How do I get a horse sensitive to my leg?

Question

This is of course without the aid of spurs as these only create a vicious cycle that I dont feel like explaining now and without using a crop...any methods???

All answers appreciated!

AA

Answer 1

ohh ok i get what your asking. Well i've had lots of experience with horses that are sensitive to the leg most of them been abused or ridden hard by previous owners.

Well do u believe in voice commands, most horses get up to you clicking your tongue. All i can think of you doing is maybe squeezing with your leg and clicking your tongue until your horse notices that, tht means the aid to get up.

Like you i dont like using spurs and crops but everyone has a separate decision so watch out for what you said in your question because it may affend people who use spurs.

But yes that is really all i can think of at the moment. Just practise with your horse to let him know you expect him to get up when you ask. I would try first off just squeezing and clicking your tongue until your horse notices that your horses cue to get going.

Goodluck

I just read the top comment and yes i agree it is a lot easier to use a horse that responds to using your legs rather than the clicking unless your doing competitive sporting and that. Trust me i've had much experience and sometimes it is h**l trying to get your horse to behave when they go to the cue of a clicking coz they get use to that meaning its time to fly so watch that, that DOES NOT become a habit. Just a friendly warning =)

As i said Goodluck. Ill add anything more if i think of any =)

Oh  so it isnt ur horse. Maybe you could suggest this to your Instructor maybe making him an experienced/intermediate horse =)

It's great training though on a horse

Answer 2

If you do the lateral walk your horse will get used to ur leg and also will know u r in control.  If you have a trainer ask him/her to teach u it

Answer 3

well, you can either start out your ride with like, four feet out of the stirrup hits... (i've had to do it on some horses, my trainer mentioned that she used to ride a fancy dressage horse who wouldn't work unless you did that..)

Or you can ride with less leg-i know it doesn't make sense.. but if you do your entire ride with no leg and then add it (in a squeeze) then its like a shock to them so it works better..

so when your posting you can't keep your leg on, you need to keep it down and then every few strides squeeze.

Horses only become dead to the aids when the aids are used too much.. granted it would be better if you were the only one on the horse, as it would speed up the training time.. but it might work in once a week lessons..

Answer 4

try using a pair of blunt spurs and do all of you leg stuff with those. ride with them only a cuple of times and then he should respond and listen to your leg all the time. always rememberbe jjentil while using the spurs.

Answer 5

I think it is impossible to do on a school horse that you can't work with on ground work daily.  Even if you could do that, other riders would not be consistent and would undermine your efforts.  Sometimes this type of horse responds more to being bumped repeatedly...not kicked, but bumped with your calves in an annoying repetition maybe a heel added at times.  If he is annoyed sufficiently, he may begin to go on just a squeeze to avoid the bumps....maybe.

Answer 6

All you need is a dressage whip for this to work.  Get onto a large circle or go all the way around the arena, no pattern(s) more complicated than that.  On this path you want to try to do transitions between the gaits (walk-trot, trot-canter, etc).  Start  by squeezing lightly with your leg once, if he doesn't respond, a second time and if he still doesn't respond scare him a little bit - Hit him with the whip and kick him!  You will want to do these three requests all within a very short period of time... say, no more than 4 or 5 strides max.  You also should not praise your horse unless he changes to the gait you were asking for.  Repeat this exercise until he is responding to your light leg aid.  change direction every once in awhile, not that often because changing direction will make it a whole new exercise once again and you might not make progress as quickly.  If he starts to get wired between the ears and tense, do something else for a few minutes, give him a mental break.  Do something you *know* he is good at and will always get right, no matter how simple.

This exercise usually gets the horse quicker off your leg within one riding session and if you come in for a second day and he is dull to your leg again, you should only need to repeat some of the exercise for five minutes or less.  He should remember and be quicker off you leg after a quick refresher of what you did before.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

i find it easier to work with a horse that you can use leg on, rather than a sensitive horse.

but maybe u should use a schooling whip for a while to use as a back up to your leg aids :) xx

Answer 8

i would use spurs, not big ones just the 1/2 inch to start out with, and depending on your horse response move up or down a size!

Answer 9

Most horses who are dead to the leg become so because of ineffective riding.  If you keep on nagging with your leg it becomes very tiresome and the horse tends to switch his brain off, and you get an unresponsive ride.

You have to break the cycle by giving effective aids.  If you have to use your leg on every step to keep the horse moving, that's as much your fault as it is the horse's.  You need to give an aid once, and make it count - that could well mean borrowing a stick and a pair of spurs to say, "oi! move your ****!" for the first couple of weeks.  If you give an aid and he doesn't listen, make him know about it!  You'll probably have to sacrifice pretty riding for the sake of effective riding and give a few giant "pony club kicks" - he may shoot forward, but there's nothing wrong with that.  Encourage and praise any forward movement, then keep your legs still and make sure you're not hanging on his mouth.  If he leaps into trot and you jab him in the mouth, he's not going to be very willing to do it again!

If this horse is in a riding school environment, it's going to be very difficult to cure him of his dull habits as he's going to need consistant riding to set him straight, but every little helps!