How often have you heard something in a lesson that you don’t actually fully understand? For me, I would just smile and nod, hoping for the best. And all of a sudden my instructor would say, “Good,” and I really had no clue what I had done. In fact, there was a ton of riding terminology that made no sense to me at all.
You are not alone if you don’t really understand some of the things your instructor says to you. There is a lot of confusing terminology in riding. Some of these phrases took me years and years to fully understand.
Here is a list of some of the odd phrases that are often used in riding lessons, with thorough explanations:
“On the Aids”
“On the aids” means that your horse is “on his toes,” so to speak. If your horse is on the aids, he is very responsive, wide awake, and ready for action. He is sharp and waiting for what you will ask of him next. He will respond immediately to the lightest of aids. This means that both his “go” and “whoa” are in check. The horse responds quickly to all of your aids – your leg, seat, hands, whip, spur, and voice.
You can see how important it is that a horse is on the aids. It makes things so much easier to work with a horse who is sharp and responsive. A horse who is on the aids is highly trainable. The horse is always listening and paying attention to you when you communicate, and he’s waiting, on his toes, for what comes next.
“In Front of the Leg”
This is a form of being “on the aids” and can sometimes be used interchangeably with that term. A horse who is on the aids is certainly also in front of the leg.
“Being in front of the leg” means that the horse is again, sharp and responsive. He is forward and moving with purpose. When you apply your leg, the horse moves forward as if he’s been waiting for that aid all along. He is using his hind end properly, which makes him light and easy in your hands. Your leg aids can be ever so light, because the horse is paying attention and ready to respond.
The opposite would be “behind the leg” and the rider really has to work hard to make this kind of horse move. A horse who is dull to the leg often results in a rider who is constantly nagging and kicking, again and again, which only leads to more nagging and kicking.
“Falling In/Out”
“Falling in” usually happens on a circle or through a corner. The horse’s body is not straight or balanced, so he literally falls over a little bit as he meanders the curve. Just like a speedy motorcycle going around a turn. This horse sort of slants over a bit. The underlying problem is that the horse is not straight, and therefore he is not balanced.
Most likely, the horse is placing most of his weigh on his inside shoulder, which makes him lean in. You need to work to get the horse up off that inside shoulder in order to stand him back up. Then you can balance him with correct bend to keep him straight on the circle and half halts to help rock some of his weight back on his hind end.
“Falling out” happens when the horse places most of his weight on his outside shoulder. This causes that shoulder to bulge and makes the horse gravitate outward. When a horse is falling out, you will feel like you are being sucked into your corners.
To fix this, you need to get the horse’s weight off that outside shoulder. A good tool for this is counter flexion. By flexing the horse’s head and neck out on the circle, the outside shoulder will go back into the horse’s body and not be bulging anymore. Then some of the weight that was once on that outside shoulder will now be transferred to the inside shoulder.
“Popping a Shoulder”
A horse is “popping his shoulder” when he has too much weight on that particular shoulder. So popping a shoulder leads to falling in and falling out, among other things. Often it is the rider who pops a horse’s shoulder by pulling too much on the inside rein. Learn about the dangers of pulling on the inside rein here.
Simply put, the horse’s weight is not distributed evenly from right to left. Whichever side has most of the weight will result in a popped shoulder, which makes the horse fall in or out and gravitate toward that side.
To fix this you can counter flex, do a leg yield or shoulder-in to transfer some of that weight to the other side.
“On the Bit”
Isn’t this the holy grail of riding? For some riders, getting their horse on the bit becomes an obsession. We all go through that phase when all we think about is getting that nice, round frame, where the horse is on the bit. However, having a nice round frame does not always mean that the horse is on the bit.
Many riders focus mainly on the horse’s head to achieve “on the bit.” But this way of thinking is completely backwards. Literally.
Manipulating a horses head and neck might produce a pretty picture for some, but the horse will not truly be on the bit.
“On the bit” starts in the rear. Yes, you need to start with the hind end. The horse needs to be properly using his hind end – pushing, reaching, and engaging – in order to propel himself up into a round and lifted back, which in turn causes the neck to arch over as he reaches for a steady contact with the bit.
“On the bit” is a domino effect that starts in the rear. If the horse is reaching farther with his hind legs, they will touch the ground further under the horse’s body. The back lifts in order to make room for the legs that are now coming farther underneath. Then when the horse engages to properly push off the ground, his now lifted back rounds over as he reaches for the bit. The result is the pretty, nice looking frame that everyone desires.
“Riding From Back to Front”
The above explanation of “on the bit” requires riding from back to front. Broken down further, it means that the rider is always using their legs before their hands.
