I don't know my leading legs! What have I been doing all these years?!

[Arabesque]

How can it be that after 3-4 years of riding and cantering for so many of them I am not certain that I would know if I was on the wrong leg?

I have been lucky enough to ride some very nice horses in lessons and have rarely got the wrong leg over the years. One horse I remember having problems with, he was a buzzy little soul, he hit off on the wrong leg quite regularly, but before I knew what was happening the instructor would say 'TROT, Wrong leg!' so I would. I never really noticed what was going on.

It's getting me a bit down- I don't think I have ever seen that I was on the right leg before the instructor told me to stop, I've barely got out of the corner before they called me back. How can you tell if you have the right lead?!

[Mehitabel]

ask your instructor for a lesson on it - not to tell you immediately, but to ask you and let you figure it out. it is much easier to see from the ground than on top, so it's not surprising that the professional who isused to seeing it gets it before you can.

do you know what you ought to be looking at?

[Libbyo]

Now i feel better. i cant really tell. I can see when I lunge though. Am always being reminded. i forget to look!

Libbyo :)

[Arabesque]

One instructor told me to look at the shoulders- if he was on the right leg his inside shoulder as I see them would be moving further forward than the outside.

I can see- but probably not explain- when a horse in on the right leg- I saw someone canter a horse on the wrong leg when he threw in a flying change at a college assessment and stayed wrong all the way around the arena.

I have three lessons tomorrow, maybe in one of those I can work on it- I have mentioned I would like to work on my canter.

Thank you!

[Pegasus]

Try riding down the centre line and asking for canter on a certain lead and then if the horse is on the right lead turn right when you get to the track, left lead turn left. This really gets you thinking and will hopefully help you to feel which leg the horse is on. It might be a bit more difficult if the horse favours one canter lead. Some get a bit confused when you ask for canter on the centre line if their used to being asked in the corner of the school. Or when i land after a jump my instructor tells me to feel which lead the horse has landed on and turn that way. If i get it wrong i can normally tell on the turn. hope this helps :)

[Shalu]

When you have asked for canter, then look down... if you are on the right rein asking for right lead then if you look down you should be able to se the right lead leading the way so to speak.

Then still on the right rein take your horse down into a trot or walk and ask for counter canter... then you can se the difference :) It is actually fairly easy once you get the hang of it :cool:

I have some photos here.. where you can se that the right front leg leads in right lead canter...

http://www.heste-nettet.dk/lodge/billede/273139/full/
and
http://www.heste-nettet.dk/lodge/billede/273137/full/

God luck :p

[Arabesque]

Thankyou all, I hope I get to work on this this week!

[mazda]

Good luck. I used to be able to do it through feeling. If the horse isn't balance properly especialy going round corners. But now I can't tell and have to peek at the shoulders! And even then I get muddled :o

maz
xxx

[Luxie]

Someone told me years ago, and it seems to work, that if when cantering you glance down at your own legs, your knee will be slightly further forward on the 'leading leg' side. Hope this helps!

[Pink's lady]

Don't be too disheartned about how quickly the instructor picks up on you being on the wrong leg. I can tell if they're on the wrong leg as they stike off, long before they have completed the first stride.......when watching from the ground ;) Takes me about 2 full strides to tell on most horses (althouh I can feel it as they strike off on a horse I know). So you'll instructor will be seeing it long before I would expect most people to feel it on board.

like Mehitabel said, ask you're instructor to give you a little extra time to make you're own desion. she'll probably be used to teaching people who can't tell and will happily canter round and round on the wrong leg, so it becomes habit. It's not something that can be taught in theory - only practise will improve how quickly you pick it up. To begin with you need to look down to the front leg to see the leading leg. But with a bit of practise you'll soon be able to feel the correct lead

[Shalu]

the feel depends very much on the educational level of thr horse.

My horse f.ex is very stable in counter canter and when we are oin straigth or even on a slight bend it is difficult to feel the difference...

[de_Stille_een]

My old trainer used to set up a grid of small fences straight down the middle of the arena-- horses are likely to switch leads over fences-- and would ask me to canter through it, then turn to whichever leg he came off on. Then she would ask me to go to the left, deliberately asking him for the left lead both before the fence, and afterwards, if necessary. This was an excellent exercise for both me and the horse, as he had to learn to pay close attention to me, and I, him.

I can feel it and can't see it on some horses, and I can see it but not feel it on others. Really, it depends on the horse. Ones with shorter, up-and-down strides will be easier to feel than see, and ones with a long, flat stride will be harder to feel.

How to feel: If the horse is on the correct lead, you'll most likely feel your inside hip drift further forward and move more. If you've spent a lot of time on your horse in both the right and wrong leads, you'll be able to feel it instantly-- he'll feel "off," like he's lame or something. Especially so through the corners. This is mainly because you're used to the smoothness or rhythm of his normal, correct canter, but he'll be off balance in the off lead, making him a rough-er ride, less balanced, and harder to bend in turns.

How to see: Glance down (without dropping your whole head to look!) at your horse's shoulders. If he's tracking left, (counter-clockwise), it should appear that his left shoulder should be moving further ahead than his right. If you're tracking right, his right shoulder should appear ahead of the left. For some horses, it's easier to see than on others--Some will be more exaggerated, others won't-- it really just depends on the horse's individual gaits.