How can I get my horse to pick up the correct lead?

Question

I have started jumping low jumps with the horse I'm riding, and there is a big problem. Most of the time he lands and starts cantering on the wrong lead. I have to stop him and get him to start cantering again. This is a problem because I am going to start showing, and I might lease him.
Thanks!

He is not a young horse, he is 15. My riding instructor told me that he does not do flying lead changes.

Answer 1

There are two techniques to try while not jumping.
When doing some circles, get him really collected, tip his hindquarters to the inside of the circle then ask for the canter.
If that doesn't work; ride around the arena, come toward the rail at a 45 degree angle, when you get to the rail, turn him the opposite direction and really push him forward. Also practice a lot of rollbacks.
Being 15 you can't really change anything he has been trained to do. If you would like to try, a trick to try teaching him is the following. Teach him to pick up a curtain lead with a curtain cue. For the left lead, squeeze with the inside leg and bump with the outside. For the right lead, squeeze with both legs. Good luck.

Answer 2

If you are truly interested in jumping and showing I would not lease a horse that has problems flying his leads. Is the horse only having problems with lead changes while jumping or can he do lead changes under different circumstances?

Answer 3

Getting horses to pick up leads is a building block. Your horse being 15 it will make it harder to teach him but he should still be teachable. I would suggest using spurs for this, as long as you know how to use them. Start by working him with two-tracking. To do this tighten up on your inside rein and push with your inside leg pushing his shoulder in a diagonal till his feet do a crossover then straighten him out. Do this untill you can do it at a trot. This will teach him to lead off with his shouder. Then you can start doing it at canter. When you move your horse out of a trot into a canter do the same thing. If you want him to start in hi right lead, tighten your left rein and push out with your left leg just behind the girth.. He should start out on his right lead. School him with this till you have no problems getting him to go in whatever lead you want him to go into. Then when you start him in one lead and you want him to change slow him down almost to a trot and cue him for the other lead if he doesn't change bring him to a trot and push him into the correct lead. If yo do this long enough he should eventually do them without having to slow him right down.
Sadly some horses never learn to do flying lead changes on cue. If you plan to show and you can't fix this one I would suggest finding another horse.

Answer 4

when u canter do a circle and also put a ground pull
down. right when u go over it put him into a canter from
a trot, lift with the inside hand and squeez with outside
leg.
Good luck!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

When you urge him into the canter, slighty tighten your inside rein, pull back a bit and nudge him with your outside leg. Just remeber, inside hand, outside leg!

Answer 6

You have a couple options. If this is your personal horse that you are going to ride on a daily basis, than I highly recommend you teach him his changes (more on that below). If this is a horse you ride only once or twice a week, we're going to have to get you hitting the right lead after each jump every time.

To encourage your horse to take the correct lead after a jump, it's very important to get the right distance to the fence. When you take a jump long, a horse has to reach for it. Ninety percent of the time when this happens, they have to swap leads to stay balance. If you have a problem with leaving long, put a pole before your jump that's one canter stride out. This will force you to get the right distance. You can also practice trotting into jumps. When you can get the right distance consistently, you need to focus on balancing your horse and setting him up for the correct lead. If you're coming across a jump on the diagonal, look in the direction you will be turning. This will shift your weight in that direction just slightly enough to encourage the horse to swap out. If your horse is particularly stubborn about this, you made need to take a slightly firmer hand with your inside rein than with your outside. This should NOT be drastic, just a gentle reminder of which way the horse should be turning.

But really, the best way to work on leads is NOT when you're jumping. You need to school more on the flat to get your horse balanced and bent. Pick up a thirty meter circle and get your sitting trot. Your going to work on keeping your horse balanced throughout the circle. Your inside leg should be at the girth, supporting him as he turns. Your outside leg should be slightly behind the girth, encouraging bend. Your hands need to be soft and supple. You're going to keep a firm contact, but don't pull. The most you might do is wiggle your fingers to encourage your horse to drop your head, but it's most important that you keep your lower leg on and drive your horse forward into the bit. You should get a collected, balanced frame and a very subtle bend. The most you should see is the outline of your horse's eye. If you see the whole eye, the horse is overbent. When you have a balanced, collected trot, you can try for the canter. This will be harder for your horse most likely, as it takes a lot of muscle to hold that frame in the canter. You're going to want to get into your halfseat and support your horse with your inside leg once more. Drive him forward and keep him bent and balanced.

You're going to work on these circles for at least a few weeks. It may take upwards of a month to get him balanced and collected ninety-nine percent of the time, but that's what you need to do. Then, when you can do this exercise both directions at walk, trot, and canter, your going to ask him to swap out. All your going to do is pick up the trot on the circle. Then turn it into a figure 8. The change in bend should be subtle, but it should be there. Make sure everything stays balanced and supple. Then ask for the canter. Again, balance and collection is key. Canter the circle a few times, then come across and ask for a change of bend. Support your horse with your new inside leg and slide your new outside leg back and squeeze. Hold firm with the outside rein to prevent him from picking up more pace. If he's balanced and truly and properly bent, he WILL swap out. This is how we teach our babies and off track thoroughbreds. It produces balanced, unhurried lead changes. This will help you stay collected and in control. You can apply these same principles to a course of fences, and you'll know you can ask for a lead change if you ever do get into trouble out there.

I highly recommend more flat work in this situation, as anything you have trouble with on the flat is made a hundred times more difficult over fences. So work on your canter and work on your leads. Then try jumping a single fence on a circle. Concentrate on getting and keeping that simple bend on the circle. Your horse should naturally keep his lead as you do this exercise. When you're more comfortable, begin figure 8s over a single fence. This will force you to swap leads out over the fence.

Answer 7

WHAT EVER LEAD YOU WANT HIM IN TAKE YOUR SPUR AND ROLL IT UP THAT SADE IT WORKS FOR ME ALSO JUST TO GET HIM TRAINED TO GO INTO THE CORRECT LEAD TRY DOING A CIRCLE TO THE DIRECTION YOU WANT HIM TO PICK UP JIS LEAD ON . I HOPE THIS HELPS.

Answer 8

Trust me I have 5 horses from training them i can tell you to keep workin' at it!