Riding your horse without using your legs is like swimming without kicking your feet. You can still keep your head above water, but you’re going to struggle and you aren’t going to get very far.
Your legs are the underpinning of your horse’s performance. Even when they are not actively cueing the horse, they bear the majority of your weight—so their position, good or bad, impacts both your balance and your posture in the saddle.
My favorite exercise for building the perfect leg is called “stand-up-sit-down.” Nothing works better to make your legs both strong and correct.
**For the full article, pick up the November 2007 issue of HORSE ILLUSTRATED.**
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