Knowing when my horse is on the wrong leg

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MisterB

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:confused::confused:

I'm having real problems feeling when my horse is on the wrong leg and have to keep looking down at his shoulder. What does it "feel" like when he is on the wrong leg.
I'm trying to work on getting him to strike of on the leg that I ask, but am not having much success - Any ideas??
 
Not quite sure how to explain this one but when you turn a corner the horse will/should feel very unbalanced.. It's hard to explain so I hope this helps a little. Some horses have a very smooth canter which you can't really feel when they're on the wrong leg going in a straight line which is when you have to check. Try cantering when you're in a corner and you should feel if it's wrong as the horse won't feel right.

I hope this helps a bit!
 
Also try to give a clear leg aid to ask for it. I always move my outside leg back when asking for canter. Most horses prefer to be on a particular leg when cantering too, so if you can figure out which leg he normally likes to canter on, work on the opposite rein to correct him when he chooses the 'wrong' leg!
 
essentially you need to feel what leg is doing what.

canter is 3 time, so first "beat" is outside hind, then diagonal inside hind and outside fore, finally the inside fore (which is the shoulder you look for)

describing what these feel like when you sit to them is far too difficult for me to do, but you can feel which phase of the canter you are in after a while.

moment of suspension (easier to feel if the canter has good impulsion) comes just after the inside fore has hit the ground so you can judge it from that.

agree with ponyfeet10 who says they are (usually) unbalanced and (usually) feel wrong when on the wrong leg but this isnt always the case, especially with well schooled horses who are balanced and good at counter canter.
 
MisterB said:
:confused::confused:

I'm having real problems feeling when my horse is on the wrong leg and have to keep looking down at his shoulder. What does it "feel" like when he is on the wrong leg.
I'm trying to work on getting him to strike of on the leg that I ask, but am not having much success - Any ideas??
Click to expand...

Its harder to feel on some horses than others if you have to look down just make sure you keep your head straight ahead but just move your eyes!! correct lead try 10m circle i the corner then as you come into the corner ask for canter. Keep practising
 
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