Switching leads question?

Question

whats it mean for a horse to switch leads?

Answer 1

The canter is a three time movement. If you are on the left rein his legs will move in this sequence:- Outside hind, inside hind and outside fore together and the inside fore leading. The opposite happens if you are on the right rein. He will always be bent toward the leading fore leg. Change rein, change bend, change "lead" leg. You can change lead leg by coming back to a trot with four trot strides then change bend, ask to canter and he will change lead leg.

Answer 2

When a horse is moving correctly at the canter, the hind and foreleg on the side of the direction of travel come farther forward than those on the other side. So, if you canter to the right, the right legs reach farther forward than the left legs.

When a horse switches leads, it means that it goes from, say. the right lead to the left.  When a horse changes direction, he should switch leads to travel correctly in the new direction.  Most horses will do this naturally in the pasture, but many have to be cued to do it under saddle.

Answer 3

The canter is a gait with three beats, and a period of suspension, when all four feet are off the ground. Pretend you're going around the ring tracking left, or counterclockwise. Beat one is when the back outside foot, in this case the right, is on the ground and the other three feet are in the air. Beat two is when the left hind and right fore (the inside back and outside front) hit the ground. At this point three feet are on the ground. Beat 3 is when the left front (the inside foot) hits the ground. After beat 3, the other three feet come off the ground and the inside front leg is the only one supporting the body.

When you're cantering around regularly in an area, you want that inside front leg to be the one supporting the horse, mostly for balance. That's called the lead. So if you're going around to the left, or counterclockwise, and the inside left leg is the one finishing on the 3rd beat, it's called cantering on the left lead.

To switch leads, is simply to reverse which feet hit the ground and end with the other foot, in this case the right, finishing out the stride. Normally you would do this if you were cantering and wanted to switch directions with your horse. You could do it with a simple transition, which entails taking two or three trot steps and asking your horse to canter again, this time on the other lead, or a flying change, which can get a bit more complicated.

It takes balance and control for a horse to be able to canter on the opposite lead, meaning cantering on the right lead while tracking left, and it is called counter-cantering.

I hope that helped!

Answer 4

when a horse canters, you'll notice that it's left and right legs move at the same time.. when a horse is traveling to the right, it will push off its back left leg and its right front leg will reach farther than the left..

when a horse is traveling to the left, it will push off its back right leg and its left front leg will reach farther than the right

here's some pictures to help..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/80/269348... this horse is on the right lead

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_BInB8_ZS7BU/Rv-8Ac...  this horse is on the left lead