Question:

When cantering down the long side of the arena on the left rein (never the right , which is my better side) my ex Grade A will usually change legs. A trainer once told me this is because I was pulling back on the left rein – is this correct and what can I do about it?

Answer:

In many respects the trainer is right, you may well be pulling back on the left rein, which would certainly cause your horse to change legs but let us look into the situation in more detail.

When cantering to the left or to the right the horse should be in alignment, in other words his hind legs should be in the same track as his forelegs (on two tracks). However the horse can canter with the correct leading leg if his hind quarters are carried to the inside of the bend because the inside shoulder remains forward but not if they are swinging out as this throws his outside shoulder forward, causing him to change legs. If you pull the inside rein you will cause the quarter to swing out.

There are other reasons why your horse may be changing on the left rein. Perhaps he is twisted in his spine or pelvis and therefore always carries his quarters to the right making it hard to keep him straight going to the left. In canter the horse’s outside hind leg is the driving leg, therefore if his right leg is stiff, weak or uncomfortable in any of the joints, muscles or ligaments then he would find it hard to maintain his balance in canter going to the left. It is usually easier to keep the balance on a circle. It might be worth having him checked over by a vet who would probably do a flexion test on the right hind leg and check his pelvis.

The other difficulty that may be occurring is that you yourself are crooked in canter. If you are twisting your right shoulder and right seat bone forward then you will probably be pushing your horse on to three tracks with his quarters out. This will also affect your rein contact, your left rein will tighten and your right rein will loosen although you may think they are the same length! Keep your outside shoulder back, your outside seat bone down and out outside leg back from the knee. Keep your inside knee down and give your inside rein softly forward, remember its function is to keep the horse’s nose on the line, not to pull his head in. Your shoulders should be parallel to his shoulders.

When you do try the canter on the left rein again, try only riding half the long side, then make a ten or fifteen metre circle before continuing straight.

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