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 Expert
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Location: Somewhere around here | So I got thinking in another post about what legs we ask for what leads and I was curious on how everyone else asked her horse for a lead. When you ask your horse for a right lead do you use your right leg or do you use the opposite leg? I've ridden horses that go one way or the other and I was just curious and how everyone else does it. And tell us why you train your horses that way or if it's a horse that you didn't train and it came that way. I used to train the horses to pick up the lead of my opposite leg and I only started changing that when I married my husband who did more reining. |
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Duct Tape Bikini Girl
Posts: 2554
| Opposite leg |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | I've always done opposite leg. Hold with my inside, cue with my opposite. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 460
| My horses pick up a lead the same side as the leg I'm cuing. Ex: Right leg to pick up right lead and left leg to pick up left lead. But I put pressure on the outside rein, not a lot, but I have definite contact =] Has always worked for me and my horses =] Interesting topic! |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Opposite/outside leg. As someone who grew up riding HJ and dressage and learned through those methods, I’d be super interested in the theory behind reiners asking with the inside/same leg as the lead, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of that.
It was a rule growing up with one trainer that if you were using your reins you’d better also be adding leg (it solves everything, when in doubt add leg). If you were on the inside rein you added outside leg, if you weren’t circling we were riding inside leg to outside rein. A half halt on both reins came with the addition of both legs. And you always used your legs when you asked for a halt. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 460
| Not sure of the theory behind the reiners...but for my coach, I was taught that you were essentially "lifting" up the shoulder you wanted to be in the lead of. If that makes sense? She had a way better explanation, that's just how I remember it haha. So now when I pick up a lead, I literally use my foot to pretend I'm picking them up, and it has never lead me wrong! Haha that wasn't very punny ;] Yes, I had a few cups of coffee already today =p |
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Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | Katielovestbs - 2017-12-22 2:27 PM
Not sure of the theory behind the reiners...but for my coach, I was taught that you were essentially "lifting" up the shoulder you wanted to be in the lead of. If that makes sense? She had a way better explanation, that's just how I remember it haha. So now when I pick up a lead, I literally use my foot to pretend I'm picking them up, and it has never lead me wrong! Haha that wasn't very punny ;] Yes, I had a few cups of coffee already today =p
Right! That's exactly what my husband told me and described it. I grew up riding more so the "English way" and to be honest I kinda miss it. It made more sense to me. I'll probably go back to that way eventually and tick off my hubby lol. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 623
Location: /ARKANSAS | you always make what you want your horse to do easy and the wrong thing hard. I was taught to hold with the inside leg and to push the rear end over to open the horse up for the correct lead. always help me remember |
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 Saint Stacey
| There really isn’t a right or wrong way. Show people use the outside leg so the judge can’t see the cue when on the rail. They also pretty much train making the horse move away from leg pressure. I personally like the outside leg. The initial step is from behind. I’ll tip the nose to the inside to have the correct arch and then push the hip with the outside leg to pick up the lead. You can feel the lead the horse is about to step off into before they take that first step if you develop enough feel.
I did have a horse that was trained inside leg. You tipped his nose inside and then swung the inside leg to get him to lope off. What it did was force you to stay slightly outside on the departure. It worked, but it was harder to train and use.
Biggest thing is to keep the frame correct and learn to feel that departure step. Then it really doesn’t matter how you ask as long as you are consistent. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | I use inside rein, outside leg. Rein to lift/open the shoulder, leg to push that hip underneath them. |
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Veteran
Posts: 286
| half halt
half halt
half halt
inside nose and inside leg
and then
windshield wiper with the outside leg
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 411
Location: Smack in the middle of WA! | I use inside leg at the girth, outside leg back to move the hip in. Also cue with the inside rein. I want my horse to pick up whichever lead I want on a straight line. I take western dressage lessons on my barrel horses. This seems to carry over well to barrels. I can ask my horses to be on the correct lead heading to the 1st barrel without having to circle. It also helps them learn to switch their lead after the 1st barrel with a quick switch of my feet. I like my horses to switch their lead right after the 1st barrel instead of waiting until they get to the 2nd barrel! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | Inside. It's just more natural and works better with the fundamentals of barrel racing. You use your inside leg when turning a barrel, so this just sets them up for that. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I use my inside hip. I shift my hip forward slightly to cue them to drive with the inside hind which then causes them to pick up the lead.
