Humans have 4 things that can help them teach the horse. These things are called “The Aids” as they “aid” us in training or communicating with the horse. Normally only 3 things are listed as Aids: Hands, Seat, and Leg, but I have included a 4th: the Rider’s Mind.
THE MIND
Horses are often called intuitive, but the reality is, they are observant. They have to be. They communicate with each other via the use and acknowledgement of body language. Every gesture a horse makes, every movement, head toss, foot lift and tail swish is a conversation the horse is having with the other horses around it. Horses run in large herds and do not run into each other simply because they are constantly aware of what other horses are saying with their body language.
When a person starts to interact with a horse, they are training the horse from the very second they come in contact with it until the moment they walk away from it; for good or bad. The horse is learning how to react and behave with that human; as if that human was another horse.
When first interacting with a horse, a human will try to put “human” reactions and reasonings to the horse. “The horse was naughty!” “He should have known better!” “He stepped on me on purpose!” “Why doesn’t the horse listen to me?”
Horses are prey animals—what they want most in life is safety, and if they can predict how someone will react, for good or bad, that gives them safety. A horse will read the human’s body language and they will react accordingly as if that human is another horse, yet most humans are unaware of what they are saying through their body, because humans have developed a verbal system of communication with each other and body language is secondary and often ignored.
The rider’s mind is the most important aid the rider can have. A horse can only react to each other and to their rider in the manner they would to another horse. A human can say “this is how a horse reacts, or this is how a dog reacts, or this is how I will interact with another human.” That subtlety is lost on a horse. They will initially react the same way they react to another horse. Until they are taught differently. Thank goodness, horses are, for the most part, extremely trainable.
The rider’s mind can recognize what they want to accomplish and what exercises would help them in that goal. The rider’s mind can realize when something is not working and change it in the hope of getting the results that the rider wants. The rider can see if the horse is struggling with its level of strength or confused about an exercise and lessen the requirements they’ve been asked to execute. The rider can see when a horse is scared and reassure them. The rider can use their superior intellect to look beyond the obvious, or past their teachings to “see” a problem and adjust to it.
The rider’s mind is their greatest tool and resource when working with horses. The other aids are physical and I will list them in importance of learning.
THE LEG
The leg is the basis for balance in the rider. If the leg is too far forward then the rider is behind the horse’s motion. If the leg is too far back then the rider is in front of the motion of the horse. Both stances will not only affect the rider’s balance and ability to stay on the horse but it also compromises the horse and its balance.
Picture the rider standing on the ground, knees and hips slightly flexed, feet apart the average width of a horse’s barrel. To stand and not fall, the person MUST have their center of gravity over their feet. If the person tilts their body forward without adjusting their legs, they will have to use their hands to keep from falling. If the person moves their body back (as if they were sitting in a chair) without adjusting their legs and feet, they fall backwards.
A forward position on the horse will cause the rider to fall forwards, over the horse’s neck and shoulders when a sudden stop, or turn is executed by the horse.
A “chair position” on a horse damages the horse’s back. No matter how well fitted the saddle is to the horse the rider is placing their weight to the back of the saddle and over the ribs of the horse that are not supported.
The rider must be aware that different saddles will sit them differently on different horses. As the rider gains experience, strength and balance they will be able to adjust their legs to maintain a proper balance in most saddles. The quickest way for the rider to check if they are in balance over their leg is to stand up in the stirrups. If they have to bring their shoulders forward to stand, they are riding behind the motion. I cannot emphasize how much that can hurt the horse’s back.
Once the rider can stay balanced in the saddle and over their leg, they can then start to feel the horse underneath them.
If the rider’s lower leg has contact, the rider will feel the horse’s ribcage or barrel swings away from the one side, the rider will know that this is the moment that the horse brings the (same) corresponding hind leg underneath itself. The rider can then time their use of their leg to the position of the horse’s movement.
To encourage more activity in the hindlegs, the rider should squeeze with the top 2”-3”of the inside/upper area of their tall riding boot—along the Thoracic part of ventral serrate muscles, which also is an automatic reflex point to encourage abdominal engagement. This is also when the horse’s hind leg is on the ground. That will give the horse time to react as he brings the foot off the ground.
Kicking a horse does 2 things:
- It pulls the rider’s legs off the horse, unbalancing the rider and making it easier for them to fall if the horse moves suddenly.
- It also disrupts the horse’s rhythm by having them brace against the blow.
The rider should squeeze for a fraction of a second and then release, not just kick, the horse.
We know that a horse can feel a fly on its haunches, it can feel the rider squeeze. The horse should never be allowed to ignore the rider’s leg as that will make them dull to the aid. A whip should be carried to enforce the obedience to the rider’s leg. The whip should not be used harshly or to punish the horse but to remind him of the rider’s leg.
Good groundwork by the rider before riding will educate the horse how to react to the whip’s touch by engaging the hind leg.
The movement of the front legs can be felt by the rider through their thighs. As the front legs of the horse move forward, the scapula (shoulder blade) on that side will come back and the rider will feel the bulge of it under their thigh.
