Wrong leg strike off

[TaniaMarsden]

Hi,
Have 5 yr old pony who has not done much in the way of schooling. When out hacking tends to favour left lead leg in canter but will occasionally lead with right leg however in the school when working on right rein never leads with right leg or if he does will then immediately change to left leg. Just tried lunging him and will right leg lead correctly without rider but with rider again problems and strikes off on left leg - any help/ideas as to why? Thanks!

 

[Cortez]

It's probably because he's young and has problems balancing under the rider. You will just have to persevere and keep working him correctly until he strengthens up and gets his balance. Lunging is actually very good for this as he can use the correct muscles without the rider adding to the balance problem. You could also try walk - canter transitions on the right rein, and making sure your aids are very precise and that you are sitting on the right seat bone.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Sounds likes she is young and unbalanced and has a favourite leg she is happy with a bit like us crossing our legs lol.

I I would work on getting her supple on both reins remember she is only 5 and her bones have not knitted yet till 6 and you must take care till then,too much now can cause problems later.

you can worry about this later, maybe then with an instructress you can then practice out hacking asking her for different legs each time you canter

As cortez said lunging helps but not to much untill her bones have knitted also make sure she is booted up when lunging because if she has shoes on being unbalanced she could give herself a splint or something. Although you should always boot up when lunging.

 

[JulesRules]

I would try working on getting him to lead with different legs each time you canter when out hacking.

Also lots of walk trot transitions in the school to help build muscle and balance. I would probably spend 6 months in the school just working on walk and trot and not worry about canter just yet.

 

[missy99]

hi, mine had/has exactly the same problem.
shes 6 years old and had barely done any schooling, and on the right rein i naturally lean to the outside without realising it, she never used to even canter on that rein but shes got a lot better, my instructor (a professional judge as well, shes brilliant) told me to put a pole on the ground in any corner where you would ride over it just as you would ride a corner, as you go over the pole ask for canter, it should act in the same way as landing on the correct leg when jumping. it wont work every time, but it has improved my horse so much, also make sure you're overly facing your body towards the inside like you're looking at someone standing in the middle of the school, and ask for the canter more firmly with your inside leg.
once your horse has got the canter correct pretty much constantly, you can start taking away the pole, and if they start starting on the wrong leg again just keep them going and change the rein... my horse learnt that if she started on the wrong leg she would go back to trot... you dont want that!
i hope ive helped and havent been talking gibberish, its really hard to explain the pole thing without showing it
good luck!