23/08/2026
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When a Dressage Horse Is Behind the Leg — Especially With an Adult Amateur (AA) Rider
One of the most frustrating situations in dressage is a horse who is wonderfully forward and willing for the professional, but becomes behind the leg, pins his ears, bucks, or doesn't want to move forward for his AA rider.
The important thing to understand is that this isn't necessarily a “lazy horse.”
Often, the horse has learned that there are two different systems:
**Trainer:**
Leg → immediate response → release.
**AA:**
Leg → no response → stronger leg → more pressure → horse braces → resistance.
The horse learns that the AA's leg is negotiable.
But what is actually happening in the horse's body?
When the rider is asking the horse to go forward while simultaneously restricting him through the hand, seat, or body, the horse can develop an energy conflict.
The rider says:
“Go forward.”
But the horse simultaneously feels:
“Don't actually go anywhere.”
Instead of energy traveling:
**Hindquarters → back → neck → contact**
the horse can become:
**Restricted → braced → shortened stride → more leg → more resistance.**
The hind legs become less effective at stepping underneath the body and contributing to propulsion. The back can become tense rather than swinging. More weight stays on the forehand, and the horse can become heavy in the rider's hand.
This is why a horse can look “round” while still being completely behind the leg.
Round is not necessarily connected.
A short neck is not necessarily collection.
More leg is not necessarily more impulsion.
If the horse is constantly being squeezed, he can also become desensitized to the leg.
Instead of:
leg → response
the horse learns:
leg → background noise.
The rider then uses more leg, which can create even more tension.
Eventually the horse may anticipate the interaction. Ear pinning, tail swishing, bracing, rushing, kicking, or bucking can become part of the cycle.
That doesn't mean every buck is training-related—pain and discomfort should always be ruled out—but the physical and mental pattern is important to recognize.
So what's the answer?
It isn't to kick harder.
The goal is to make the aid clearer and more meaningful.
The rider should be able to say:
Light leg = GO.
If there is no response, reinforce promptly.
The instant the horse goes forward:
RELEASE.
The horse learns that responding to the first aid is the easiest option.
For these horses, I often like to temporarily take the emphasis away from the perfect dressage picture and go back to:
Forward → Straight → Rhythm → Connection → Engagement → Collection
A horse cannot truly be collected if he isn't genuinely forward.
Let the AA ride the horse in a more open, forward frame. Work on transitions, changes of direction, bigger and smaller steps, and simple forward exercises without constantly worrying about where the horse's head is.
One of my favorite exercises:
GO → COME BACK → GO
At the trot, ask for a few strides of a bigger, more powerful trot. Return to working trot. Then ask again.
The goal isn't to make the horse run.
QUICK TRANSITIONS
TROT → 4 STEPS WALK → TROT
TROT → CANTER → TROT
The goal is to teach:
My rider's leg means bigger steps.
And equally important:
When my rider stops asking, I maintain the gait.
The rider's position matters, too.
When the AA asks the horse to go, are they accidentally:
• Leaning backward?
• Gripping with the knee?
• Bracing through the stirrups?
• Tightening the reins?
• Locking the hip?
• Driving continuously?
• Holding the horse in the front while asking him to move forward?
That creates the classic:
“Go, but don't actually go” feeling.
The horse needs to feel that the rider's leg opens the door rather than pushes him into a closed front end.
The ultimate goal isn't to make the horse “behave” for the amateur.
It's to teach the horse that the AA's aids mean exactly the same thing as the trainer's aids.
When that communication becomes clear, consistent, and predictable, the horse no longer has to spend his energy figuring out how to respond to conflicting signals.
Instead, the energy can go where we actually want it:
Hind legs → swinging back → forward movement → elastic contact → connection.
That's when First Level starts to feel completely different.
Forward isn't created by more leg.
Forward is created by a leg that actually means something.
