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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
 
Location: Northern Ontario | I am having trouble getting flying lead changes on my mare. She does decent 1 stride simple changes, but our flying changes are sloppy. I know Counter-canter is a good exercise to teach horses to balance at the canter and have them want to change when asked. This worked on western pleasure horses but I don't know if this is something I want to teach a barrel horse since we have less than 20 seconds in an arena during a run and we want to be sure they are on the right lead at every turn. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
  
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I use simple changes and work them into a flying change, if I bother to teach a flying change at all. Counter-arcing at a lope is an exercise I use, and that can be used to help with changes, but I don't ever use the wrong lead on purpose. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| counter canter is really good for toning muscles in the hind end and hocks. It also improves collection and balance. Its not the same as just a horse loping in the wrong lead where they are not engaged, strung out, and traveling unevenly. I do it with all of mine and it definitely helps and makes one listen to the outside cues and helps with lead changes. It's work though, not only for them but for me too! |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 417
Location: CA | FlyingJT - 2015-03-18 7:42 AM
counter canter is really good for toning muscles in the hind end and hocks. It also improves collection and balance. Its not the same as just a horse loping in the wrong lead where they are not engaged, strung out, and traveling unevenly. I do it with all of mine and it definitely helps and makes one listen to the outside cues and helps with lead changes. It's work though, not only for them but for me too!
^^^This^^^
And to add, it's only the wrong lead if it's not the one you asked for!!! It's also a fabulous tool for warming up your horse when everyone in the warm up pen keeps going the same way over and over again and you need to warm up both sides of your horse!!!!! |
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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Grunt - 2015-03-18 10:16 AM
FlyingJT - 2015-03-18 7:42 AM
counter canter is really good for toning muscles in the hind end and hocks. It also improves collection and balance. Its not the same as just a horse loping in the wrong lead where they are not engaged, strung out, and traveling unevenly. I do it with all of mine and it definitely helps and makes one listen to the outside cues and helps with lead changes. It's work though, not only for them but for me too!
^^^This^^^
And to add, it's only the wrong lead if it's not the one you asked for!!! It's also a fabulous tool for warming up your horse when everyone in the warm up pen keeps going the same way over and over again and you need to warm up both sides of your horse!!!!!
Exactly. In regards to the barrel pattern specifically, if a horse is taught to change at the same place every time, then they'll change instead of just running on the wrong lead. If you think about it, we teach our horses to rate at the same spot in the pattern and that's where they rate. Leads are no different. It's when you don't give them a clear spot to change that you have trouble because they'll change too late or not at all. |
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| Is this horse finished or learning the pattern? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
Location: Northern Ontario | She hasn't even seen the real pattern yet... we are working on impulsion on small circles, collection, bending, flexion ect... I want everything in place before we learn the pattern so that its fun and easy and mistakes will be easy to correct. I would say we are 90% ready.... I want to get our lead changes smooth and seamless first and I also want to increase her strenght and balance at the lope |
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