Leg yielding is a lateral movement in horse training. The horse moves sideways by crossing and uncrossing his legs.
Here is an excellent and very brief video from Dressage Hub showing you what leg yielding looks like. Yes, this is a big, brilliant horse, but any horse can learn to leg yield--and should, as I'll explain in a minute.
Here is an excellent and very brief video from Dressage Hub showing you what leg yielding looks like. Yes, this is a big, brilliant horse, but any horse can learn to leg yield--and should, as I'll explain in a minute.
When I was first introduced to leg yielding many moons ago, I remember thinking it was the dumbest thing ever. I asked my trainer, "Why would you want to teach a horse to cross his legs?" It made no sense to me, and even seemed dangerous. What if the horse managed to tangle his legs or step on himself?
My trainer's first response was, "Because this is where we are in your training." But, being the egg-head that I am, I persisted in asking for a better explanation, and she rose to the occasion handsomely.
"Because leg yielding teaches you and your horse to pay attention to what is happening behind you. It teaches the horse to engage his hindquarters and to respond (yield) to your leg. It teaches you to think about something other than your hands, to focus your attention on your horse's haunches because THAT is his powerhouse."
Bingo!
So this is how it's done. (Note: "Outside" means the side that is facing the rail, and "inside" the side that is facing the center of the arena. In the video still above, her right side is "outside" and her left side is "inside".)
First, walk your horse and focus on getting a feel for when each hind foot is in the air (being lifted in order to take a step) and when it is on the ground. It really helps at first to have someone on the ground watching and telling you "right, left" as each leg lifts. When you are certain you can really feel when a hind foot is in the air and when it is on the ground, move on to the next step.
Start by leg yielding to the right. Walk your horse down the centerline. Make sure the walk is energetic. When you feel the left hind is in the air, press your left leg on the horse's left side, just behind the girth. Press just hard enough to cause him to move his left hind leg gently under his body. You can only influence the leg when it is in the air. If his leg is on the ground, you won't be able to influence it, no matter how hard you push.
You should feel your horse's hindquarters move toward the right toward the rail because you've pushed his left hind leg under his body. You need to keep his body straight in leg yielding. To do that, you have to keep a firm outside rein (right hand). Otherwise, your horse will bend his neck and pop his shoulder rather than moving sideways. Gently squeeze your right hand as you press with your left leg to keep his neck straight, and keep your outside leg behind the girth to hold his haunches in place. When you feel the left hind leg being lifted again, nudge him again with your left leg and squeeze your right hand gently. As you repeat these movements, your horse will leg yield toward the right rail.
Watch the video again. As the horse and rider come toward you in the opening walk leg yield sequence, the horse moves sideways from the centerline toward the right rail. Look carefully at the rider's legs and the horse's hind feet. You'll see that just as the horse's left hind leg begins to rise, the rider presses with her left leg, nudging the horse slightly behind the girth. Nudge, nudge, nudge, with each step. The horse's left hind moves under his belly with each step, and his entire body moves toward the right rail as a result.
When you can do this comfortably, switch to the other side. Start down the centerline. Nudge with your right leg slightly behind the girth to push the horse's right hind leg under his body, while squeezing your outside (left) hand to keep him neck straight and holding his haunches in place with your outside (left) leg. He will move sideways toward the left rail.
Be careful to avoid leaning one way or the other as you do this. Your body should remain centered, but it helps to weight your outside seat bone (the one in the direction you are moving) a little more heavily than the inside one. This encourages the horse to step under your weight.
Some people claim you should do the opposite--weight the inside seat bone to push the horse in the direction you want him to go. This is like standing on the edge of a row boat: The boat will move away from your weight, but you will be out of balance and so will your horse. You will find yourself clutching the reins in an attempt to steady yourself. Besides, you really want to teach your horse to step out from under you rather than to step under you?
At sitting trot, the aids are exactly the same. You can also leg yield from rising trot, but it is a little more difficult to control the outcome. Again, assume you are leg yielding to the right, using your left leg to influence the horse's left hind leg. You have two choices on how to do this. If you rise as you normally do (on the "correct" diagonal), you need to apply your left leg as you rise from the saddle because that is when your horse's left hind (and right fore) are lifting from the ground. It's a bit awkward. If you instead rise on the "wrong" diagonal (when your horse's right hind and left fore are rising), you can apply your leg when you are sitting in the saddle.
The video does a nice job of showing common errors. Just to clarify:
Haunches leading: The horse is going "butt first" toward the rail rather than his whole, straight body moving that way. When she says, "I close my outside aids", what she means is that she uses her outside (right) leg to hold the haunches a bit more firmly, thereby preventing the haunches from leading. She also makes sure that her outside (right) hand is holding the neck straight.
Too much neck bend: The horse is bent in his body. Wrong! The horse needs to be straight, with perhaps just a slight bend such that you see just a bit more of the horse's inside eye. To correct this, she softens her inside rein and uses her outside rein to straighten the horse's neck.
