Hands that are soft
Our hands can't be soft, kind and clear if we are unbalanced and using our horses mouth to balance.
They also can't be soft kind and clear if we are lacking the coordination, preparation and forward thought to move smoothly in to our figures.
The first thing I work on with my students is to be strong, secure and balanced over their lower leg so that they can rise out of the saddle into 2 point seat and seat gently in to the saddle like a squat without grabbing anything. I want to see this in walk, trot and canter.
Second to this, once they are balanced over their lower leg you need mobility of the upper body. We turn with our shoulders not our reins. I also want both horse and rider to be confident working with and without contact with the mouth. This helps build trust in each other and helps the rider understand that the reins don't control the horse.
When backing young horses we are looking to start a language with them. The reins are a word the word is "follow". I will mostly work without contact when I'm backing a horse unless I'm asking for a turn or a halt. We have also had this conversation on the ground in hand, so the horse should be confident in this language on the ground before we move to the saddle