In order to actually do what is described above, the rider needs to first, always first, add leg. By adding leg, the rider is telling to horse to use its hind end. But if the rider’s hands are in the way, this will actually block the horse’s hind legs from coming farther underneath. So don’t even think about using your hands until you’ve first put your leg on.
Once you have ridden the back, then you can ride the front. So first get the horse’s hind end going without the interference from your hands. Once the horse gets moving properly from behind and the energy comes up and over his back, you are then ready to receive that energy in your hands.
“On the Forehand”
A horse is “on the forehand” when he is putting too much of his weight on his front two legs, rather than his hind legs. Horses naturally carry more than half of their weight on the forehand already but our goal is to always try to shift some of that weight back onto the hind legs. When horses get more and more of their weight onto the hind end, they become lighter up front and more uphill, making it easier for them to move more athletically.
Being on the forehand is like the snowball effect. The horse keeps falling more and more forward, which makes him have to speed up his legs in order to keep up with his body that is falling more and more forward. If the horse didn’t speed up his legs to keep up, he would essentially take a face plant into the dirt.
Imagine if you were running down a very steep hill. If your body tips forward, you feel like a snowball rolling down faster and faster, with your legs flailing out behind you, until you either crash or flip over. This would be like a horse that is on the forehand. Now think about running down that same hill, but instead you keep your upper body back, and you take bigger, slower steps, keeping your legs out in front of you instead of flailing out behind you. This would be how a horse uses his hind end to help him.
Some horses are built better, with a very uphill frame, and it is much easier for them to shift weight back onto the hind end. Other horses are built very downhill, with shoulders that are lower than their butt, making it very hard to put weight back onto the rear.
“Out Behind”
This was just described above. When a horse is on the forehand and using his front legs to run away, this often leaves the hind legs falling out behind the horse’s body rather than stepping underneath his body. Again, the goal is to get the horse to take longer steps that reach far underneath his body in order to propel himself forward.
“Through/Throughness”
A horse is “through” when every part of his movement is freely flowing through his body. Once again, it all starts with the hind end. That energy starts with far reaching steps that propel the horse up into a raised back. The energy flows up and over the back and to the bit with nothing blocking it.
When a horse isn’t coming through, it means that there is a blockage somewhere. It could be an injury or it may very well be the rider who is closing a door somewhere. Then the energy stops instead of flowing all the way through to the bit.
Riders often block the horse with their hands. Learn about how NOT to use your hands here. Riders also create blockages with an improper seat, gripping thighs, and misplaced weight and leg aids.
In order for a horse to be “through” both horse and rider need to be as free as possible, yet stable at the same time.
“Inside Leg to Outside Rein”
This is a staple of good riding and so much can be said about this alone. The basics of “inside leg to outside rein” are just that; you ride your horse with an inside leg that pushes the horse over into a receiving outside rein.
Your inside leg is creating a bend in the horse, and it’s also standing up and pushing the horse over to the outside. But then the outside rein “catches” what the inside leg sends over. The result is a horse who is “in the outside rein” and can then accept better half halts.
With proper bend from the inside leg, your are essentially keeping the horse “off your inside leg” which in turn keeps him straighter and more balanced. And with proper outside rein contact, you are maintaining straightness on the outside as well by preventing the outside shoulder from popping out.
When all of this comes together perfectly, you should be able to completely release your inside rein and nothing should change. If the horse falls in or his head goes to the outside when you release the inside rein, you never really “had him” in the outside rein. So you need more bend and inside leg to send his body over to the outside rein to be contained.
“Supple”
A “supple” horse is one who is loose, free, and flexible. He easily bends and moves gracefully. Suppling your horse is important because it frees up, or unlocks, the horse so that he can fully accept the leg aids.
If a horse is stiff in the head and neck, when you go to apply your legs to send him into the contact and onto the bit, it just won’t work. First you need to supple the horse to unlock him so that he is free to properly respond to your leg. So your legs aids will not be very effective is the horse is not supple.
There are various exercises to supple the horse, but the basic way to do it is to “tease” the inside rein. You don’t want to get into the habit of curling your wrists, so keep your thumbs on top. Then make your pinky and ring finger squeeze and release.
For more extreme suppling needs, you may need to take your elbow straight back, while keeping it parallel to the ground, and then release. And you make need to alternate from left to right to really unlock a stiff neck. But don’t see-saw the reins.
“Half Halt”
This is quite possibly one of the most misunderstood riding terms. A half halt can mean so many different things to different people, and there are millions of ways to do one. I have an entire article about how to ride a good half halt here.
Summing it up
Riding requires a lot of hard work and even some studying out of the saddle. Many of the fundamentals and core concepts can be confusing to say the least. But as you progress you’ll continue to learn more and more. The “ah ha” moments will continue to come as long as you stay committed and keep climbing.
Keep Riding, Keep Refining
The Refined Rider
