Rider's Aids Horse Listening
Photo Credit: J. Boesveld

What Do Leg Aids Mean? Instead of relying on them only to get the horse to move his legs faster or transition to a new gait, we might discover more involved messages that can be given with a sophisticated leg aid.

Why you Don't Want To Pull On The Inside Rein - And What To Do Instead: there is one other consequence to pulling on that inside rein that has little to do with turning.

In Praise Of The (Horse Riding) Hand: What goes into developing the type of hands that horses dream of?

How to "Flow” From the Trot to Walk: Although we rely on our hands too much and initiate all movements from the horse’s mouth, there are many alternate aids we can go to.

5 Steps to Effective Short Reins: Just as with any other movement and technique that is taught to horses, short reins can be very beneficial to the horse when applied correctly.

Find the Space Between the Give and Take in Horse Riding: As with so many other things in life, we need to find the happy medium.

Why Rising Trot Is Not Rising At All: How to rise in the trot so that you move in tandem with the horse.

‘Go and No’: The Connection Between Forward and Half-Halt in Horse Riding: How to develop the two seemingly opposite aids.

Why A Release Is Not A Let Go in Horseback Riding: Many people interpret the term ‘Release’ literally – but that’s not what really means.

Here’s How (and Why) You Should Ride With Bent Elbows: How to avoid an on-again, off-again contact with the horse’s mouth.

How to Halt Without Pulling on the Reins: There is a way to get your horse to stop without pulling on the reins.

Why You Should Ride the Left Side of Your Horse Going Right: In order to help straighten the horse (and elongate the muscles on the right, and help the horse bear more weight on the left hind leg), we need to work on the left side going right.

Stop Kicking the Horse! Kicking your horse only stuns, disturbs, imbalances, and hurts. Once you have better balance in your seat and a more consistent contact with the bit, aim toward using your legs with more purpose.

Why Would You Bother to “Scoop” Your Seat Bones? Learning to use your seat effectively should take a lifetime to develop, so we will begin with just one basic aspect: how to move the seat bones.

The #1 Rider Problem of the Year – The Leg Aid: You probably know from experience – kicking the horse along often does not get the response you really want.

Rarely Considered, Often Neglected: Lunging to Develop the Riding Seat: There is no better way to develop your seat.

Demystifying “Contact” in Horseback Riding: Does “contact” have other-wordly connotations? Here is why effective contact is within reach of the average rider.

From a Whisper to a Scream: How Loud Should Our Aids Really Be? Should we be “loud” in our aids, or should we be working as softly as we can in hopes that our horse can respond to lighter and more refined aids?

The #1 Problem of the Year: The Outside Rein! The outside rein is the most underused and poorly understood of all the aids, and here’s why.

6 Ways to Unleash the Power of Your Riding Seat: As you become more subtle in the aiding process, you will begin to discover just how powerful the seat can be in guiding the horse without disturbing and interfering in his movement.

Move to Stay Still on Horseback: How do we begin to look like we’re sitting still, doing nothing on the horse’s back?