I do start out on colts having to use the entire leg, (method to exaggerate) but when they are broke, just the hip. |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| I want my horse to move off of pressure, not into it. With that training in mind, I use my outside leg to ask for the lead. There are a lot of little tricks you can do if you have a green horse not wanting to pick up leads, but I've found one of the easiest things is to step your weight into the outside stirrup and pick up the inside rein when asking them lope. When transitioning from a trot to a lope, if you're posting the correct diagonal it's much easier to get the correct lead. Honestly, leads have rarely every been an issue for me, and that is thanks to a western pleasure trainer and stubborn horse that really made me pay attention and cue correctly. I think a lot of it has to do with with feel and timing.
I have a question for those of you that use the inside leg. How do you cue for the horse to do things that require them to move off of leg pressure (pivoting, two-tracking, counter-canter, etc)? I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this!
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 Nothing Comes Easy
Posts: 2353
Location: Texas | When asking for a lead, I bring back my outside leg a little to hold the hip, hold my outside rein, lift with my inside hand, and cue with my inside foot. This will hold the hip in, lift my horse in the front end and drive them back on the outside hind where the lead should begin.
It's how I was explained to by a dressage trainer when I was having lots of trouble with my 4 year old last year. We went from struggling with our lead departures for several months to fixing them in 1 session. It's not everyone's style, but the mechanics were explained to me, and it made sense. My mare kept falling on my front end, losing her frame, and doing flying lead changes prior to doing the above.
Edited by Stride 2017-12-23 2:07 AM
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 Lived to tell about it and will never do it again
Posts: 5408
| I have always used inside foot. I kinda push the inside elbow forward with it. Uncle Ed hated that method, said that it makes the horse think he is suppose to move over. I think it really just depends on each person/horse style. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Jenbabe - 2017-12-22 10:18 PM
I want my horse to move off of pressure, not into it. With that training in mind, I use my outside leg to ask for the lead. There are a lot of little tricks you can do if you have a green horse not wanting to pick up leads, but I've found one of the easiest things is to step your weight into the outside stirrup and pick up the inside rein when asking them lope. When transitioning from a trot to a lope, if you're posting the correct diagonal it's much easier to get the correct lead. Honestly, leads have rarely every been an issue for me, and that is thanks to a western pleasure trainer and stubborn horse that really made me pay attention and cue correctly. I think a lot of it has to do with with feel and timing.
I have a question for those of you that use the inside leg. How do you cue for the horse to do things that require them to move off of leg pressure (pivoting, two-tracking, counter-canter, etc)? I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this!
I use a different place in their rib cage for each movement.
Pivot on the front, I move my leg by the back cinch
Turn on the haunches, leg behind the front cinch
Lift the shoulder leg on the front cinch
Pick up the lead, I use my hip, not my legs. To train this I use hip first, then leg, then reins, just like teaching a horse to stop, you sit down first say whoa then pull on the reins |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | Inside leg forward and out, outside leg back and in. The horse's hip is pushed to inside and horse takes lead with hind end first. The horse must not dive the shoulder in. It needs to stay square and elevated.
It is incorrect to push speed for a lope departure or to dive a tight circle to pick up a lead. A horse needs to be collected and rocked back on the hind end.
Edited by Tdove 2017-12-23 10:25 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 380
| Leads start back to front. Half-halt: Apply outside leg just behind girth to move the haunches and drive from the back end. Then almost immediately after the leg aid you will lift "I gently sponge" your inside rein to aid in lifting the inside shoulder.Do not throw away your outside rein contact. Your inside leg plays a supportive role by maintaining contact, encouraging forward motion and lifting the ribcage and helping the horse from falling on his forehand. Eventually lifting the rein will become less necessary since the horse will learn to recognize the half halt at the leg and have self carriage. Meaning you won't need to help them as much. Always start on a 20 meter circle or bigger. Bending always starts from bigger circles to smaller circles. Not the other way around.
This is easier if your horse knows how knows how to move his huanches, shoulders and ribcage at walk and trot first. And even better if your horse has a natural ability in picking up leads correctly on the ground in the first place.
Shoulder in, haunches in, pivoting on the forehand, leg yields and even halfpass are all nice exercises to practice to support consistent lead departures.
That's how I was trained.
I do know a trainer that uses the inside leg. He reason being that it helps keep the horse from hitting the barrel. But if your horse is bending his ribcage and moving the shoulder then it won't really matter.
Edited by SloRide 2017-12-23 10:39 AM
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