crazy legs

[saddlesore]

just starting to learn to ride (using western saddle). my legs seem to squeeze horses side when i don't want them to and not enough when i do, as a result my horse is all over the place. any suggestions

[Doughc]

Hi
That in conjunction with looking down seems to be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome, I cant figure it, im learning English but have same problem, legs hold on when not supposed to, I started out by gripping with knees on rising trot when rising.
Got out of it by first extending stirrups, then deliberately Working with knees spread, then closed them when needed, it sounds a bit backwards but worked best so far. Don’t know if any use for western cos I don’t know what difference is...........

[kedwards]

It may just be a matter of balance (or lack of confidence in your balance), causing you to feel like you need to squeeze with your legs to stay on. When I started, I would tend to grip with my legs in response to feeling unbalanced (in fact, this habit still slips back in from time to time). It doesn't really help you stay on any, but I think it's a natural reaction. Once you get the gripping sorted out, you'll find it easier to cue the horse forward, because the signal will be clearer to him. Think about it like a signal to noise ratio. If the background noise (your leg when not asking him to move forward) is quiet, then the signal (your cue for him to move foward) needn't be very loud.

[saddlesore]

i've heard of quiet hands, not quiet legs but makes sense. thanx, i'll try it this weekend.