"Connecting and Coordinating the Natural Aids" by Julie Goodnight

The natural aids are the best tools the rider has to communicate with the horse. Traditionally, there are four natural aids, the seat (weight), the legs, the hands and the voice of the rider. I prefer to teach seven natural aids, which in addition to the traditional four aids includes the rider's eyes, the rider's breathing and the rider's brain. When all of these aids are used together, it gives a clear and consistent communication to the horse of what you want him to do and sets your body up to naturally give the correct cue.All of the natural aids should be used in unison and should always originate, or be connected to, the use of the seat. No one aid gives a cue to the horse (you do not stop by pulling on the reins or go by kicking), but all the aids working together will guide the horse toward the appropriate response.

For instance, asking the horse to stop or slow down is not simply a matter of pulling back on the reins. To ask the horse to stop using all of the aids in a connected fashion, first the rider must drop her weight onto the horse's back by opening and relaxing the pelvis and plugging her seatbones into the saddle. As the seat of the rider drops down on the horse's back, a connection is made between the rider's elbows and hip, thus the shift of the rider's weight and opening of the rider's pelvis will cause an increase on the pressure of the horse's mouth through the rider's arms, hands and reins. In other words, the pressure the horse feels on his mouth is connected to the increased weight on his back and the pull comes from the rider's entire body, not just from the hands.

You can see how this feels by sitting in a chair pulled up to a table. With both feet flat on the floor and sitting up straight, put both hands on the edge of the table. As you exhale and rotate the seatbones forward (opening the pelvis and plugging the seatbones into the chair), pull on the edge of the table so that your seatbones get even heavier on the chair. This is how you cue the horse for a stop or to slow down by using your weight aid first. You should feel a connection from your arms to your seat bones, as they press into the chair. If your seat bones lighten and your upper body moves forward when you pull back on the reins, your aids are not connected. Practice this exercise until you feel the connection between your seat and hands, and then try to feel the connection on a horse.

To use all of the aids in a connected fashion to ask the horse to turn, the rider must first look in the direction of the turn and use her eyes and body to initiate the turn. As the rider's head turns slightly in the direction of the turn, the body will follow, swiveling slightly in the saddle and shifting the rider's weight to her outside seat bone. Again, the legs and hands will follow the movement of the rider's seat and not act independently. The outside leg will sink down and close on the horse's side, shutting the door to the outside. Conversely, the rider's inside leg will lift up slightly as the inside seatbone lightens, opening the door to the inside and keeping the horse's inside shoulder elevated in an arcing turn. As the seat swivels slightly on the horse's back, the elbows, arms and shoulders of the rider will follow (make sure your upper arms are in contact woith your ribcage), giving a release with the outside rein and increased pressure to the inside rein, thus supporting the horse's head, neck and shoulders in the turn.

Using your whole body to communicate with the horse and having all of the aids give the same signal to the horse, is a very effective way to communicate with the horse and results in invisible cues and seamless transitions.

If you are interested in this topic, you might like to purchase this Goodnight educational product: "Principles of Riding Part 2"