I have seen the term ‘engage the horse’s hind legs’ confuse many riders. They don’t seem to be sure about what engagement pertains to and how to set about it.

Here is the ‘really simple’ definition. Engagement refers to the folding or bending of the horse’s hind leg joints. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less.

I give below details on the aids that ask for various levels of engagement.

1. You can begin with ‘baby engaging’ the rear legs with a 3-second aid mix I call ‘the connecting half halt’ or ‘the connecting aids’. When you connect your horse, you are engaging the hind legs to a point, as you are getting him to bring the rear legs underneath his body and then come on the bit.

Remember, though: these aids should not be vicious. If the horse is responsive usually to you, your aids should be simply a wee bit firmer than the normal pressure you apply with the legs and reins when you are simply riding your pony around.

2. We now come to ‘collecting half halts’ (in comparison to the half halt version described in 1 above), which are momentary closures of the seat, the leg and the hand. Collecting half halts lead straight to a far greater extent of engagement.

This half halt gets executed just when the horse’s inside rear leg is taking off from the ground. It’s not usable, though, unless the horse is already connected with a ‘connecting half halt’.

3. You utilize your inner leg as an aid to request increased ‘activity’ when on a particular gait. You use the inside calf to turn on the horse’s inner hind leg impulsion. This is vital for corners, circles and curves too if you are of the opinion that a walk, a trot, or a canter feels too lazy.

Squeeze with your interior calf to activate the horse’s inner rear leg to achieve greater engagement. You must time this so that it is done just as the horse’s inner hind leg is getting ready to take off. If you’re alert, you will be able to feel the precise moment, your inner seat bone either feels higher or feels like it is getting pushed forward.

4. All lateral exercises with a bend (haunches-in, shoulder-in, pirouettes and half-passes) engage the horse’s hind legs. When you bend the pony and give inner calf aid, he must increase the scale of bending of all the joints in his hind leg.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers http://horsehorses.net/