Always wondered how jockeys get lead changes. And how does that roll over into teaching lead changes in other disciplines for OTTBs?.
you teach an ottb lead changes the same way you tech any horse lead changes, or even which lead to pick up. Get the bend, pick up the inside front leg with your inside leg, PUSH into the canter when the outside hind comes off the ground with your outside leg. for the flying change, you change the bend with your body and shove the horse over with the new inside leg as the front feet come off the ground.
Racehorses are taught to travel on the right lead down the stretch, and left lead around the turns. Most horses learn this pattern easily, and jockeys can be pretty subtle asking for a change (if the horse doesnât do it automatically). When I rode babies, I asked them to change by stepping into my (new) outside stirrup, throwing my hip to the (new) outside, shoving the horse off-balance, kicking with the new outside leg and lightly opening the new inside rein. Most of the time this is taught in a big field, and youâll work large figure-8s, asking for the change of lead with change of direction. However Iâve taught it on a 5/8s track, too.
The older, more experienced horses will usually change with just a minor weight shift (to new outside). Coming out of a turn on the left lead, a couple straight strides, shift weight to the left stirrup while squeezing the right rein, and boom the horse swaps. Approaching the turn, step to the right stirrup, squeeze left rein, and horse swaps from right to left lead. Iâll often count in my head âOne, Two, Three, CHANGE (in the suspended moment of the stride)â to coordinate my aids.
Itâs really not that different when retraining an OTTB. Not all racehorses have reliable changes, but about 80% of them do. On a fresh OTTB, I pick up a canter in a good-sized area, off the horseâs back in two point. I ride a figure-8 or across the diagonal, keeping the horse as straight and rhythmic as I can. Approaching the change of direction, I step to the outside, shift my hips, and a lot of them will change. Sometimes not cleanly. And keep in mind, most TBs will change FRONT to BACK, as normal for a long-strided gallop (on the forehand). This is not a dressage-quality back-to-front change; so youâll still have to work on that a lot if dressage is your goal.
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Sounds good in theory or in the book. Doesnât always work that for a lot of horses at first. IMO and experience makes it a lot more complicated for the horse in the beginning then needed. IMO there are less complicate ways of going about it.
Doing that with a horse right off the track and they will have no clue at what is being asked. Good chance they will get really âstupidâ about things. No snark intended.
To answer the OPâs question. TB racehorses arenât trained, canât be trained to give a lead change the way sport horses are trained. For what should be obvious reasons. Jocks have to ride short. There is no âlegâ to âcueâ them with.
After being broken/started and are ready for their early race training one has to keep in mind that all horse can run. Our job as a trainer is to teach them how to race. Lead changes are just as important on the racetrack as they are in the show ring. Esp in long races on a proper size racetrack. They have to be taught, learn to respond when the rider âtaps the bitâ. In other words if I want a left lead, I tap, pull/jig the right left rein, left side of the bit. A well trained horse only needs a very subtle âtapâ on the rein. They will give it in an instant and will hardly be noticed. With young horses that are smooth as glass when asked a rider may have to look over their shoulder to make sure the got what was asked.
Yes some trainers/riders will also include a weight shift/body bend as explained above in the beginning. But I donât want a horse to ârelyâ on that. Not something a jockey should have to deal with in the heat of a race.
All young horses in training are trained, taught to start on their right lead, When moving off from a a jog warm up to a gallop we just pull their head slightly, more then slightly depending on the horse to the left so their right shoulder is pointed, theyâre slightly off balance and it is just easier for them to pick up, move off, start on their right leg/lead.
After first under saddle and they have WTC and good breaks in my ring. I take my horses into a large paddock and just do figure 8s. Big ones and tight ones teaching them the âcuesâ until the light bulb comes on and pretty much stays on. The smart ones realize very quickly that is is a lot more comfortable for all to change leads coming into or in the turns. Most learn to change on their own giving time when the rider asks for them to turn. I always use a full cheek snaffle bit. An egg butt or even a D ring can be, may have to be pulled through their mouth at times with the slow learners, lol.
So, most younsters will automatically change to their left lead just before the turn on a racetrack. When they come out of the turn they will switch back to their right lead. But not always. When they donât and before they learn the subtle âtap on the bitâ we/I pull their head to the head to the left, Sometimes if is very visual to a person on the ground watching some times it is very subtle. Depends on the horse.
