What lead are you on?

One of the hardest things to learn when you are new to loping/cantering is how to know which lead you are on. It can be tricky to feel, and frustrating!

Here are a few methods that you can use to determine which lead you are on if you are unsure:

• If you are riding outside, check your horse’s shadow while you are loping!
  This is a good trick, but you have to already have an understanding of what the correct lead LOOKS like and the order of the footfalls in order for this to work for you. And you need sun!

• When your horse is in the correct lead, you will feel a slight tilt to your body - it will feel like your inside leg/hip is slightly

ahead of your outside leg/hip.
The way the horse moves at the lope causes this slightly tilted feeling. You can use this as a tool to determine which lead you are on.

• Try to do an inside turn and see how it feels.
  If your horse is in the correct lead, the turn will probably feel smooth and effortless. If he is in the incorrect lead, the turn will probably feel uncomfortable, awkward, and almost like the horse’s outside front leg is “paddling” around. It literally feels like you are riding a bad washing machine, making it pretty obvious which lead you are on.

• Have someone knowledgeable watch you and confirm which lead you are currently in.
  In the beginning this is the most helpful way to learn your leads. I always recommend guessing which lead you are on in your head first, and then ask someone afterward. This will either confirm your feel or show you where your feel was off, allowing you to figure out what each lead feels like. Asking someone without trying to figure it out yourself is not going to help build your own ability to identify your leads in the long run.

Overtime, you will be able to confidently identify your leads. Just like everything, it takes time - and A LOT of loping!