Who-Horses and riders of all levels that have mastered leg-yield.

When- Can be used as part of your daily warm-up or added anyplace in your workout if your horse gets a little slow off your leg.

What-This is a good exercise for horses of all levels that are a little slow off the leg.

Come down the center line in walk or trot and leg-yield one way toward one quarter line then immediately back toward the other quarter line, so on and so forth until you run out of ring.

 

Remember: the point is to get your horse quicker off your leg so this is a good opportunity to apply a sharp (stronger and/or quicker) leg aid if your horse is not quick enough in his response. After you use a stronger leg aid be sure to come back and try again with a softer leg aid to see if your horse is more responsive to the leg.

This is not an exercise that needs to be done with precision like you might practice some of the leg-yields if you were preparing for a first level test. It is an exercise that is most successful if you pay attention to the quickness of your horse’s response to your leg and switch directions as needed to keep him quick and attentive.

Starting out-At first you can try the exercise in walk until you and your horse are comfortable with the movement but then go on and try it in trot for maximum effectiveness.

Variations-Another variation is to go from the quarter line to the rail and back again as needed until the response to your leg is prompt enough.

            -Or try it on the driveway or walk to the ring.

            -Try it on a trail ride if the trail is smooth and wide enough.