When it comes time to teach your horse a flying lead change, do you have the mechanics and fundamentals in place to ensure your horse is set up to execute a flying lead change? Or are you just kicking him forward into a lope and hoping for the best? Read on to see the drill I use to prep my horses at the walk and trot before ever asking them to change leads.

Before kicking your horse into a lope and asking for a change of lead, you need to take time to have the fundamentals in place to be able to isolate the body parts of your horse individually and together to properly execute a flying lead change. If you don’t, your horse is more likely to run off when you cue him to change leads or get really pushy in your hand and leg and ignore your cues all together.

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This is why I break down each part of the lead change when I’m at the walk to check in with my horse and make sure his body position is where it needs to be to successfully change leads. Once I can do this drill at a walk, I’m going to bump my horse up to a trot and test his body control there. It’s only after I have the body control I need at a walk and trot that I will attempt a flying lead change.

One

I start at a walk and ask my horse to go in a straight line. Even though I’m walking, I’m going to pretend that I’m loping my horse on the right lead. I use my left hand to stand his shoulder up and apply pressure with my right leg to begin to ask him to move his body over. This is the time to check in with your horse and make sure that you’re able to isolate the body parts individually and that he’s not leaning on your leg or ignoring your hand cues.

Two

I exaggerate moving my horse off my leg while keeping his left shoulder stood up. However, I don’t want to lose forward motion in the process, as that’s one of the biggest issues riders run into when teaching a horse to do a flying lead change. If you lose the forward motion and get too much lateral movement, your horse is going to be more likely to stall out, or jump into the next lead change, or change in the front but not in the back.

Three

The next part is the change of leads. I halt my horse but continue to keep my left hand up to support his shoulder and keep him from leaning to the left. I then apply pressure with my right leg to initiate the “lead change.”

Four

I do a forehand turn, pushing my horse’s hip around to the left, using my right leg. During all of this I’m always making sure to keep my horse’s shoulder stood up. If I’m unable to isolate the shoulder while pushing his hip around he’s going to be more likely to dump that shoulder in the lead change.

Five

The last step in this drill is asking my horse to move into a left lead lope. My hand continues to stand the shoulder up, and I’m asking my horse to drive forward, as I don’t want to lose my forward motion after my “change of leads.”

Once I can do this both directions at a walk, I’m going to push my horse into a trot and run through the same drill. When I have control of my horse’s hip and shoulder individually at the walk and trot, I’ll then attempt this drill at the lope. After I can do this drill at all three gaits, I’ll then ask my horse for a flying lead change to see if I still have the same body control.