In the advanced movements, she is essentially doing a shoulder fore, first with the right shoulder and then with the left. These are good exercises to prepare for the more advanced collective movements of shoulder-in and renvers.
Happy riding!
Copyright Denise Cummins February 13, 2016
My trainer's first response was, "Because this is where we are in your training." But, being the egg-head that I am, I persisted in asking for a better explanation, and she rose to the occasion handsomely.
"Because leg yielding teaches you and your horse to pay attention to what is happening behind you. It teaches the horse to engage his hindquarters and to respond (yield) to your leg. It teaches you to think about something other than your hands, to focus your attention on your horse's haunches because THAT is his powerhouse."
Bingo!
So this is how it's done. (Note: "Outside" means the side that is facing the rail, and "inside" the side that is facing the center of the arena. In the video still above, her right side is "outside" and her left side is "inside".)
First, walk your horse and focus on getting a feel for when each hind foot is in the air (being lifted in order to take a step) and when it is on the ground. It really helps at first to have someone on the ground watching and telling you "right, left" as each leg lifts. When you are certain you can really feel when a hind foot is in the air and when it is on the ground, move on to the next step.
Start by leg yielding to the right. Walk your horse down the centerline. Make sure the walk is energetic. When you feel the left hind is in the air, press your left leg on the horse's left side, just behind the girth. Press just hard enough to cause him to move his left hind leg gently under his body. You can only influence the leg when it is in the air. If his leg is on the ground, you won't be able to influence it, no matter how hard you push.
You should feel your horse's hindquarters move toward the right toward the rail because you've pushed his left hind leg under his body. You need to keep his body straight in leg yielding. To do that, you have to keep a firm outside rein (right hand). Otherwise, your horse will bend his neck and pop his shoulder rather than moving sideways. Gently squeeze your right hand as you press with your left leg to keep his neck straight, and keep your outside leg behind the girth to hold his haunches in place. When you feel the left hind leg being lifted again, nudge him again with your left leg and squeeze your right hand gently. As you repeat these movements, your horse will leg yield toward the right rail.
Watch the video again. As the horse and rider come toward you in the opening walk leg yield sequence, the horse moves sideways from the centerline toward the right rail. Look carefully at the rider's legs and the horse's hind feet. You'll see that just as the horse's left hind leg begins to rise, the rider presses with her left leg, nudging the horse slightly behind the girth. Nudge, nudge, nudge, with each step. The horse's left hind moves under his belly with each step, and his entire body moves toward the right rail as a result.
When you can do this comfortably, switch to the other side. Start down the centerline. Nudge with your right leg slightly behind the girth to push the horse's right hind leg under his body, while squeezing your outside (left) hand to keep him neck straight and holding his haunches in place with your outside (left) leg. He will move sideways toward the left rail.
Be careful to avoid leaning one way or the other as you do this. Your body should remain centered, but it helps to weight your outside seat bone (the one in the direction you are moving) a little more heavily than the inside one. This encourages the horse to step under your weight.
Some people claim you should do the opposite--weight the inside seat bone to push the horse in the direction you want him to go. This is like standing on the edge of a row boat: The boat will move away from your weight, but you will be out of balance and so will your horse. You will find yourself clutching the reins in an attempt to steady yourself. Besides, you really want to teach your horse to step out from under you rather than to step under you?
At sitting trot, the aids are exactly the same. You can also leg yield from rising trot, but it is a little more difficult to control the outcome. Again, assume you are leg yielding to the right, using your left leg to influence the horse's left hind leg. You have two choices on how to do this. If you rise as you normally do (on the "correct" diagonal), you need to apply your left leg as you rise from the saddle because that is when your horse's left hind (and right fore) are lifting from the ground. It's a bit awkward. If you instead rise on the "wrong" diagonal (when your horse's right hind and left fore are rising), you can apply your leg when you are sitting in the saddle.
The video does a nice job of showing common errors. Just to clarify:
Haunches leading: The horse is going "butt first" toward the rail rather than his whole, straight body moving that way. When she says, "I close my outside aids", what she means is that she uses her outside (right) leg to hold the haunches a bit more firmly, thereby preventing the haunches from leading. She also makes sure that her outside (right) hand is holding the neck straight.
Too much neck bend: The horse is bent in his body. Wrong! The horse needs to be straight, with perhaps just a slight bend such that you see just a bit more of the horse's inside eye. To correct this, she softens her inside rein and uses her outside rein to straighten the horse's neck.
In the advanced movements, she is essentially doing a shoulder fore, first with the right shoulder and then with the left. These are good exercises to prepare for the more advanced collective movements of shoulder-in and renvers.
Happy riding!
Copyright Denise Cummins February 13, 2016
Here are some books, videos, and products that I recommend
for perfecting the leg yield.
for perfecting the leg yield.
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MDC Ultimate
Hinged Stirrups |
Herm Sprenger
Prince of Wales Spur |
Sports Medicine Schooling Boots
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