Communicating With Your Horse Through the Use of Aids

A horse and rider team that moves through a pattern in perfect harmony is a beautiful thing to watch. Each seem completely in tune with the other and make the flawless performance look soooo easy. How did they do that? Are they psychic? Do they read each other’s minds? How do they communicate with each other so that you can’t even see it happening? The answer is the rider uses aids in a consistent way that the horse understands and honors.

Aids are the physical tools we use to communicate with the horse. There are four natural aids, the seat (weight), the hands, the legs, and the voice. There are two additional natural aids that help in our communication, the rider’s eyes and the rider’s breathing. These six aids used together give clear and consistent messages to the horse.

We must maintain correct body position on our horse for our aids to function properly. Without proper body position our aids lose their consistency and strength. Maintaining a straight line between ear, shoulder, hip and heel will give the rider the balance and strength needed to apply aids correctly. A common problem I see with rider’s is the lifting of the heel when applying a leg aid. This ruins body alignment, pops the knee and lower leg out and away from the horse, and causes the rider to lose the strength and consistency of the aid. It’s also important to maintain a straight line from the rider’s elbow, through the wrist, hand, and rein, to the horse’s mouth. This straight line allows the rider to communicate the most effectively with the horse. A straight line has always been the most efficient and effective way to get from point A to point B, and so it is with communication.

Natural aids tell our horse to speed up, slow down, and change direction. They can be used together or singly and in combination with each other.

The important thing is that the horse has the ability to respond to the aid. He must understand and respect the aid to give the correct response.

Let’s think about how we use the aids in conjunction with each other. We will use a downward transition from the posting trot to a jog as an example. The first aid we will use is our seat (weight). We will sit down, sinking our seat bones into the saddle and absorbing the horse’s energy through our belly, knees, and ankles. Almost simultaneously, we will slow our breathing rate and “blow” at the horse, giving him a “slow and relax” cue. We may use our hands, if the horse has not responded to our other cues, by closing our fingers around the reins in a squeezing motion. We may also use a voice cue, such as “joooog,” in a slow, quiet tone. All of these cues work together to create clear communication of your expectations to the horse. When you are consistent with the cues over time, your cues will become “invisible” as the horse responds quickly and quietly.

Your eyes are an invaluable aid, and become especially important when asking your horse to turn or circle. The angles of your body will naturally follow the direction you are looking in, causing a change in your shoulders, hands, and the distribution of your weight. These tiny changes are easily felt by your horse and are an invisible communication between horse and rider.

In addition to the natural aids, we have artificial aids to use as tools when we’re having problems getting the horse to respond to our natural aids. Examples of artificial aids are bats, crops, spurs, martingales, tie-downs, and side-pulls. Artificial aids are not solutions, they are temporary additions to our natural aids. Artificial aids should only be used as a back-up to our natural aids, that is to say, we must always apply the natural aid first and only use the artificial aid if the horse is not responsive to the natural aid. Use an artificial aid with higher intensity,to let the horse know that they made a mistake in not responding to the natural aid, and to require the horse’s response. When the horse responds to the higher intensity aid, reward them by immediately lowering the intensity level. Apply aids in an ask, tell, command, sequence, asking with a soft aid first and raising the intensity of the command in graduated levels until the horse responds. There may be instances when a horse that understands an aid is showing disrespect by not responding promptly and correctly, and in those instances the intensity of an aid can be raised quicker and higher until the horse is showing respect. The instant that the horse responds, the aid must be released in order to give the horse a reward, and grow the desire within the horse to respond quickly and correctly to the aid.

Applying the six natural aids correctly and with consistency will create harmonious communication between you and your horse. When you complete your difficult pattern flawlessly, you will be gratified to hear these words from observers, “How did they do that??”