Strides for Success

Tag: outside rein

  • Relationship between Your Inside Leg and Outside Rein

    Relationship between Your Inside Leg and Outside Rein

    Most riders have heard about how they should ‘ride from the inside leg to the outside rein’; but really – what does that mean?!  How exactly do you ride from what seems like a bit of a diagonal and what about all the other aids?  Should we forget about them?

    [smart_track_player url=”https://op3.dev/e/traffic.libsyn.com/dailystridespodcast/766-The-Relationship-Between-Your-Inside-Leg-and-Your-Outside-Rein.mp3″ title=”The Relationship Between Your Inside Leg and Your Outside Rein” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” tweet_text=”A simple explanation – to clear up any confusion – of the relationship between the inside leg and outside leg in the saddle ” hashtag=”equestrian #horseriding” twitter_username=”strides_success” ]

    The term ‘riding from the inside leg to the outside rein’ is one that is used a lot when it comes to riding.  The confusing part of it however, is that this concept is so much more than just those two aids.  In fact if it is done correctly, it is a finely balanced combination of all your aids – that is continuously requiring adjustment and ‘recalibration’ with every passing stride.

    A channel for your horses energy

    What is important to remember is that your aids are like a channel for your horses energy.  Think about the banks of a river; they keep the water in, and therefore, flowing where they want it to go.  Your aids work in the same way for the energy your horse creates.

    When you ride, you ask your horse to create energy with his hind quarters.  This energy must then be directed where you want it to go.  If you allow it to just ‘run out the front’, your horse will most probably become quite long and stringy.  He will also become heavy on his forehand.  If you hold too much energy in and don’t allow it to flow, you run the risk of encountering an explosion of sorts!

    Understanding that your job is to ask for the creation of energy and then regulate the flow is, in my opinion, the first step to grasping the concept of the ‘inside leg to outside rein’.

    The Relationship Between Your Inside Leg & Outside Rein

    How responsive is your horse to your aids?

    From here, you need to asses how responsive your horse is to your aids, particularly your inside leg.  Is he quick to respond to questions you ask with it, and does he clearly understand what is expected of him when you ask those questions?

    Your inside leg asks for the energy to be created.  This energy is created in the hind quarters and then flows though the horses back to connect with the front end.  As we have already mentioned your aids then channel the flow of this energy.  However this cannot happen if your horse ignores or is unresponsive to your questions to begin with.

    You cannot channel and regulate what is not there!

    The Role of Your Outside Rein

    So once this energy is flowing, your inside leg is then used to ‘contain’ it and keep it in the imaginary river that we spoke about earlier.  However, all rivers need two banks.  This is where your outside rein comes into play.  it is the opposing channel or bank for the inside leg.

    Now, obviously, this is a very simplified version of what is going on, however in order to fully understand how they work together, I find it is one of the easiest ways to explain the concept.

    What is important to realise is that it is this relationship, between inside leg and outside rein, that then dictates how that energy flows through the horse.  If it is allowed to run freely out the front, or if it will be regulated. 

    If you are regulating that flow of energy, you then need to begin working on how you are balancing that flow.

    Balancing Your Inside Leg to Your Outside Rein

    Again, think of the energy as being water in a river.  If it is allowed to run freely out, it will be fast and lack direction.  If it is dammed up, their is much more potential there to work with.  If it is blocked, well, it may just explode (think bucking and general high jinx)!

    You need to work on balancing the energy being created, keeping the energy flowing in the ‘river’ and deciding how much you are going to allow it to flow out.  Once you understand this, it is now time to incorporate your other aids into your communication.

    Your Other ‘Supporting’ Aids

    In order for the relationship between the inside leg and outside rein to truly work; your outside leg, inside rein and seat must also be involved.  Their role is more of a supporting one – they are not the lead characters in the relationship!

    The additional involvement of your inside rein and outside legs will constantly change, depending on the questions you are asking your horse and his response.  If you fail to incorporate them into your riding, the basic principle of your inside leg to outside rein cannot work effectively.  

