Leg Control
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Leg control; is this a necessity in training our horse or just an extra button? Do we need it?

I believe in getting our horse broke and trained it’s a very important part of the training process, be able to communicate with our horse.

Without body control through the use of our legs, all we have is forward motion and no lateral movement. With the use of our reins we can direct and turn our horse and they learn to follow the nose, but without leg control we cannot ask them to side-pass, flex and bend their body to get them soft and flexible. Then when advancing the horse, we cannot teach and ask maneuvers of them such as our turn around or spin, lope departures, picking up the correct lead and changing leads without being able to yield to our leg pressure.

So how do we teach our horse to yield to leg pressure or advance there responsiveness and control?

It will be like everything else, we want to start out very simple and slow, step by step, and build. Give the horse time to learn and build confidence.
Time----Consistency-----Repetition are the main aspects of training!
I always want to make it as simple and easy as possible for the horse. Set him up to succeed.

The first thing we want to teach our horse is simply to side pass, move the body laterally or sideways. To make this simple we want to block their forward motion by riding them up to a fence or a wall. This allows the horse fewer opportunities to make a mistake, they now can only go left, right, or backwards. The odds are in their favor that they will take that lateral step. I want to keep it really simple and keep it clear in his mind what to do. I will work on teaching him to yield in one direction and get him confident and consistent before I switch to the other direction to avoid any confusion to my horse when I am first introducing this maneuver. I want to have my horse side pass to the right. When I have my horse facing the wall or fence, I apply leg pressure to the left side of my horse, and I really lift my right leg off the horse. Showing the horse, there’s the open door (the right side) and by giving a gentle push through it (on the left side). Then I shift me weight (NOT LEAN) to the left side to take all the weight off the right side and making it easier for the horse to pick up his right legs and step over. Then I apply pressure with my left leg on the horses side and push it to get him over (push him out the door).

If my horse has never done this maneuver before when we ask him to do this, it may take him a bit to figure this out. He may push into my leg, he may back up but I keep applying pressure and being persistent and sooner or later he will take a step in the right direction. As soon as he does I release the pressure (the left leg) to keep our horses responsive and sharp to leg pressure. I always wear spurs, but I don’t always use them. When applying pressure with my leg I always use the calf of my leg. Always ask or cue the horse with the least amount of pressure to give him the chance to respond before we step up the pressure. If the horse doesn’t move off the use of my calf then I will slowly press my spur into his side. If I get the movement, even if it’s the wrong direction or backwards I DO NOT step up the pressure, I only remain consistent with the pressure until the horse moves in the direction that I am asking, and then I will release the pressure. As long as I’m getting movement, I know they are trying, and if they are trying I can eventually direct the movement in the direction that I want.

If I still am not getting any results or movement I need to step up the pressure. I do not like to kick on my horse with a spur. I believe a negative result happens by doing this. If you kick, the horse tightens up and cringes at the spur jab. So instead, I press harder or roll the spur up the side of the horse’s belly. This action tickles the horse’s rib cage and causes them to really get off and respect the leg without the fear of the kick or poke.

I want to be very aware of my timing in the release of my leg pressure, as soon as they take a stop off my leg and yield I take my leg and spur off to reward them for the movement over and to make it even moor clear in their mind that they did the right thing I will pause for a moment (let them stand) and pet them. If they don’t get the instant release of pressure when they yield, what reward to they have or reason do they have to keep trying for you.

Again, Timing and consistency are two of the three most important rules in training and for building confidence, and developing try in our horses.

Next month we will talk about developing more leg control and advancing body control.

Until next time,
Good luck and God bless,
Monty Bruce

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