# Leg Cues, the right way?



## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

I've heard many different ways of giving leg cues. I want to know what way others use. To turn left, should I apply pressure with my left leg onto my horse’s side so he is turning around my leg. OR should I apply pressure from the right side so that he turns away from my pressure? I've heard that it can be done either way, but what tends to be more common?

Also have heard of some riders using both legs which seems to incorporate both methods, so to turn left I put the left leg back and the right leg forward so I am pivoting to the left.

HELP, please.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Just for curiosity's sake, which one feels most logical and natural to you?

(you think here while I write more_)

I look at it as there are active cues and passive cues. the inside leg is passive. It provides a supportive resistance to say (dont move straight this way, but rather go curved around me) while the outside leg says, "do something! move away from this active pressure and movement"

The outside leg should press or tap so that it is more attention getting, while the inside is quiet and only provides a stability.

My teacher once told me to flutter my ankle against the horse's side, rather than squeeze too much (which was causing the hrose to feel resentment and such back). I think it works better than a squeeze.
if the horse ignores a flutter of the ankle, then it becomes a good tap and then a real whap! against his side, then it's whip time.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I think it depends greatly on what type of turn you wish to do. If it is more like a wide turn (like you are working in circles or something) then you actually use both legs like tiny mentioned; the inside leg to keep the horse bent and keep them from falling into the circle and the outside leg to reinforce the turn itself.

However, if you are looking for something more like a rollback or hard turn on the haunches, I only ever use outside leg for that to cue the horse to stop his hindquarter and swing his entire front end around.


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> Just for curiosity's sake, which one feels most logical and natural to you?
> 
> (you think here while I write more_)
> 
> ...


I agree with you both, I think the combination of both is the best both the inside and outside leg working to achieve the turn, especially in circles. It seems very logical, and this is the method I use with my horses. Although, I do agree I use the outside leg if I need a tight turn. Again, I think there are many different applications depending what cues you want to give to your horse and what kind of work you are doing. Thank you!


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## Silvera (Apr 27, 2010)

I pretty much agree with everyone, however I would like to clarify a little bit on how the horse moves and responds. In my opinion the only time you only use your outside leg is when asking for a turn on the haunches or a western spin. In this case you don't want your horse bent, you want them fairly straight, otherwise you run the risk of them falling over if spinning fast (and yes I have seen it happen lol).

In order for a horse to make a nice turn they need to bend their rib cage in the direction of the turn. To do this you need inside leg about where your girth is. Your results will depend a lot on how well your horse responds to your legs. Once you have the horse bending then turn into the inside leg, as the horse comes around put your outside leg on just a little bit behind the girth. This will help them speed up the turn and make it sharper. The wider the turn the less you need the outside leg, the tighter the turn the more outside leg you need. 

The thing you have to watch out for is counter bending. If you use only outside leg, or to much outside leg then you run the risk of having your horse bend away from the direction of the turn, this will make it hard for the horse.

Hope that helps a little.


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## mmpgrumpy (Jul 30, 2010)

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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