How does the jockey get the horse to change leads?

Question

I read somewhere that the horse has to change leads during the race to avoid putting too much pressure on one leg.

How does the jockey do it? They can't exactly use their legs.

Answer 1

In all honesty most horses will change their lead of their own accord if they feel unbalanced.  If you watch a video of a maiden or novice race you will often see the youngsters chaging legs frequnetly in the home straight - this is a sign of greenness and enexperience.

However, as stated above, jockeys will encourage a horse to change legs by altering their weight distribution over the horse's back.

Answer 2

yes the horse does have to change leads during a race, especially for American racing where all tracks are left handed( counter-clockwise). young horses are taught this by their exercise rider when they first start training.

when a jockey is going into a turn or coming out of a turn he will ask his horse to change leads. as a jockey cant use his leg length like an exercise rider would he will use the reins and slightly shift his body weight depending on if he wants the horse on his right or left lead.

Answer 3

the jockey will lean over to the left on the turn and to the right as

they run down the stretch

Answer 4

The jockey signals the horse with his reins and by slightly shifting his weight.  You can see a photo of a horse switching leads at http://www.finalturngallery.com/g2/v/b4t...

Answer 5

Great Mom is right. Also, sometimes horses will change leads on their own. Sometimes coming down the stretch you will see a horse getting tired and he will change leads and seem to get a little extra burst of energy. A horse gets fatigued eventually leading with a given leg and sometimes just changing leads can give them a little extra in the stretch. Street Sense did just this in the Travers Stakes just last week.