Lead Changes

QUESTION:  I am having trouble with my horse picking up his leads. Sometimes I get the lead and other times he crossfire’s or does not change at all. What can I do to correct this?

 ANSWER: A few things may be happening that causes your horse to miss his leads. Your horse may not be emotionally ready to change leads, he may not be collected when asked to change leads, or you may be in the wrong position when riding and interfering with the horse changing leads.


  As you are loping your circles, start thinking of your body position. How are you sitting in the saddle, where is your focus, what leg is against your horse, what are your hands doing? These are all crucial when assessing what is going wrong when asking for a lead change. Think of yourself skipping a circle. Now don’t change leads. Stay in a right lead now. Your left leg will be under and behind you with your toe pointing out, and your right leg will be leading out in front. To start the lead this way your left leg needs to push off and your right leg will give you the direction. This is exactly how you will ride in the saddle. It is also how the horse will move off. In a right lead the left hind is the first to move, the right front is the last to move. Most of us were taught to look down and watch for the right front to move and then we would know what lead we were on. You might have also found out that your horse would drop its shoulder and or just miss the lead altogether.

  I like to see a horse that will disengage its hindquarters when working on leads and lead changes. Since the lead starts with the outside hind leg, your horse will need to move off pressure applied to that side of his body. You can achieve this by asking your horse to yield its hindquarters and getting a pivot on the front leg. Once this is done with ease you are ready to move on to drop to a trot lead changes. Start by loping a circle, to the right for demonstration purposes, and bend your horse’s head around to the right while asking for hindquarter disengagement with your right leg. Your leg will be back by the back cinch. Once your horse drops to a trot and yields his hindquarters ask for the lead in the opposite direction. Your leg will still be back by the rear cinch, but your hands will be giving a direction to the left instead of a bend to the right. Continue this until your horse is comfortable and not trying to run off. It may take a few sessions to get this solid. Once your horse is doing the drop to a trot lead changes with confidence, you are ready to try flying leads.

  As you are loping the right lead, your left leg should be laying against your horses’ body. This will help to hold your horse from drifting out of the circle and prepare him of the lead change. When you cross the center of the arena shift your weight from pushing the left side of your horse to pushing the right side of your horse. Your right leg should be now touching your horse to push his hindquarters into the lead. Now guide your hands to help direct your horse into the left direction. Many people want to use their hands first to direct their horses. I use a formula that has worked for a long time to help ease this. Look where you are going, turn your hips that direction, use the outside leg to push your horse into the lead, and then use your hands to guide them into the right direction.

  Keep striving to improve on each lesson. If you get stuck or things get worse, go back to a drop to a trot lead change. Keep working on becoming a better partner to your horse and you will become very good at lead changes.

  See you on the horsemanship trail, Mike