In any case IMO before they are ready to leave the farm for the race track the cues if need should be fully ingrained They should know their job and be that much closer to getting in the gate for their first race. My horses were always ready to roll when they went to a trainer. Trainers and exercise riders love the horses that came off our farm. I guess others donât put as much effort into the process.
Most flat races are 1 turn races. In a one turn race, 6-7 furlongs the horse must/should break from the gate on its right lead. If you have a good view of the gate, esp with youngster you will, may see that the jock has their horseâs head slightly to the left at the break. So the horse comes out running on its right lead.
With longer races, esp 2 turn races on big race tracks, long, like Belmont size it is important that a horse will change leads when asked. You want the horse to change from a leg that maybe getting a bit tired to the fresh leg and then back. This is especially important when training Steeplechase horses. They need to change leads when ever asked. Most horses, good horse will take a âdeepâ relaxing breath when they change to the "freshâ leg. A good rider will be able to feel this. Esp good exercise riders. These are the people that do all the heavy lifting. There are lots of exercise riders. But few really good ones. They are a trainers MOST import part of the team. Theyâre a trainerâs right, in my case left arm. They are the ones that teach a horse how to race to the best of its god given ability.
When the horses come out of the turn into the home stretch they will be.should auto change to the fresh right lead. If not they have no shot of winning. If you watch, study the race running out of the turn you will see from time to time, esp with youngsters. the what looks like the jock is pulling the horse up, checking. But if you look closely you will see the horse is on the wrong lead. Good jocks, jocks with a cool mind know this may cost them the race but it is really necessary for the horse to learn to change leads out of the turn or when asked subtly. A horse that stays on the wrong lead, the tired lead has a much high probability of pulling, bowing a tendon or worse. Maybe not in that race but sometime down the line.
I left out another âcueâ we use. And very useful for the jock in a race. Most horse are also trained to change leads with a tap on the shoulder with the "stickâ. Tap them on the shoulder of the desired lead and a well trained racehorse will give it. If you watch a lot of races closely you will see this from time to time.
All of the above used to be the standard. From what I understand I and a handful of others seem to be the last of the old school training farms. The majority of racehorses are broken/started at large âfactoryâ operations these days. They are paid to get from A to Z quickly and efficiently. It is what it is. Not saying that a bad thing, I fully understand the new economics of horses these days. Regardless of breed.
I donât train nor break/start my horses in âexerciseâ saddles. I use the standard issue Hunt saddles, I feel it is easier on their backs. We ride long by and large I also, start, train using leg, rein and other âaidsâ. So they have somewhat of an idea of what will be asked when theyâre should race careers are over. I change to race saddles and shorten up a few months if that before going to the track.
It seems a lot of sport horse people have issues with a somewhat âfreshâ off the track horse and their lead changes. IMO and experience watching and or working with my sport horse riders, They try and employ their disciplines way of asking for, teaching lead changes to quickly for a racehorse. This totally frustrates most OTTBs and the can be a handful. IMO and experience you HAVE to make the transition slowly. Have an understanding how how lead changes are taught and ingrained in them for racing. Continue the same and slowly introducing them into understanding the process needed for the sport horse discipline the rider is working towards.
One of the tricks I tell my riders other than keep it simple for the time being. If the horse stays on the outside, wrong lead in the turn. Ride long, swing your inside leg, reach back, to their butt and âpoke-pushâ push their butt over a bit which makes them more off balance then they already are being on the wrong lead and they will usually flop over to their inside, correct lead. Works for most but not for all. The rider has to be pretty competent, a well balanced rider even when âweightedâ on on stirrup. Possess, have very good independent leg and balance. Riding lots of racehorses esp youngster will develop this pretty quickly.
I am not saying the above is how everybody does things. Not saying I wrote the book. Just saying this is how it is generally done by those that had good mentors and have been around the block more than a few times. And have worked both on the racing side of things, flat and steeplechase and the sport-horse side of things.
Too each their own when it comes to âall things horsesâ.
Sorry to be so long winded but this question most questions horse are not easily, at least not IMO to answer in a paragraph or two.
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:Like Gumtree says, there canât be any leg cues since jockeys donât have any leg on the horse to speak of. They can shift their weight as they use the rein cue if need be but that is about it. I think the biggest issue people have with getting a change from an ex race horse is they are not going anywhere near as fast as they were going. Itâs a lot easier for the horse to just swap when they are flying but when they are plodding along, probably not carrying themselves very balanced, it is a lot physically harder to coordinate all that is necessary to switch.
