Striking off on the correct lead

At Galop 2, it was enough just to canter. At Galop 3 you choose the lead: right when you turn right, left when you turn left. The tool for the job is called the diagonal aids.

In the exam programme

Explain how to strike off into canter with diagonal aids.Specific part
Strike off on the correct lead from walk or trot on a curve.Specific part

The canter is not symmetrical: the horse canters on the right lead or on the left lead. On the right lead, the right legs land ahead of the left legs; you can see the right fore “leading” and the right shoulder coming further forward. On a curve, the horse is balanced when it canters on the side it is turning towards: right lead on the right rein, left lead on the left rein. That is the correct lead — also called cantering true. The exact order of the footfalls at canter is on the Galop 4 programme.

Right rein, inside: it flexes the head slightly to the right
Just enough to see the corner of the eye
Right leg, inside, at the girth: it keeps the impulsion
Left leg, outside, drawn back: it asks for the depart
Right-lead canter depart, in the turn

Fig. 3.17Striking off on the right lead with diagonal aids

The diagonal aids

They are called diagonal aids because the two main aids come from opposite sides: the inside rein and the outside leg, like the two ends of a diagonal line drawn across the horse. To strike off on the right lead:

Choose the placePrepare the strike-off on a right-hand curve: a corner, a turn, a circle. The horse finds the correct lead more easily there.
Prepare the gaitIn sitting trot or at walk, get a regular, active gait. If you were rising, sit for a few strides first. From walk, the horse must be marching forward to be able to answer.
Position the headWith the right rein, turn the horse’s head very slightly to the right, just enough to see the corner of its eye; the left rein keeps the contact and stops it speeding up.
Place your legsDraw your left leg, the outside one, back behind the girth; your right leg, the inside one, stays on the girth.
AskGive a clear aid with the left leg, backed up by the right, staying tall and seated. The horse strikes off on the right lead.
Yield and followAs soon as it strikes off, soften your fingers slightly, let your pelvis follow the movement and look ahead along your line.

Remember

Right lead: right rein, left leg. Left lead: left rein, right leg. The inside rein positions, the outside leg asks for canter, the inside leg keeps up the impulsion.

There is another method, the lateral aids, where the rein and the leg act on the same side; some instructors use it with young horses. The Galop 3 programme asks you to explain the diagonal aids.

Checking your lead

Just after the strike-off, glance — with your eyes only — at the inside shoulder: if it is the one coming further forward, the horse is on the correct lead. If it struck off on the other lead, it is cantering on the wrong lead: come back to trot calmly, rebalance it and ask again on the next curve. Counter-canter, the deliberate kind, is an exercise you will meet at Galop 6.

Common mistake

Leaning forward or to the inside as you ask, or pushing the horse into a faster and faster trot: it rushes and often strikes off on the wrong lead. Stay seated and upright, and ask from a regular trot.

A word from the instructor

A horse that always picks up the wrong lead in the same corner may not have a problem with that corner. It may simply have a rider who leans in exactly the same spot every time.

Ekidemy

The Galops^®, from the first step to Galop 7