Determining what lead your on
There are many, many people who have trouble feeling what lead their horse is on. Leaning forward and looking down may help you to see what lead you are on, but that technique puts you out of balance with your horse and is potentially dangerous, not to mention unsightly. Feeling your lead is the safest, most desirable and most attractive way to know what lead you're on. If you have access to a round ring of 60 feet in diameter or so, ask a knowledgeable friend to help you learn to determine what lead you're on. Riding on the rail with your friend in the center of the ring, ask the horse to lope on the left lead, and let your friend tell you if you have it. When you are successfully on the left lead, focus on what you are feeling. Don't look down, instead close your eyes and concentrate on the movement under you.

Visualize what your horse's legs do when he is on the left lead, for example. The left front and left hind legs extend farther forward than the right. It follows, then, that the left shoulder and hip also move farther forward than the right. Thus, there is a different feel to the left side's energy than the right. Now focus on what your body does in response to the horse's movement. You will probably feel that your left leg and body are reacting to what your horse's left side is doing. When you think that you are tuning into the left lead, stop, reverse direction and do the same thing on the right lead. Once you have mastered what the leads feel like, ask your horse to lope and then tell your friend what lead you have taken. When you are consistently correct, go to a larger arena and continue practicing. It will take time and concentration, but you will get it.


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