Ride&Train

LEG PRESSURE IS AN IMPORTANT FUNDAMENTAL for your horse to have, even if you never have plans of stepping into the show pen. Understanding leg pressure and having a horse that knows how to willingly move off your leg when you apply it is a skill set that you can use in just about any riding scenario. Read on to learn how I like to introduce my horses to leg pressure.

Leg Pressure

One of the first things I like to do with a horse I’m working with is introduce him to leg pressure. It’s an essential tool that I use daily when I’m riding, and before I can go on to more exciting maneuvers like spins or flying lead changes, my horse needs to have a good understanding of what it is.

It’s easy to get into a hurry when teaching your horse fundamental skills like this, and it can often feel repetitive. But when I first introduce my horse to leg pressure and show him to how to move off my leg, I’m not looking for any large movements right away. A step here and a step there is all I need. In fact, if I ask for too much in one session, I risk giving my horse information overload and causing frustration, setting us back even further.

One

When I first start introducing my horse to leg pressure, I use my arena fence to help me. By placing my horse in front of my fence, it naturally blocks her from walking forward and encourages her to move to the side without me having to wrestle with her mouth and frustrate her.

Since the horse I’m riding is a green horse, I ride her two-handed in a snaffle bit to ensure she understands my cues but doesn’t get intimated by my hand pressure in the process.

Two

I put my left leg on my horse’s side and take note on how she responds to the pressure. My spur is only an extension of my leg and shouldn’t be the first thing to touch my horse’s side.

If my horse doesn’t respond to my original leg cue, then I’ll go to my spur to encourage movement.