Have you ever watched a group of riders, whether it be at a horse show or your own barn, and noticed one horse-and-rider combination that stands out from the crowd? The reason the pair caught your eye was because they looked as if they were one and the same. The horse and rider were working together almost magically. Every step was rhythmic and consistent, and the rider always maintained her balance in the middle of the horse, never violating the rhythm. No interference could be detected, and the horse looked happy with all his parts working together like a well-oiled machine.

On the other hand, you might have noticed that the other riders struggled to maintain the horse’s rhythm or even the gait and had difficulty keeping the horse on a specific track. Sometimes through a turn, a horse bulged out. On another turn, a horse cut the corner and leaned in on the rider’s inside leg. Often, the horses did not hold their shape—being connected from one end to the other and working from behind. If there is no self-carriage, the horses aren’t doing the work and are being held together by the riders. 

Many riders struggle to move with their horses like they are one. The horse either resists the aids because he’s green or hasn’t been taught to accept the rider’s aids. For example, the rider closes her leg, and the horse resists and doesn’t move forward or away from the leg as he should. The same can apply to the horse’s lack of response to the rider’s hand. This can be compounded if the rider is not proficient in the use of her aids. 

Leg and Hand: Finding the Right Balance

Some riders are more coordinated than others and have a natural feel, while others have difficulty controlling the parts of their body to work independently as well as simultaneously in different degrees. The goal of the horse and rider is similar to listening to a finely tuned orchestra where the instruments come together to produce beautiful music. 

For example, a rider needs to use enough leg to create impulsion (energy) along with the right degree of hand to control the pace. If you use too much hand and not enough leg, the horse will likely slow or break his gait. How much leg and how much hand is the right combination? This is a question frequently asked by many riders. It is degrees of ounces and pounds at the same time together, not in contrast. Clashing the aids can easily result if the rider is pushing and pulling at the same time due to balance issues or not understanding how the aids must work together. When a rider clashes the aids, the horse doesn’t know which aid to listen to and becomes frustrated. 

How can you achieve this from a mechanical standpoint and in a way that your horse accepts your aids for a smooth, balanced effect? “The hand accepts what the leg creates,” is one of my favorite sayings. The rider must patiently experiment with simple exercises using degrees of pressure. Start off with light pressure to assess your horse’s reaction. This can be accomplished at the walk. A squeeze from the leg should send the horse forward and soft contact with the mouth should create a good, forward walk with impulsion, resulting in a nice outline.

If the horse does not respond, the rider needs to apply a stronger aid. First, more leg with a stronger squeeze or kick. If the horse does not respond, then the rider can add a cluck. If that does not work, then the rider can use the spur and, finally, the stick (crop). With increased leg aids, the rider must be careful not to catch the horse in his mouth if he moves forward quickly, which the horse could see as punishment. Once the horse is moving forward, the rider can continue maintaining a soft contact with his mouth.

To produce a horse who responds to the aids, the rider must be extremely focused and coordinated. She is required to monitor every stride without allowing the horse to deviate, rather than chasing him forward if he slows his pace. It should be smooth and balanced. 

It takes years of educated riding to achieve this and a good degree of feel. But the end result is indeed worth the effort as this is mandatory for all disciplines.

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Read more with Holly Hugo-Vidal on Practical Horseman here.

About Holly Hugo-Vidal

Trainer, judge, clinician and author Holly Hugo-Vidal is based in Milton, Georgia. She developed a belief in solid basics and a demand for excellence from an early age. With her former husband, Victor Hugo-Vidal, she ran the successful show barn Cedar Lodge Farm in Stamford, Connecticut, learning from Victor’s ability to help anyone with a desire to accomplish his or her goals. Her next mentor was legendary show jumper and horseman Rodney Jenkins, whose teachings she still uses today to help her better understand horses. She is the author of the book “Build Confidence Over Fences!”

This article originally appeared in the fall 2025 print issue of Practical Horseman.