INSTRUCTORS FORUM
Leg ‘Em On Improve horse control with proper use of your legs by Kirsten Ludwig
In polo, it is an accepted fact that the horse is 80% of the game, but what does that mean? While many players think they should spend money on a welltrained horse, if they do not know how to ride, it can be a waste of money and a potentially dangerous situation. The world’s top players are not revered because they run fast and hit the ball hard, but because of their ball control, which ultimately stems from horse control. Therefore, to improve your game, you must first improve your riding, which starts with understanding the power and mechanics of the legs. Horses need to be able to collect their potential energy and use that energy to make the high-powered moves that are asked of them. They cannot do this to the degree that is needed if the riders do not help them. When players learn to ride, they are taught to kick the horse to go and pull the reins to stop. Eventually, they are told to rate or collect the horse but not told how to do that. This often results in players that are too heavy in the hand, which dulls the horse’s mouth. To avoid this, players are told to use more leg, but since kicking makes the horse go faster, that can often exacerbate the situation. Legs make up 20% of the human body, and referring to the entire leg as a whole does not provide enough information for riders to know how to use them. A human leg can be divided into four parts: the foot (ankle down), the lower leg (knee to ankle), the upper leg (hip to groin) and the hips (groin to the top of the pelvis). Each portion of the leg moves differently and has different strengths and weaknesses that can help or hinder a rider. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the two largest sections—the lower and upper leg. Lower Leg The lower leg can be likened to the gas. Kicking with the lower leg makes the horse go, and this is where the problem occurs. When students are told to use their legs, they automatically use both the upper and lower legs simultaneously. Using the lower leg puts energy into the horse and forces the rider to slow the horse with their hand, making their hands even “heavier”. Instead, the lower leg should be used sparingly, and only when the rider truly wants to put 14 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
energy into the horse. Oftentimes, players complain that their horse accelerates when they go to hit the ball, and that is generally because they are digging their lower leg into the horse when they get into a hitting position. If riders can learn to keep the lower leg off the horse, they will gain greater control over the horse’s speed. Upper Leg If the lower leg is likened to the gas, then the upper leg would be the speed regulator. By squeezing with just the upper leg, a rider can communicate the desired speed and direction for the horse to travel. In fact, a good rider can communicate with the horse through just the upper leg, not requiring a bridle or saddle. The more contact a rider has between the horse and the upper leg, the better lines of communication. Herein lies the problem, as riders often make two mistakes regarding the upper leg. The first mistake is turning the knee away from the horse. Not only does this decrease the amount of contact between the upper leg and horse, it also pushes the lower leg into the horse, causing it to move faster than the rider wants. By keeping the knee turned into the horse, riders guarantee they maintain upper-leg contact and distance the lower leg. Secondly, when accelerating or hitting the ball, players often stand up in the saddle, raising the hip away from the saddle, which decreases contact between the upper leg and the horse. Instead, if players simply roll forward, maintaining pelvic contact with the saddle, they are able to preserve their upper leg contact and better communicate with the horse. Drills While this may sound antithetical to many riders, this positioning of the legs can be demonstrated by removing the stirrups at a canter. When riders are no longer able to rely on the aides of stirrups, they naturally squeeze with the upper legs, while distancing the lower legs from the horse. A good drill to practice using the legs is a modified leap-frog drill, also called back-to-front sprints. Line up two-by-two, maintaining 8-feet distance
