Ride-and-lead for fittening work?

I do hours of this! My horses have all taken to it quite well (at one stage I was riding and leading 4yos and they were very good). Ride the naughtier horse - you've got more control sat on it. I use a bridle on the led horse with no reins and a longish lead rope clipped to the left bit ring then threaded through and also knotted to the right bit ring (providing you are leading the horse on your left side). A chain to connect the two bit rings and a rope (always with a knot in the end) would probably be easier but I never got round to buying one!

I have mounted (presuming there is no-one around to pass you the led horse once you're in the saddle) with the led horse on the offside, then swapped it to the nearside once I'm in the saddle. I find it best at trot and canter to position the head of the led horse just about at your knee then it doesn't develop into a race and you can keep good control of both.

You can ride with the reins of the ridden horse in your right hand and the lead-rope in your left, or the reins in both hands and the lead-rope in both also. Just make sure that if the led horse moves sideways or backwards you don't end up inadvertently gobbing the horse you're riding.

I find it a very efficient way of exercising/fittening two horses at once. If you're doing it most days swap the ridden and led horses around each time as the ridden one inevitably gets more work.
 
I just used reins last year, pull both through the bit ring, less likely to drop than lead rope.
Ride which ever one is more likely to prat about!!
Have to say never rode in gloves last year, gates, 4 reins, whip and gloves dont work very well.
 
Thanks-all for speedy response - am itching to try it now!

Other than going up and down tracks to fields my only real ride and lead experience was riding a 17hand warmblood, leading a shetland pony (he really needed the exercise!) and just about having my shoulder dislocated everytime thelwell shetland decided he'd walked enough and ground to a halt, not to be moved without much persuasion! The though of scaling that up was quite daunting!
 
Just out of curiousity, rather than i'm even considering it, but anybody ever led more than one - or is this just crazy polo peeps?!
 
but leadrope throught the bit ring, or use a coupling. make sure the horses dont snap at each other though, because after a while of being next to each other sometimes they get annoyed :)
 
Just out of curiousity, rather than i'm even considering it, but anybody ever led more than one - or is this just crazy polo peeps?!
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Most days during the season it would be ride one, lead two; TBH, doesn't make much difference, if you can ride and lead one, another one is just as easy.

Another point, if it is for fittening work so they are soft, use a roller and breastplate on the one led, that way the skin gets hardened quicker so less likely to gall. Don't forget the breastplate else you could be hanging on to a bucking bronco if the roller slips back!
 
I use a lunge rope with young/naughty horses - takes longer before they pull me off!

Any ideas how to stop my young 17.3 horse grabbing the lead rope and leading himself? He trots along with the rope in his mouth - which is fine in itself until he decides to change direction and I have no say in the matter!
 
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