# How to tell what lead you are on when cantering?



## SRich (Sep 13, 2011)

I've been taking riding lessons for about half a year. I'm comfortable with w/t/c. When cantering I can't tell if I'm on the wrong lead. I have done research on the internet this past week learning all about the canter. From my understanding, if I'm on the left lead I'm going left. When cueing for a left lead canter I know to put my right foot slightly behind the girth and squeeze with both legs. This will push out the right hind, then the left hind and right fore move forward with the left fore leading. 

Then I went and watched youtube videos. I can tell what lead the horse is on by watching, but I don't know how I will be able to tell when I'm on the horse. If I cue the horse correctly, he should be on the correct lead. But sometimes I find myself on the wrong one and my instructor tells me to drop it and start again. I want to be able to tell without my instructor telling me. Any tips with this? :lol: 

And another question.. about something totally different. I got to ride bareback for the first time on my last lesson. I walked around for a bit and then trotted. I felt balanced, but I wasn't sure what to do with my legs. I just let them hang loosely when walking, but I kind of wrapped my legs around the horse when trotting. My heels definitely weren't down like they are with stirrups. So what is the proper leg postition when trotting bareback?

Oh and just to let you all know, I ride Western if that makes a difference. Sorry for making two threads in this section within the past few days..it's just that I want to impress my instructor on my riding lesson tomorrow. Thank yah to anyone that replies!


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## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

If you let your hips completely relax and let your pelvis move with the horse you will find that one of your legs will be slightly more foward than your other leg. So, if your horse is on the right lead, your right thigh/knee will be more forward than your left. That is the easiest way I can tell. You shouldn't even have to look down to see, you should just feel your body position.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I know that looking down when you are riding is supposedly a huge no-no, but you can glance down at his shoulders for a stride or two and you'll be able to see that one shoulder is farther forward than the other. Whichever shoulder is forward is the lead that he's on. The ability to just feel when you're on the wrong lead will come with time and experience. If you can focus on what the horse's movement feels like when you're on the wrong lead before the instructor tells you to try again and then compare it to the feel of the movement when you get the correct lead. The incorrect lead is usually much rougher, harder to sit, and feels very unbalanced.

Eventually, you will get to the point when you can feel which lead you're on, even when you're loping a straight line. Just take your time and focus on feeling the horse's movement. The rest will come :wink:.

Whenever I ride bareback, I just let my legs hang wherever is most comfortable for me. I normally don't wrap my legs because the way my horses are trained, that is a cue to go faster. I normally end up with them hanging and my toes pointed down because that's how I'm comfortable and secure.

Keep in mind though that I never really had a proper lesson. The way I ride is likely not the "proper" way to do it. :lol:


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Yes to both "cheater" ways of telling--feel for the forward leg and glance down and shoulder (and also leading leg). A third cheater method is to just relax for a bit and and let your torso follow the horse's motion. Your belly button will pull to the lead your horse is on.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Oh, and when I ride bareback, I oddly feel most safe, secure, and balanced with my heels jammed down in an exaggerated position. I grip with my thighs and balance by extending or flexing my knees, bringing my legs down or up to redistribute my weight.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I see pictures of Native American riders and they just let their legs hang down with the toe falling into a downward pointing position.
Not sure how I'd do it, as I very rarely ride bareback anymore. I am just too much of a wuss.


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## SRich (Sep 13, 2011)

I feel like such an idiot right now. It would make sense that my hip would move more forward on the side the horse is leading on.. Thank you guys for the explanations. Maybe tomorrow lesson, I will be able to tell. My last lesson didn't go as well as I hoped, so I really want to be able to do something right. I don't want my instructor thinking that I'm wasting her time. 

So for bareback riding, I'm just not going to worry about my leg position(unless my instructor mentions it). I guess it's just depends on the way you balance. 

At tinyliny: It' funny, because I felt a lot more safe without a saddle. Though, I have a fear of my foot getting stuck in the stirrup so that might be why. My saddle has also slipped off before, so that kind of freaked me out. And I've gotten hurt by the saddle horn one too many times, plus getting hanged by my hoodie off of it. haha The saddle tries to kill me.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

So long as you are trying and wanting to learn, then you are not wasting her time and she knows that. Some folks catch on quickly, others take a bit longer. Don't pressure yourself too hard because then you'll get stressed out and tense and everything will get harder and take longer.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Don't feel like an idiot. I didn't know much about leads or how to tell until my mare decided to lope very sloppily one day and I literally fell in the direction of whichever lead she was on. Say she was on her right lead, my right leg would go very forward, along with most of my body and my left leg would slide back. I'm sure I looked just fantastic. :lol: I would have rather just looked down and noticed it than falling all over myself.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Poseidon said:


> I literally fell in the direction of whichever lead she was on.



Good way of explaining it.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Don't feel like an idiot! You've only been riding in lessons for 6 months, that's not a real long time. I just went to US Nationals and my horse blew his canter lead and we didn't make the cut, talk about expensive mistake! And to add insult to injury, he's so stinkin smooth that it's hard for me to tell without just about hanging upside down in the saddle to check. He's the ONLY horse I have trouble telling on, after 40+ years of riding, most of them feel really wonky when they're on the wrong lead.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

SRich said:


> And I've gotten hurt by the saddle horn one too many times, plus getting hanged by my hoodie off of it. haha The saddle tries to kill me.


 
HAAAH! I'm laughing with you, not at you! :lol: I have a 4 year old stallion who's just getting started under saddle and I went to mount him not too long ago. My old horse had a horrible habbit of swinging his hind end away just as I'd go to mount, and I could never get him to quit. So I developed the habbit of basically jumping to where I knew the saddle would be when I came down, to mount him. My youngster was standing there and I automatically jumped to where my old horse would have been, only my youngster never moved. I ended up jumping clean over the saddle and I got caught by my shirt on the horn and caught the inside of my arm on a silver concho, I still have the scar! 

And I've ended up hooked by my bra after climbing up a steep hill. Gone to sit back down in the saddle and straighten up and found myself jerked up short because the horn slipped up underneath the bottom of my bra on the way up the hill. FUN! NOT!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Oh, I know that manuever; the hung by your bra one. That is scary, not funny.

I got hung up on my friend's horse , by my pants waist on the horn. Horse reared, I went forward to keep my seat, my fat tummy pushed my pant waist over the horn., horse came back down and started to buck. Off I go but end up literally hanging on the side of a bucking horse, by my pant waist! Fortuneatly, it tore and laid me down so sweet in the arena sand. Softes landing ever, But for a sec there I thought "I am in real trouble here".


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> And I've ended up hooked by my bra after climbing up a steep hill. Gone to sit back down in the saddle and straighten up and found myself jerked up short because the horn slipped up underneath the bottom of my bra on the way up the hill. FUN! NOT!



Well that bra did do its job and ''support''.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Spyder said:


> Well that bra did do its job and ''support''.


 
SNORT!!! :lol:


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## SRich (Sep 13, 2011)

Hahaha I'm glad I'm not the only one that the horn tries to kill! It's really scary just dangling there not being able to get myself off. 

So I had my lesson yesterday, but didn't do any cantering in the actual lesson. I get to ride a little bit after my lesson if someone is around, so I asked my instructor if I could canter. I really focused on where my body weight is and my leg cues, and we went off on the correct lead everytime. It was awesome. And I did feel how my hip would move with the leading leg. I think I have trouble because the horse's canter is smooth, but I don't know..maybe that would make it easier for me. haha


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