    However, if you overuse the supporting aids, well it’s a little like “too many cooks spoiling the broth”.  It becomes overwhelming, each aid fighting for your horses attention and consideration.  This is where you see the horse either shutting down completely and ignoring the rider, or becoming agitated, frustrated and displaying far too much excess tension throughout their body.

    The Relationship Between Your Inside Leg & Your Outside Rein

    Fine Tuning this Relationship

    Initially you may have to use more pressure or apply your aids more frequently until your horse begins to understand what you are asking.  How long it takes until you can begin to become more subtle with your aids will depend on your riding skills – and how quiet you are when riding – and also your horses training.

    Refining the relationship between your inside leg and outside rein means having your seat and body play a larger part in your communication with your horse.   

    Begin by Focusing on the Where & How

    I suggest you begin by focusing on your position in the saddle.  If you are in the correct position, your body is in the best place to apply the aids clearly and correctly. This is true for your leg and your rein.

    Pay attention to your ‘lines’; head, shoulder, hip, heel and then ‘elbow, wrist, thumb, rein, bit’.  When those correct lines are in place will have a dramatic influence on the effectiveness of your aids.

    From here, work on your horses responsiveness to your aids and how much pressure and how often you are applying those aids.  This is always changing, from stride to stride, so it is up to you to begin developing your feel in order to consistently adapt your aids to the situation.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    There are four more audio programs on this topic available for you to download and listen to while riding inside of Daily Strides Premium. The additional programs will take you step by step through the process of applying these aids when riding, helping you to better understand and apply this concept in the saddle.

    They are part of the ‘Rider Aids Collection’, a series of audio programs all about the different aids we use when riding and how you can best apply yours. This collection is divided into Seat Aids, Leg Aids and Rein Aids; allowing you to find the group of lessons that best suit your particular needs – regardless of where you are in your riding.

    You can find out more by visiting HERE >>

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  • Asking Your Horse to Bend

    Asking Your Horse to Bend

    Riding through a bend is something you will have to do every time you get in the saddle, whether it be the 4 corners of your arena or just the route you take to get from point A to point B.  It therefore makes good sense to work on your ability to navigate those bends successfully, without losing balance, rhythm, energy and focus each time you encounter a bend.

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    Riding a bend correctly will result in your horse having an equal bend throughout his body, resulting in the energy continuously being directed where you want it to go; forwards, and not out being lost anywhere along the arc from tail to poll.

    Asking Your Horse To Bend

    A good way of ‘seeing’ this equal bend, so you can visualize using your aids, is to think of a whip or stick being held at each end with your two hands.  Now, imagine closing your hands closer together…  If you use equal pressure from both hands on each side and gently ‘feel’ to make sure you are balancing that pressure and not overexerting the whip, the whip will have an equal bend all the way through.

    Now (without snapping your whip!) imagine what would happen if you pushed too hard or too much with one hand or the other, or try to force or ‘fix’ the bend; the whip would snap, leaving you with two straight lines with a break in the middle.  This is similar to what happens to the line from poll to tail on your horses back; often by applying too much of one or the other aid (usually hand), the result is a straight line from poll to withers and then another straight line from withers to tail, with a ‘break’ at the withers or shoulder where all the energy has fallen out of.

    Riding your horse correctly around a bend requires a balance of aids from you, which will allow your horse to navigate the bend to the best of his ability.  You cannot force him and you cannot fix him.  Your job as the rider to is guide him around the bend so he remains in balance and moving forward.

    When you horse rounds the bend correctly, his inside back hoof will stay on the track created by his inside front hoof, and the same applies to the outside legs, almost like train tracks, remaining parallel to each other around a turn or bend.

    In order for this to happen the horse must lengthen or stretch of one side (the outside) of the body, rather than a shortening of the inside.  Your aids will ask him to do this, however before we can discuss the aids, we must first become clear on the terms Inside and Outside with relation to riding and bending.

    Often when we are learning what is the inside leg or what is the outside rein, the instructor will use the analogy of a circle or the arena wall itself to demonstrate and when you are initially learning to ride, this generally holds true.

    However, as you begin to ride more complex movements, such as counter canter or leg yielding, the issue of inside and outside changes from where you are in the arena or what shape you are riding, to what way your horse is bending.

