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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
 
Location: Northern Ontario | So I am just starting to pattern my mare. I do a simple change (canter-trot-canter) between 1 and 2 right now. How do you train them to switch leads? Do you teach them flying changes first or run them and let them figure it out. I have a feeling she wont figure out that she needs to switch and will just counter canter.... any advice? |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12837
  
| You're doing it right. If you add speed and they are on the wrong lead, break down to a trot and correct. Good job. |
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Veteran
Posts: 171
| When you ad speed they will figure where their feet should be.... My gelding switches leads in the pocket, therefore making it a big move a 2nd.
Each horse has their own style. |
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I'm Over It!!
Posts: 2830
| Go around the 1st barrel on the correct lead. At the departure point STOP ask for the new correct lead and then continue on to the 2nd. EVERY time. |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12837
| This is my trainer on my horse. I pay her big bucks to get it right. I just thought about this video. It was a sale video for that mare. Trainer said get rid of her. I think this is what you are doing anyway. Hope this helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JubG-PdDtlU |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | When I start asking them to lope the pattern, I don't worry about the lead change. They generally won't try to turn a barrel on the wrong lead more than once because its uncomfortable. My big sorrel, Streak, has a lot of trouble with his right lead, but he's figured out that when we head in the arena, he better get on that lead because he has to turn right. I loped him up to the barrel and let him try to turn it on the left a couple times and BAM he decided to change on his own. He started out changing right before the barrel and now he's starting the run on the right lead. It's amazing how well they retain information when you prod them into figuring it out on their own.
I do start out breaking them down to a trot between barrels and switching leads that way, but I don't want to worry about leads during a full speed run so I get through that stage as quickly as I can. |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | When i'm first starting to pattern a horse at a trot, as I am completing my turn on the first, I actually will have them overwork the first and take a full step (full body, not just head and shoulder) toward my third barrel. Picture picking up your outside rein leaving the first and using your outside leg to push their entire body over one step. I find that this encourages a horse to change leads there instead of waiting until right before the second barrel. I prefer to not have that lead change right before the second barrel if possible simply because I feel a horse tends to dump on the front end if they are changing just before the turn. That being said, I still have some that wait until that point, but I find this over finish at the first tends to encourage the lead change leaving the first barrel. Here is a video of my current colt when I first started loping him thorugh last summer and you can see him change right after the first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzcW4Eyq9GU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MVuGpsQbE
Here are two different mares I had in last summer to start on the barrels for our BB, canchasr1. Both of these mares had about 30 days on the pattern when the video was taken. You can see both switch to their right lead directly after the first as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7taGpMZqbhY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZExPZG5gcc
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