OK, this is not what I was taught. I was taught that the horse moves his spine/ribcage away from the seat bone pressure, and the leg dictates the direction of travel.
In this context, outside is the direction you’re moving toward, and inside is the direction you want to step away from. In leg yield there shouldn’t be any “curved side,” bend, only flexion to the inside. So, leg yield left (moving toward the left), you weight your left (outside) side slightly.
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These replies make leg yields seem complicated.
They really aren’t hard to train.
Teach your horse to do a turn on the forehand.
Use the same aids to Ask the horse to move its hind quarters over while walking a straightish line. Accept one step at a time. Keep hands quiet. if the horse gets crooked you asked for too much too soon. Keep it slow and simple.
Some horses find it easier at the trot than the walk. A tip when leg yielding at trot: if doing LY 1/4 line to track, change your diagonal. This times your leg aids to their hind legs.
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You need to weight in the direction of travel. This applies to half pass as well. If you are trying to push the horse over with your inside seat bone, you will be shortening that side and leaning slightly away from the direction of travel. Horse will want to stay underneath you, hollow that part of his back rather than lift it to activate the inside hind leg, and not move sideways away.
For the leg yield to the rail, you need forward impulsion, a working half halt with the outside rein, and a little weight in the outside stirrup and ask for the inside hind to move when it is being picked up, in which case you are starting your up post and thus inside sit bone is not involved at all. Doesn’t get better if you sit down and use it. Rather the outside sit bone should be leading.
If the OP’s horse is just doing a short diagonal, then the nose to rail leg yield might help install the half halt (as the rail blocks some forward), but you can get it done without that by riding nice and forward and half halting first before you ask for sideways. Go straight (off the rail) with a strong half halt when you start to lead too much with the shoulder, regroup then ask for sideways again.
You can also do a little shoulder fore then sideways then shoulder fore. This keeps that inside hind active and the outside shoulder controlled while you do the stair step type sideways yield. You need to have a pretty reliable shoulder fore first. If you don’t, then that’s also why the horse is blowing through the outside rein by leading with the shoulders.
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I’m not sure if that was directed at my novel but you’re right, it isn’t. I just break it into each component. Teach horse to do a turn on the forehand, teach horse to move haunches, teach horse to move ribcage then move the parts together. Then if it isn’t working when moving the parts together? I can identify the part that isn’t moving as expected and return to the original exercise.
If you are sitting centered and you apply ‘outside’ lower leg pressure it ‘pulls’ your inside seat bone into the saddle. If that doesn’t happen you are collapsing the waist/dropping a hip to one side or the other.
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It wasn’t aimed at you, but you don’t need to teach them to move the ribcage. The shoulders will follow the hips if the horse is allowed to do it slowly as they will naturally rebalance themselves in walk or trot.
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I agree, however, I found that with true OTTBs, facing them at a rail is just not conducive to them learning much. It almost turns into a starting gate scenario. 
OK. I have worked with TBs, but not recently off the track ones.
But I don’t see the OP saying her horse is an OTTB.
I’m sure she doesn’t. I only added that last comment for context as to why I don’t use leg yield down the rail until after I’ve created it in the circle.
Not leg-yield specific, but I’ve been working with a dressage coach for a couple of weeks now, and we did an exercise I found really helpful for timing when to add leg: like so many riders, I put leg as I sit, so she had me post on the wrong diagonal around the turns during one lesson so I could better feel how to engage that hind leg.
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Good idea!
Wasn’t sure, and wasn’t taking it personally either way. 
Its true, you don’t need to do it for leg yield. I just find it saves me time in the end to do it in this order. Then I don’t just have leg yield. I have shoulder in/out, haunches in/out and can move them from one lateral position to another relatively easily. (kind of like video game button combos 
)
Are there any good dressage barns near you? Can you haul in for a one-off lesson? Or learn on one of their trainer’s schoolmasters?
Either way, I recommend a lesson with a good local dressage trainer. That way you’ll have one person, teaching you one way, and available locally to follow through when you need it. Consistency!
Good luck.
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