    This is the true meaning of inside and outside, the inside being the leg, hand and seat on the concave side of the horse, depending on which direction or way he is bent.  The outside being the opposite of the above on the convex side of the horse.

    So once you have decided which way you are going to bend your horse, begin by shifting your inside seat bone slightly more forward than your outside seat bone.  In doing so, you will feel that your inside seatbone is now a little more ‘weighted’ as well.  Make sure you are not leaning towards the inside with your upper body; this will have the opposite effect and ‘push’ your weight to the outside of the saddle.

    Your inside leg is applied on or at the girth.   This will help you continue to create forward energy and gives your horse something to bend around, rather than falling in and sideways.  In fact I have found it helpful to get my riders to think of their inside leg as a pole that their horse must bend around.  It helps visualise the bend, but it also helps to ensure that they are using their outside leg aid as well.

    When riding on a bend, your outside leg will move back slightly in order to control the hind quarters and, in particular, make sure they don’t swing out around the bend.  This is often evident on circles and when it happens the horse is no longer following the ‘train tracks’ that his front legs are creating.

    Your inside hand is used to indicate to your horse that you are asking for the turn, using a combination of arm, hand, wrist and fingers.  Very often riders will use only their inside hand to turn, and just like the whip analogy we spoke of earlier, using too much pressure from one aid will result in the ‘break’ of the arc and the energy falling out.  The use of the inside hand is very subtle and can be thought of as more of an indicator, rather than what actually bends your horse.

    Finally, your outside hand prevents your horse from over bending and helps to hold the forward energy created by your inside leg together.  Unfortunately a lot of riders forget about their outside hand when turning, however it is vitally important in holding everything together as you and your horse navigate a turn or bend.

    I suggest beginning by practicing first in halt.  Adjust your position to where you would if you were to ask for a bend while riding.  Notice how easy it is for you to move in and out of this.  Keep in mind that the movement should be fluid and that if you are having to really struggle to ‘hold’ something, you may in fact be over doing it.  You are only making small subtle movements that your horse will pick up on and respond accordingly.

    Once you are clear about how to ask your horse to bend one way or the other, you can ask for walk and whether you choose to walk large around the arena or begin to ride some different school figures, begin assessing how your horse bends and how you are using your aids to ask him and then ride him through the bend.

    Notice if you are perhaps dropping your inside shoulder?  Or maybe you are completely forgetting about your outside hand or leg.  Keep working on this in walk until it becomes second nature to you to ‘bend’ your horse around each and every turn, rather than use your inside hand to drag him around!

    From there you can begin to work in trot, where you may find that your horse falls in around the corners, or that the hind quarters are more likely to swing out rather than following the front end.  Notice it and then, begin by correcting your position and aids.  See what effect this has on your horse and work from there.

    Keep in mind that your horse may experience some stiffness on one side compared to the other.  If you experience this, create a plan for your ride that will incorporate a slight increase of work on that side, however slight is the key word here.  This will, with correct training, be corrected over time with consistent, correct riding and work.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

     

     

  • Why is Your Horse Falling In?

    Why is Your Horse Falling In?

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    Why is your horse falling in?  More importantly, how do you know if your horse is falling in?

    The quickest and easiest way I can explain falling in is to imagine you are riding a circle. One that you have planned out beautifully in your head. However, as your horse travels around it you seem to be getting more and more off track with each passing stride. In fact what started out as a 20m circle is soon resembling a 10m triangle, drawn by a three-year-old…

    Another area where this problem can tend to rear its ugly head is when traveling around a corner and, again,  just like before you have set the course. You half halt, but your horse’s actual path and the one you envisioned in your head are worlds apart.

    The initial problem is then compounded by the frustration that it is happening so regularly, there being 4 corners in every arena and all.  

    Welcome to the world of falling in… Which is almost exactly what it sounds like.   You set a course, and instead of following it, your horse ‘falls in’ on the shape.

    What Causes Falling In?

    Now while we may initially blame ourselves for bad planning or awful usage of basic shapes, this is often not the root cause.  Because, very often, after we reach for our markers to help guide us along, we begin to realize that far from this being our inability to correctly execute a circle, this issue stems more from our horse’s inability to balance himself while being ridden on the said circle.

