My lower leg on my left (my crappy side) moves with the horse.
My instructer tells me off about it and that im gripping with my knees to much,
how do l stop it. l have so many things to think of while im cantered.
feet back, knees off, no shoulder movment...
l do on stirrup work.
l tend not to rap my feet around him because he use to hunt and will start getting more forward and annoyed when l pull back as well.
He is a little to much for me (im leasing him) so we r looking to buy, But it is alot harder than it was last year,...

Try thinking about turning ur thigh outwards a bit - this will in turn help stop u from pinching with the knee. Also think about keeping the toe straight & this should help u keep ur calf somewhat still (keeping ur toe straight requires u to sink all ur weight into ur heels & help create a solid contact with the calf muscle to ur horse).

You could also do some no stirrup work - this works incredibly well because u r able to really wrap ur leg around ur horse which will force u to not grip with ur knee (your leg should hang below where u would normally have ur stirrups. The longer leg helps with ur aids & 'connection' with ur horse). It will also work on improving ur leg muscle in order to keep it still while cantering.

Add: ur horse should know the difference of keeping ur leg ''on'' to keep it secure vs. ''squeezing'' as an aid to move forward. If ur horse thinks that as soon as u wrap ur legs around him that it means ''go keep ur inner thigh closed & keep a deep seat with gentle half-halts to get him used to the idea that it does not mean ''go''. You may have to do some training re-adjustments to him if this is the case. l have previously ridden very sensitive horses, but have never come across a horse in which as soon as l wrap my leg around, they think it means ''go''. Work with ur coach/trainer on schooling him to work with ur aids.

l used to have the same problem as u lol. just turn ur knees out & grip with ur lower leg. When my instructor was teaching me about cantering she told me something that helped me alot, When u r cantering u r going around in a circle with ur waist. When u want to shorten ur stride u to upward ovals with ur waist & when u want to lengthen ur stride u have to make sideward ovals with ur waist. You probably already know that but l thought l should tell you

maybe for awhile get do some lunge lessons with ur trainer. take ur reins away. when u put ur reins over ur horses head, open the throat strap/latch & twist ur reins, then close the throat strap. Take away ur stirrups. & ride with no stirrups & reins. ur trainer at the end of ur lunge line. to stay on, u MUST grip with ur calves to stay on, if u grip with ur knees, u r going to come off. he will only speed up if u get tense & send mesages to him that youre nervous or want him to go. Relax, drop ur heels, act like you're holding the reins, & just move with him. If he speds up, lean back alittle & talk to him. once u can do this & u r stable, try it with ur arms out like a bird, then move onto ur hands on ur head, then ur hands on ur hips. When you've mastered that, try it in two point.

If u dont want to do the whole no stirrup/lunge line work, canter in a half seat or two point from now on. This will strengthen ur legs. Make sure u drop all over ur weight into ur legs. When u two point or half seat canter, u must keep ur keeps steady to hold ur upper body up. This really helps & strengthens ur legs, to stop them from swinging.

When ur trainer says that you're pinching it could be because ur toes arent pointed out enough or ur upper body is falling forward. When you're upper body starts falling foward, you're leg, moves forward with ur horse & u pinch with ur knees. My trainers used to tell me to open ur knee so that the could fit a hot dog in between my knee & the saddle. While u do this, make sure ur toes r pointed out like ballerinas do to plie (spelling?). drop ur heels too. It also takes time to build the muscles needed to keep ur legs from swinging. the more work they get, the less they swing. Make sure ur stirrups r the right length, this might cause it too. But for now either do the whole lunge line thing or canter in a two point or half seat until ur legs r strong enough to sit the canter. Remember: relax, keep ur heels down, ur toes out, & ur knees open!!! if ur horse speeds up, half halt him, just give him half halts & talk to him, tell him its ok.

good luck!
i used to swing my leg alot
to, but it was my right =]

l had the same problem, but only in jumping saddles.idk why. Anyway, l just focused on keeping all my weight in my heels and sitting up straight, and it worked. l have naturally loose contact with my knees, so it was easy to drop my weight. l just stood up in the stirrups before l start cantering and that really helps. After a while you wo not need to stand up, l switched to dressage and do not have that problem in dressage saddles.