leg yield

[fionahogg]

heather, is leg yield a beneficial exercise for suppling a horse? i have heard two different arguments, both for and against:
for, leg yield incourages the horse to move away from the leg and at the same time suppling and strengthening the hindquarters.
against: leg yield is not beneficial as it has no suppling effect due to the lack of lateral bend.
i'm confused as i was always taught that leg yield is a good exercise!! please help!!
also, is it best to leg yield the horse parallel to the track or with the head to the wall (presuming it is a worthwhile exercise!!)
thanks, fiona.

 

[Heather]

Hi Fiona,

You are right, there are two schools of thought. My old trainer, Desi Lorent was dead nuts against it, but didn't seem to realise that most of the lateral exercises that he performed to move the horse around sideways, as a precursor to doing the more advanced exercises, were, in fact leg-yield! I wouldn't have dared tell him that his 'counter shouder-in' was none other than the dreaded leg yield, especially when performed on four tracks, not three!


I am in favour of leg yield as the simplest way to teach a horse to move away from the leg, in fact, I would not even consider riding a young horse on the road who could not perform leg yield.

I would not use it for long with most horses, as the shoulder-in etc supercedes it quickly, but I would continue doing leg yield out of a small circle for instance as a suppling exercise.

It is a suppl;ing exercise, just not one that increases engagement and therefore collection, but yes, as a suppling exercise, it has very definite value.

Hope this helps!


Heather

 

[fionahogg]

heather,
my horse will leg yeild in walk well, really crossing over whilst still maintaining the correct degree of bend. he will do shoulder fore in trot (just been taught it recently) and also travers in trot (i had to teach him that as he developed the habit of swinging his quarters out). but he won't leg yield in trot!! i'm not sure why....it's most probably me, stiffening up or not asking him correctly, or something, as he's supple and perfectly capable of carrying out the exercise. when i ask for leg yield in trot i usually turn down the three-quarter line and ask for leg yield back to the track. what my horse does is stiffen up, hollow, and refuse to move sideways. the aids i use are the outside ones - lots of inside leg into outside hand, inside hand maintaining bend, outside leg controlling the quarters....are these the correct aids?(they seem to work in walk!!) please help!! also he will leg yield in trot with his head to the 'wall', but not parallel to the track. what am i doing wrong?!
thanks, fiona