Alright...
You should be well on your way to gaining strength.
You should have the foundation started for better communication. Praising your horse for the little things is the extension of Pressure and Release.

Now let's see if we can't get you to use your whole body to communicate.

Let's start with your legs.
Riding Lesson #3 is improve the Way you use your legs

Again, I want you to incorporate this into your every ride. That means you have to learn a new habit. Something that you do without thinking about it. Just like the "good boy" cue.

You know about kicking your horse when you want him to go. But that is where most folks leave it.

#1. To get forward movement out of your horse, learn to kick differently. Instead of kick... wait to see what happens... kick again... wait... kick... I want you to learn to kick your horse as a request rather than a command.
Tap your horse's sides in a fairly fast rhythm. Like I told someone else, hum "Jesus Loves Me" and kick to the beat. First real easy, then getting harder and harder. Kick until and only until your horse moves. Then keep quiet and (don't forget) praise your horse.
Do this for all upward transitions.

#2 To get sideways movement..
Not only for laterals, but also for turns you should use your leg. Turn to the right and PUSH your horse to the right with your left leg. EVERYTIME!!!
At this point it doesn't much matter where you use that leg, just so long as you learn to use it. As we go, I will go over how to do sidepasses, etc, and the different positions your leg should be in, but for now, I just want you to get in the habit of turning your horse with your leg.
To turn, you can use constant supporting pressure, not the tap from above. But as we go, I'll show you how to use the tap to make a more distinct impact.

Again...
To get the best possible result out of this, you will have to learn to make this into a habit.


On to Lesson #4


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