Tip for Leg yield in trot.....

NW1

NW1

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 October 2009
Messages
232
Visit site
We have mastered it in walk & he is easy to move (considering his size) but in trot he just doesnt quite understand!

he picked it up in walk in 2 sessions & is very expressive - which is perfect, but i cant seem to get him to shift in the trot.

I have tried the nice approach of going down the 1/4 line, shifting my weight and guiding him and also on a circle and trying to push him out but he just doesn't seem to understand.

I get a few strides here and there but am i expecting it to come together too quickly as he picked it up so quickly in walk & im expecting the same in trot but he has to learn to move his legs in different ways......

Or does anyone have any exercises that may help us to get the consistancy in the trot??

Thanks :)
 
Have you tried spurs? Or even a whip behind the leg? I know it sounds like the easy way out, but sometimes that little extra leg seems to suddenly make them realise they do need to shift sideways a bit :)

If not, stick with the few strides. WHen he gets it right give him LOTS of praise and love and everything so he knows he did it right..then have a break..try again in 5 minutes or whatever. Don't push him for too much or he might start giving you other things because he's trying to get the right response. Am I making sense? Hmm...what I mean is if he gets it right then you keep asking, he might think he's done it wrong so he offers something else.
 
Before you reach for the spurs... Can you tell when each leg is leaving the ground as you trot along? If not, get that sorted, have a friend help you and call the legs until you absolutely know when each leg is leaving the ground. (Normally people find this easiest if they relate it to the roll of the belly against their leg, but different things work for different people). Once you have that sorted then as you ride you can mentally picture when the leg you want to yield is leaving the ground and get your cues in time with that. That will make life easier for your horse because you will be "pushing" him over at a time when it's physically possible for him to do what you ask.
The fact that you've got this nicely in walk but not in trot suggests to me that you are more instinctively in tune with his feet in walk and the timing of your cues is therefore better. Try it yourself, get down on all fours and try to yield your leg when it is hitting the ground rather than leaving it.
 
Agree with tinypony, no spurs yet! You want him to be off small aids, not spurs. If he doesn't get it then you're asking wrong, and spurs will only make you ask wrong more loudly.

If you practice it becomes really easy and instinctive to know when that back leg is just leaving the ground and that's the moment you ask.

If you are doing this and he stil isn't getting it, then someone on the ground to help him move over as you put the leg aid on (got to be well timed) might help him to associate the two. And even if he gives one stride, it's big pats all round :D
 
thanks guys :)

I appreciate the extra aids advices - however he can turn into a bit of a stress head when he doesn't quite understand something he is quite liable to tense up stressing and can run off out of rhythm & it takes a while to calm him down, so i think backing up my leg aids with a whip may exacerbate the situation - keeping him calm and all that! & he is nice & light off the leg when he does understand what to do so i was trying to refrain from spurs....

I am pretty in check with his striding - fortunatley he has a nice bouncy trot so makes it quite easy to gauge! I think this is something definately to work with - at what point would you suggest asking for the movement ie on the circle or down a 1/4 line or if any other point in the menage or other movement to help?

Thanks guy advices is great so far :)
 
Personally I normally start this while working on a circle, but don't take too much notice of me, I'm a bit of an nh horse hippy bunny hugger person, so see what the experts say.
e030.gif

Oh, and maybe get a friend to check that you are in time with the feet, just in case you're a bit "off". You never know...
 
If he finds it hard, then sort of make it easier for him to understand and do.....

so....... if he does it in walk, do it a couple of times, then pick up trot.
Rather than then going down the 1/4 line and expecting him to cover the ground in trot, lessen the distance, so start by going down the inside track and moving him back to the track leg yielding, if correct, praise, come round, slightly further in than the inside track, and ensure your aids are clear (I find putting my leg slightly back, and taking the outside leg TOTALLY off helps for them to have the space to move into.)

and build up the distance, gradually! trotting requires a bit more co-ordination in a shorter period of time when they are having to cross their legs :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top