Horse Leads?

[~Wishful Thinking~]

Ok Im confused. What does "on the correct lead" mean?

[Amara]

Like canter leads?
Its when the horse move its legs to that its more comfortable for the horse and rider also it make the horse canter for longer

[~Wishful Thinking~]

uuuuummmmmmmm... ok? but i mean- how do u tell if the horse is on the correct lead or not?

[Queso]

Simply put, you want the inside front leg to lead the stride and the inside hind and the outside front move togther. Usually you can feel it, but if you can't, simply look down and see which shoulder is in front. You want the inside shoulder to be further forward.

Find a video of tempi changes, the horse is changing leads every other stride so it looks like skipping. The leg it flings out in front of it is what lead it's changing to (ex: left leg goes forward, changing to the left lead)

Does that help?

[SisKate]

When your horse is on the right lead, the inside front leg (the leg away from the wall) is the first leg extended out in the stride.

Hope this helps!





SisKate

[Kholran]

The canter is a three-beat gait. The "leading" leg is the foreleg that hits the ground last. When riding, you want to be on the outside lead (meaning the foreleg that's farther from the rail is the last to fall) because it balances the horse and rider. Here's some examples:



This horse is on the right lead. The left hind hits the ground first, followed by the right hind and left front together, then the right front. If you're going clockwise in a circle, you want to be on the right lead.



This horse is on the left lead. The right hind hits the ground first, followed by the left hind and right front together, then the left front. If you're going counter-clockwise in a circle, you want to be on the left lead.

[~Wishful Thinking~]

thanks kholran i think the pictures really helped! and thanks to everyone else! i really appreciate it!