the experts - you'll see how they keep their lower legs completely, unmovingly, solid.

[savannah1270]

you definitely want your lower leg stable and wrapped around your horse's body like a 'wet cloth'. you wouldn't want it swinging around, because the tendency for those who have loose lower legs is to grip with the knee and thigh for balance, which is why the lower leg swings around virtually ignored. you must keep your heels down and your calves on your horse's sides, and there should be a patch of daylight between your knee and the saddle flap. this position will anchor you in the saddle, and provide the basis for stability when balance is needed.

[savannah1270]

oh, i forgot to mention, do NOT listen to the "kick 10 times" suggestion. kicking is a sign of bad riding, riding should be invisible - as opposed to obvious and violent - communication between horse and rider. that poor horse was probably a victim of ignorant non-riders, meaning his side has probably been deadened by them, and will continue to be so unless someone saves him from that and retrains him to have feeling again.

[Mary Ann Bright]

Thanks everyone, you have confirmed and clarified what i though was correct!

And, don't worry, i certainly DID NOT listen to the kick 10 times idea! I woke the horse up with the whip once or twice, to get him to canter the first couple of times, and after that he was quite willing to listen- not booting necessary, and after the first taps, no whip either (i guess he knew i was carrying one, and he seemed to enjoy going once he started) He really was a lovely horse, i feel sorry for him if someone rides him and does kick him, and that he became 'dead to the leg' in the first place. (he was a dressage horse in his younger days.)