1. Step one is always the leg. You have to get the horse moving forward before asking the horse to get round. It is very important that you have a “self going” horse – meaning that once you get them going forward at a certain speed, they stay at that speed until you tell them to slow down. (Think cruise control for horses.)
2. Establish a steady contact – this means that you have a light but steady pressure between your hand and the horse’s mouth (6-12 ounces). You want to feel each corner of the horse’s mouth and your arm should be elastic and following the motion of the horse’s neck. Especially in the walk and in the canter, you elbow slightly bends and straightens. A straight arm or a stiff elbow causes unsteady contact. This is quite uncomfortable for the horse!
3. Close the inside leg and push the horse softly off of the inside leg and into the outside rein. With the inside rein, squeeze and release the fingers. It is very important to always start with just using your fingers and wrist to supple the horse before going to the elbow. This will help to get the horse more sensitive and soft in the mouth.
Still having trouble keeping your hands quiet? – Improve your seat!
The main function of the seat is to absorb the motion of the horse. If your seat is not connected to the horse’s back and you are bouncing, then your hands will also bounce!
It’s very important to work towards riding more from your center and from your seat. As humans, so much of what we do is with our hands— driving, writing, texting, etc. But when we are riding, we want to ride mainly from the seat and the leg. You really have to work on reprograming your brain to go to the seat and the leg before the hands!