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My old OTTB raced for many years. took him to a big field one day and was just having some fun cantering him around. He thought he was at the track again and his lead changes were automatic coming out of the turns. It was quite fun to see that he never forgot.
gumtree, what a fabulous, detailed answer 
Yes, I have noticed (mostly when the starts are, as you noted 6-7f, in the chute) when there is a head-on camera that the head is often cranked a bit to the left but assumed it was just because that is where the assistant starter was. Now I know differently (or that the asst started helps with getting the correct lead out of the gate).
I have noticed numerous times when watching racing on TVG that you can visible see a horse really start to tire down the stretch if the jock canât get the lead change. Iâve also seen a late change mid-stretch and the horse really takes off again
What gumtree said divided by three (or five). Itâs really not that complicated. As the youngsters get stronger, they want to stay comfortable, which means they will start to tire on one lead, so you can suggest the new lead at the right time and they will change. They all pick it up pretty quick. I donât âtapâ the bit, I just pick up feel on the rein on the side of the lead I want them to switch to.
I canât remember a youngster switching front to back, and they are not âon their front end.â They do correct back to front changes and they are galloping along in a good balanced frame.
Weâll have to agree to disagree on this one. Horses naturally go on their forehands. Any horse that is pulling or is balancing on the riders hands is tending towards being on the forehand. I canât say Iâve seen many racehorses of any age in self carriage. Much of the difficulty in retraining ottbâs is due to this.
Most horses also naturally change front to back, again this is because they are weighted about 60% on the forehand and 40% on the hind, and itâs physically easier to change the front end.
I just quickly youtubed some races and works and slowed them down, most of them changed front to back. Not saying thereâs anything wrong with that. The only place itâs penalized is the dressage ring. Many hunters also change front to back. Even eventers often change front to back on cross country, even though they change back to front during their dressage tests.
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Thatâs fine, most people with ottb experience but not on the track tb experience tend to think this way. I can only speak from my experience, and I honestly did not keep count, but out of the thousands of race horses I rode and tens? hundreds? of thousands I watched gallop and race, not many did incorrect changes. Or maybe I did not pay eough attention. Hunters and eq get penalized for bad changes, but not jumpers. Western show horses and reiners and ranch competitors get penalized for bad changes, but not speed or roping events.
A change at the gallop isnât going to look the same as a change at the canter. Apples and oranges. The canter has 3 beats, the gallop 4.
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[I]"âŠitâs important to have a good exercise rider who can help teach the horse in the morning, "and then youâve got to have the jockeys working with you in the afternoons. Both Sadler and McCarron said that the keys to a successful lead change are the bridle and the riderâs weight, not the whip.
When McCarron needs to ask a horse for a lead change, he first takes a stout hold of the horseâs head. He uses the reins to steer the horse a little to the right, then back to the left, and then a more abrupt signal to the right. âYou might see the head move,â he said, âbut I donât necessarily want the horseâs body to float out and go into the path of somebody else. My duty, my responsibility is to make sure I keep the horse straight.â
Those signals with the reins put tension on the bit, which will usually get a horse to switch to his right lead. If that doesnât work, âthen I involve my weight,â McCarron said. âIâll lean one way or the other in the same sequence-a little bit right, a little bit left, and then-boom-back to the right again. Angel Cordero taught me that one a long time ago.â[/I]
The above is part of an article from TOC â and I too got the same tip from Angel Cordero. I used to gallop babies alongside him when I exercise rode for Angel Penna at Belmont.
This âtipâ went hand in hand with teaching racehorses to switch leads when the rider changed their âholdâ. We always galloped babies in a half cross hold â easy to release when teaching/asking for lead change â you just seperate your reins, get the lead change and then re-take the hold again.
Soon your racehorse will learn that a simple change of hold means âswitch leadsâ. Standard practice. Every older racehorse I ever galloped knew this cue. And you can often see jockeys in races doing this âchange of holdâ â especially in the stretch â to get the lead switch.
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Alydar is perhaps the most famous example of a racehorse who resisted changing leads from left to right into the stretch. I think Velasquez eventually quit asking, in fact; Alydar just wouldnât swap. Many have wondered if the outcome of the 1978 Belmont would have been different if he had changed leads in the homestretch.
