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Heels Down!
written by Jim Geibel
Every riding manual starts with the command to keep your heels down. Most intermediate riders are able to have deep heels and a steady leg when not actively using the leg. Yet for many, the heels come up and the leg becomes wobbly when trying to influence the horse to go forward or move laterally. The result is an overall weaker rider position and a horse that is unschooled to the leg. Hot horses will tend to be hotter and the quieter horses will become absolutely dead to the leg.
There are three things to think about to correct the problem- basic leg position, making a habit of using the leg properly and re-schooling the horse. Belief is also a big factor. Initially, it may be hard to believe that you can get your horse to go without using your heels.
Walk around on a long rein and check that your leg is truly at the girth. Sit so as not to be on the back of the fleshy part of your bottom nor on the front of your crotch but somewhere in between. Have a little arch in your back. The correct seat will make it easier to have a deeper heel and a longer leg. Make sure that your knee is against the saddle. Feel the girth under your lower leg from the inside of your knee down as far as you can without taking your knee off the saddle. How much of your leg you can feel is dependent on your conformation and your horsešs. Get up in a two-point position and rise up on your toes and down as deep into your heel as you can. Explore the range of motion. After a few minutes of that come back to your basic seated position and check again that your leg and seat position is correct.
Think about where the muscle of your calf begins just below the knee and where it ends. Explore where the calf contacts the saddle and the horse. Again, it will vary based on conformation. For most riders, the top of your calf will lie against the saddle. Obviously then, you will influence the horse through the saddle. There is where the belief comes in you have to believe that it is very possible to get a horse to go without directly jabbing at his sides. You have to believe that you can make him sensitive enough to feel light pressure though the saddle and react.
When you have the calf position firmly fixed in your mind, deepen your heel a little more and squeeze through the saddle skirt and see what happens. Probably nothing will. After all, you have been telling your horse to go only when you dig him with your heels. At this point you need a little mental discipline. You donšt want to get impatient and resort to the old heel dig. Instead, squeeze with your calf through the saddle with a deep heel and this time add a cluck. If you donšt get the response you are looking for, repeat the process and add the stick. Use the stick as hard as is necessary for your horse to respond. You are looking for him to take a few trot steps. Make sure that you have a loose rein so you donšt hit him in the mouth when he trots and also
make sure that your seat is ready for the trot so you donšt get left. After a few times of doing this, your horse will get the message. You will be able to have him trot from a walk with reasonable calf pressure. If you are squeezing for all you are worth, he needs more schooling. If you resort to your heel either your horse needs more
schooling or you havenšt broken your habit yet.
Within a couple of weeks, this will start to become a habit for both of you. Unless your horse comes out to work with too much energy, you can do this at the start of every work. Horses need to be reminded. This is what trainers mean when they tell you to get your horse in front of your leg. From here, it is a matter of adding difficulty and refining your aids. You can work on every kind of exercise on the flat while being conscious of properly using your leg and watch your horse respond.
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