gripping knees too hard in saddle flap

Question
hello. while trotting if i grip my knees too hard in the saddle flap, does it make the horse move faster or the horse would stop?

Answer
Rohit,

First off, you should be gripping with your whole leg not just your knees.  Not as hard on the lower leg and depending upon how the horse is trained you have to adjust the pressure of your grip.  You can't ride one of my horses with a lot of leg.  She needs a light touch, or she will either move faster or move away from the leg pressure if only one leg.  Some horses, reining horses for one, are trained to a "spur stop" where you clap spurs into the horse's side to make it stop.  Makes no sense to me but that's not my discipline.  Generally horses move quicker in response to pressure from the leg that's more than they are trained and accustomed to.