The rider can affect the movement of the front legs by pressure from their thighs as it will halt or restrict that movement. When doing lateral movements the thigh laid flat against the saddle, with the femurs rotated inwards (for women especially), as well as with both patella (aka: knee caps) and toes pointing forward, parallel to the horse’s body. This ensures the effect of the leg aid, making the horse want to move away from it, towards freedom of its shoulder— the horse will give, or “yield,” to the pressure.
THE SEAT
What is meant by the “seat”? Is it the buttocks of the rider, the seat bones, the lower back?
The seat is how a rider “sits” a horse in all its paces. The buttocks of the rider should be relaxed so the pelvis can move, the rider’s weight needs to be carried over their 2 seat bones, the Ischial tuberositie, the two rounded bones of the lower pelvis where the hamstring muscles attach. The lower and middle back need to be relaxed and limber so that the pelvis can move front to back, back to front, left to right and up and down.
As horses will try to mirror their rider, if the rider is locked or braced somehow then the horse will try to lock, or brace, the equivalent on itself.
The rider’s balance is important for the seat. If the rider is landing hard on the horse’s back because they are riding behind the motion, or on the other end of the spectrum—perched—the horse will stiffen its back to protect itself. This disrupts the horse’s rhythm and causes it to be unable to use itself correctly.
Certain horses are easier to sit than others. It depends on how the horse moves its entire body underneath the rider. (For instance a baroque horse has a smoother, less bouncy trot than a quarter horse or draft horse due to their build and how they carry themselves.) In the trot, the more push from behind, the more air time the horse has (suspension) with NO foot on the ground, hence the harder it is to sit. The more the horse uses its back muscles and articulates its hind legs, the more swing the back will have, thus the easier it will be for the rider to sit the gait.
The trot is a 2-beat pace with the horse moving its four legs in diagonal pairs. A “western jog” (western trot), is easy to sit, as the horse places one diagonal pair of legs on the ground before moving the other diagonal pair forward—thus eliminating a suspension phase. A medium and/or extended trot can be quite difficult to sit, as the horse will push off with one diagonal pair of legs before the other pair lands on the ground. There is maximum suspension in these versions of trot.
The walk is easy to sit, as it is a 4 beat (walk) pace, where the horse always has at least 2 of its feet on the ground.
The canter is a 3-beat pace with a moment of suspension, but there is a rocking motion to a quality canter that will be easy for the rider’s seat to follow—in a “scoop-like” motion—from back to front and under.
The rider must be both balanced on the horse’s back, and confident enough to be relaxed so that their seat can follow the horse’s movement. This is actually the hardest of the aids to learn and then use correctly. Fear of falling off is a big fear for most beginning riders. The human instinct is to tighten our muscles, to clench our legs and arms and to hang on for dear life, most often in a fetal position. To ride and to be able to sit a horse, the rider must be relaxed and free to move every part of their body independently without tensing another body part. The rider must be ready mentally to sit the paces, not just physically.
When the rider first starts to sit they should endeavor to not interfere with the horse, but only to follow the movement. Lessons on the lunge are invaluable for this. As the rider gains skill and strength they can then learn to use their seat to influence the horse. For example: the rider can tighten their core muscles to slow the horse’s pace, they can weight a seat bone to influence the bend of the horse, or the rider emphasizes the motion to lengthen the pace.
The horse will comply as best they can to stay balanced and to make the work being asked of it as easy as possible, as well as to prevent itself from falling, which is a horse’s greatest fear.
THE HAND
As children, humans are taught to control and manipulate things with their hands. It is natural and instinctual for a rider to grip or clutch the reins or brace the wrists and/or the forearms. This is also wrong.
A rider should only take up a contact when they are balanced on the horse and can move their arms independent of their body and their legs. If the rider is using their hands to balance themselves, there is no way they can have an independent or steady contact.
Rein contact should be elastic. A rider should maintain the feeling that wherever the horse might put his head, the hand will follow, keeping the same weight of tension on the rein(s). A rider can decide to change the weight depending on the exercise being ridden, but it must be the rider’s decision—not a reflexive act—to stay balanced. The only exception is when riding laterally or if “yielding” the hand briefly.
The contact is another way for the horse to talk to the rider and for the rider to speak to the horse. The horse might lean into the rein to say, “I am struggling with this exercise,” or they might drop the contact completely to say, “I am trying to avoid what you are asking for.” The rider can open their hand to say “Stretch, look for the contact,” or close the hand to say, “Balance back on your hind legs more.” The rider also can ask for more collection using the hand, seat and leg, and they can ask for lengthening/medium/ extensioned pace by using the same aids in a different manner.
The hand must always be independent of the rider’s body to be used correctly and efficiently.
Remember, a horse can feel the slightest weight change in their reins. The hand alone can turn or stop the horse, but by using only the hand the horse will be pulled off balance onto its forehand as well as break up the flow of relaxation and energy that is recycled from the rider’s leg to their seat, to their hand—which engage the horse’s hind end, back, abs, shoulders, neck, poll, and soft, supple mouth. If the rider sets the horse up for the turn with their seat, then leg, and finally the hand, the turn should be balanced and fluid. The rider must learn to use the hand last to support and clarify the other aids being given to the horse.
Harmony and lightness, the appearance of dancing with each other, where the cues to the horse are almost unseen, should be the goal of any rider.
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