leg yeild

[highlandladdie]

hi all what is the best way to teach your horse to leg yield

[kateflashy]

start off on a circle then just put your outside leg behind the girth and give a nudge he should move awy from your leg but keep facing the direction his going just do a few strides at a time then try along a striaght edge turn down early from the wall and keeping his head slightly turned towards the wall use your inside leg to udge him over to the wall

[tina]

I always start teaching them it from the ground using my hands to prod (for want of a better word lol) where I would be applying my leg and using my voice to back it up. Then once the horse is doing it in hand then I progress to doing it ridden with someone on the ground to assist.

[fimacg]

I start from the ground getting the horse to move over, and then try along the long side of an arena getting them to move forward and over, but if this doesn't work, try with the head facing the wall as they realise they can't go forward and you must want something else and start to get the hang of sideways.

[arumanii]

As the others have said really! I didn't have anyone with me with most of the ones I taught but used the wall method n just kept asking for one step at a time. First from the floor n then from the saddle. The key, as with anything, is to just do a bit each time n repeat it everyday or so just for a few minutes until ur horse is starting to think 'right, we're off to that wall again and...yep, she's prodding me over.' Once u've got it with one wall try with other walls (just for variety) n then see if you can do it a meter from the wall and still go sideways. Then two meters n so on n so on... If it all goes wrong go back to ur friendly wall n start again!

Also, I've usually tended to teach a little of the turn on the forehand and piruette ideas first as being able to move the back or front of ur horse makes it tons easier! Anyone else? I do know some who have done it the other way round but it's then made learning to keep one end still much harder for them.

[brigadier]

Hi, to get the feel of it then the easiest way is to do it whilst out hacking. On your way home when your horse is going forward because she is returning home, find a quiet track or lane somewhere, start by walking her over to the right side of the lane, make sure she is straight with just the tiniest bit of right flexion, keep walking and then push with your inside leg (right one) on the girth so that she moves forward and away from it towards the left side of the road. She should move equally forward and sideways and you will notice she is bent slightly around your right leg. then when she is happy doing this try it the other way from the left side of the road to the right. When youve got this going well then try it in the school. Simply ride a 15m circle and then with your inside leg push her out onto a 20m circle. You can do this in walk or trot, make sure you control the movement with your outside leg so that she crosses over her legs and just doesnt drift out with her outside shoulder. she should remain straight with just a tiny bit of bend on the circle. You will feel her legs moving underneath you and it feels quite weird at first but if you have to ride her forward onto the the 20m circle with the outside leg then you will have done it correctly. Then ask for canter as its one of the best exercises to improve the canter transition on a circle also!!!!!
good luck
Brig
good luck

[abi]

could also try making a 20m circle into a square, and putting on inside leg round corners to ask him to bring himself round!
xx

[ceej]

Harry struggled a bit woth leg yeild aso I strated with small turn on the forehand so he learned to listen to my legs a little more and to think a bit more laterally..after that he seemed to get leg yeild a lot better...