# Leg Cues... Need to know which ones do what....



## Velvetgrace (Aug 17, 2008)

I have heard some many people talk about leg cues to do the following:

Stop

Move Foward or Lead out

Back up

Side Pass

Reining (Turn left or Right)

However, when I give a certain cue I get a different response than what I think I should be getting. I need some info inorder to know what I am doing wrong. Could someone please describe each one.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Velvetgrace said:


> I have heard some many people talk about leg cues to do the following:
> 
> Stop
> 
> ...


A coach will be able to help you more and guide you with what you are doing right and wrong.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Velvet,

The leg cues I use are these:

*Stop*: Legs relax contact with my horse while I literally stop riding. My upper body softens and I sit deep in the saddle. I'll give a little rearward movement with the reins but just for a moment or two - I may do that several times as necessary.

*Move forward*: My legs press my horse's sides while my upper body moves slightly forward from my hips.

*Back up*: My legs will work same as they do when asking for forward motion but my reins are telling him to stop and I am sitting deeper in the saddle with my upper body a little rearward. When he takes a step back I release my rein pressure but do it again if he stops. 

*Side pass*: That's a little trickier. From a halt I will use my outside leg against his side while tipping his nose to the outside and holding back his forward movement. 

Then there is the sidepass which is performed almost the same way but it's done as you are walking forward and the difference is that you don't stop his forward movement. The effect is that your horse is moving forward but diagonally.

*Turning*: Outside leg pressed against his body at the girth. If you are direct reining then you will tip his head with your inside rein while shifting the weight in your seat to the inside. If you are neck reining then you will lay the outside rein on this neck and using your weight to the inside.

When your horse becomes trained to your leg you will find that will need less rein movement. If you watch dressage or a Western Reining routine you will barely see the rider's hands moving. It's all done with the rider's weight shift and leg pressure/placement.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

iridehorses said:


> Velvet,
> 
> The leg cues I use are these:
> 
> ...


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## chenay412 (Aug 26, 2008)

I agree with the poster to contact a trainer. Everyone else gave great synopneses on the cues... but...

If you are unaware what you are doing with your legs (which I think is what is happening because you said you get different responses than what you think should happen) then you need a trainer to help you learn how to use your legs correctly. 

(BTW... they should NEVER be used to stop a horse, that's called "spur stopping" and it went out of style in the 60's because it is ineffective)

There are three different "spur" or "leg" positions that you need to become familiar with as well as the five body parts of the horse that you need to have control over.

ALSO... realize that legs and hands work in conjunction with one another. In other words, even if your doing great with your legs (or vice versa) and the other one isnt in the right position, you will FOR SURE get a different response. 

GOOD LUCK!!!


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## Rubonsky (Aug 9, 2008)

I agree with the above post, except that the "spur stop" is used very often with all-around and western pleasure horses today! You use a spur stop to rate your horses speed back, or to completely stop, which helps a lot in a pattern so your cues look invisible, plus the closing and holding both legs is how you keep your horses back up, and round as you slow down or do a downward transition. So, if a trainer uses the "spur stop" or that concept, don't worry that is a common practice in the all-around and pleasure ring.

But everything else I agree with. You need a professional to help you teach where and how to use your hand and leg to get the movement you want. As well as to determine if your horse knows what you are asking. It does no good, to learn how to ask a horse correctly if the horse has not been taught these cues. So I would definitely call in a trainer to help you at first to evaluate where you and your horse are both at.

Hope that helps.


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## chenay412 (Aug 26, 2008)

Rubonsky said:


> I agree with the above post, except that the "spur stop" is used very often with all-around and western pleasure horses today! You use a spur stop to rate your horses speed back, or to completely stop, which helps a lot in a pattern so your cues look invisible, plus the closing and holding both legs is how you keep your horses back up, and round as you slow down or do a downward transition. So, if a trainer uses the "spur stop" or that concept, don't worry that is a common practice in the all-around and pleasure ring.


I will however, have to respectfully disagree. I ride WP, all-around horses and have my fair share of national titles under my belt (APHA) and no one in the circles I ran with used the technique. It was deemed the "worst technique every invented" by Bob Avila recently and every trainer I know personally laughs at the idea of teaching a spur stop because it is so unpractical. 

I understand there has been a "revival" of it in recent years, however, the idea that it makes cues look "invisible" is a misnomer and there are much better techniques for backing and stopping.

How about whoa? 

Simply saying the word should make a horse put on the brakes and most horses I am familiar with (including reiners and cutters, as I worked for a top trainer for nearly a year) are very familiar with this word. 

Now that's an invisible cue...

No hands, no legs, simply a word that only you and your horse can hear.

I hope this is not offensive to you, I know everyone has their own opinions but after seeing about 5 horses at the barn Im at now be completely ruined by trying to put a "spur stop" on them... I'll stick with the old fashioned way... and continue to win Western Horsemanship classes. :wink:


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## Rubonsky (Aug 9, 2008)

I am not offended, I in fact believe the true "spur stop" is horrible. I use both legs and spurs on my horses to be able to get the best and most correct movement out of them. Just because I sink both spurs in my horse they do not just stop. They round up, collect themselves and hold their back up, and tighten up, this is how you "rate" or collect your horse to round them up and slow their speed. I agree with the traditional spur stop being horrible....for I like to be able to close an outside spur for drive from a hip, and an inside spur to lift the shoulder all at the same time, so my horse can drive forward and lift its shoulder at the same time. So, I guess my use of the term "spur stop" was not explained well enough, for I do not believe in when you put both spurs in your horse they just stop. We use it to aid in holding their body together as you tell them walk, trot or whoa. I totally agree with whoa as well. Every horse I have in the barn has whoa as their stop, the leg just helps to keep them from falling out of a lope or canter when you stop, such as hollowing out their back or lifting their heads. Every pleasure trainer I have ever worked for, including two world champion AQHA pleasure trainers, all use the new form of the spur stop to slow their horse down, round it up or drop its head all without using your hand. I do a lot of bridleless riding as well, and that is why I love having every cue I would ever need through my leg only. I can slow down, speed up, drop their head, round them up, move a hip, move a shoulder, etc. and all with the leg cues, so I guess I didn't explain what I meant by spur stop well enough, I guess you could just say the newer use is as an aid to slow and round your horse so when you sink both spurs and hold with your leg it means slow down, round up and come back to me. Tina Kaven does a great job explaining what I am trying to say in one of her videos if you ever get a chance to check them out they are wonderful....and it explains the newer version of the spur stop better than I can.


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