Effective Aids and Communication

Although some of the ways we communicate with horses are more intuitively obvious to them – in particular the use of body positioning and posture – they aren’t born knowing exactly what we want, and clear, concise communication is the key to avoiding confusion and  frustration.

We were taught a multitude of overpowering aids ourselves: “inside leg on the girth to bend the horse around, outside leg behind the girth to stop the quarters swinging outwards, both applying rhythmic ‘squeezes’ to keep the horse going, inside hand creates the bend, outside hand supports the shoulders, both on a ‘contact’ to contain the energy created by the legs.” Phew! It turns out none of this is necessary, and we enable horse and rider to understand the basic function of the legs and hands to provide a much more sympathetic riding approach.

In combination with seat training and a thorough understanding of how the rider’s body dynamically adjusts and moves to control, influence and assist the horse, the effective use of the aids enable the horse to reach their full gymnastic potential.

Click here for detailed information on how to help a horse be forward from the legs.

Click here to learn more about “contact”.