    This is a frustrating and annoying problem that  may represent a fundamental flaw in a horse’s basic training. What is actually happening is your horse cannot balance himself correctly.

    The Ineffective Quick Fixes…

    Now, most riders’ first reactions are to pull the ‘outside rein’ and try to get back on track.  This causes horses to flex incorrectly to the outside and often has the effect of the body continuing to fall in while the head and neck are poking out having a good look at everything outside the arena or circle…

    When this happens, riders will turn to the next tool in their box; coupling their outside rein with a few well-placed ‘kicks’ of the inside leg. And, to be fair, often this is enough to get their horse back out to the original track.  The problem comes when instead of it being an enjoyable circle, you are now having to use every ounce of strength and concentration to keep him there…

    You begin to literally hold him up with your legs and reins. You have become his stabilizers or support for when he is not feeling balanced

    In doing this ‘quick fix’ the problem has just been made worse by training your horse to balance on your hands/reins. This means that he will not become strong or correctly muscled enough to rely on himself for balance… Which, as we mentioned, is usually the core of the issue, to begin with.

    Straightness on the Circle

    So how can be we begin rectifying the problem in a way that will build a solid foundation for you to build on in the future?

    By learning to go ‘straight’ on a circle. Back feet tracking corresponding front feet – not inside back foot slightly more to the outside (hind end swinging out).

    When asking for true straightness, your horse will begin to work correctly and use himself for balance.   Only by consistently maintaining this ‘straightness’ on a circle, will the necessary muscles develop to balance and carry you both in more complicated work and movements

    Get Clear on Your Track and Your Aids

    The first thing I would suggest is becoming very clear in your head about what you should be doing on the circle, and being consistent in not straying from that path, no matter what!  This can be difficult, as it is so tempting to ‘fix’ your horse back onto the correct circle, but your horse must learn to ‘fix’ himself!  Make sure you keep a correct position on the circle, you are asking the correct questions, and then keep persevering by riding from your inside leg to your outside rein.

    Your inside leg is not a prop for your horse, so don’t allow it to become one.  

    The same applies for your outside rein.   Try keep your leg and hand position as close to where they should be as possible, however initially, you may have to open your outside hand or rein to encourage your horse back out to it.

    Developing Your Horse

    Your horse must develop equal muscles on both sides of the body in order to carry himself and the rider.  This will take time and consistent correct action, so don’t expect it all to happen in one day.

     Rather spend a few minutes each day working correctly on both reins; slow and steady will win the race.

    Initially, you may just end up going on smaller circles, but if you remain calm and true to your correct position, all the while keeping a sharp focus on not allowing him to ‘run’ forward and continuously speed up, your horse will soon begin to realize that the bigger circle, ridden correctly, is generally the easier way to go… Small circles are hard work, especially when your rider is no longer propping you up with reins and legs!

    When you are riding correctly, you are not supporting the horse with your reins.  

    This means no neck reining or crossing your hands over (your right hand must stay on the right-hand side, and vice versa!)… Rather guiding or indicating when necessary, but then allowing him to figure it out for himself.   Maintaining your correct position and consistent use of correct aids at the appropriate times will soon nullify this bad habit that may develop.

    His Hindquarters & Falling Out…

    Finally, make sure you are using your outside leg in a correct manner to prevent his hindquarters from falling out. This is often what will happen if you manage to ‘fix’ the front end.  Your horse must learn to be truly straight on the circle. Meaning that the inside back leg is on the same track as inside front leg and same for the outside legs.  If your horse’s inside back leg is following his outside front leg, he is falling out through his hindquarters.

    If you find this all overwhelming, try breaking things down into steps, and be persistent in working through them, step by step, until it becomes second nature.  Just, again, make sure you are correct in your riding and position before graining a habit in yourself!

    The final piece of advice I can offer is to regularly, or as much as you can,  jump onto a horse that is well-schooled so you can feel what it is like and how your body is perhaps compensating for your horses lack of balance, without you even being aware of it.  Often we can become the ‘enabler’ to our horse’s bad habits… Make sure you are not falling into this trap.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

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