My horse won't pick up left canter lead! Help!

[sauvignon1008]

Hi, I have a 7yr old OTTB mare who I got in January. She is an amazing horse and very smart. She has absolutely no health issues and is totally sound.

The only problem is her left lead. She has a beautiful canter to the right however she will not pick up the left lead. She will get it on the lunge line ever 20 times or so but its rare and she breaks out of it soon. If I ask in the ring, she will always pick up the right lead, even on a tighter circle.

Its not like most horses where she picks up the wrong lead and will fix it after I ask a few times, she just does not get it. However there is nothing physically hurting her and all of her tack fits. I’m assuming they race on their left lead so shouldn’t she get it?

My trainer has ridden her and is helping me and she also struggles to get her to pick it up. She also is slightly dead to the leg on the left (but also right) side, would that be making a difference?

It has also gotten to the point where she picks up the right lead so much that she has become much stronger so that doesn’t help - since that side is easier then trying to do the left so I’m just digging myself into a hole. Should I not canter for a while and just work on strengthening her left side?

Are there any exercises to help with not being responsive to the leg? Should I do lunging? I also had someone suggest that she may have a weak stifle… are there any exercises for that? Has anyone had this problem?

Thank you so much and any advice is more then welcome! She is 100% sound and in great health so I don’t believe that has anything to do with the problem. I also have lessons consistently with my trainer. Thank you!!!

[alternate_universe]

When was the last time a vet actually confirmed she is 100% sound? Chronically not picking up a lead is a common sign of some kind, even a very subtle kind, of unsoundness.

[sauvignon1008]

When I bought her late Janurary, she had a PPE and flexion test and the vet said she was perfect. She’s never had a problem and the vet actually worked with her on the race track and said she never had an injury or was lame…

[atl_hunter]

@sauvignon1008

When I bought her late Janurary, she had a PPE and flexion test and the vet said she was perfect. She’s never had a problem and the vet actually worked with her on the race track and said she never had an injury or was lame…

When you bought the horse, did it canter on the left lead or was it an issue even then?

Racehorses generally change leads on the track, so the left lead on turns and right lead on straightaways. It is the most efficient use of their energy, as they will tire faster if they are on the same lead the whole time. Most are trained to swap already, so unless she is really unusual she has run on both.

[sauvignon1008]

I bought her as a project horse. We cantered to the right but didn’t to the left. She came from an adoption center and I was actually the first to canter her there but I didn’t canter left (I definitely should have looking back). But on the race track, there are videos of her using both leads so she must know it… On the lunge line, she will switch to the correct lead when she picks up speed but since she only really gallops on the left lead, I’m not sure she knows how to canter it so would the right lead just be easier for her?? The adoption agency never mentioned it being an issue and the owners hadn’t said it was either…

[TheBigEasy]

I went through this same thing recently. Left lead also.

One thing that helped was putting an angled “jump” in the corner of the arena. Not sure how to explain it, but it was a jump pole one a block raising the inside height to about 12” with the cavelleti pole angling down to the outside of the arena. So 12” high at the inside and ground height at the outside.

Extended trot at the approach, and cue the canter just as we hit the pole.

The idea being that the horse must lift lift himself and also bend to the left at the same time, forcing the left lead.

We also would work into an extended trot to the right, then cross the arena and cue the canter as we made the left hand turn also forcing the left lead.

Both these exercises helped put him into a left lead. Once he would take the left, he became more consistent taking it when asked.

We also did lunge line work to the left where I gave up the reins and twisted my body significantly to the right. Exaggerating a forward left leg with weight to the back right.

While i I thought the situation was hopeless…after about 6 weeks I have a “fairly” reliable left lead.

[ladyj79]

if horse picks up right lead going left, change your leg and bend and keep the counter canter. stay in the counter canter, attempt 20m circle, bring horse back, ask for correct lead.

counter helps build strength and collection but it also isn’t fun or comfortable, and generally a horse will start to more readily pick up the correct lead. this method is also preferable to stop and try again as you want horse thinking and going forward.

[CHT]

Just because a horse is sound in the legs, does not mean it is sound. I would wonder about something higher up in the back or spine that is making it difficult for the horse to figure out its lead. That said, how is the horse at connecting your leg behind the girth with it’s corresponding hind leg (such as doing a turn on the forehand/leg yield)?

[sauvignon1008]

That’s what I was possibly thinking. I was going to have the chiropractor come out to see. She is okay yielding but doesn’t move off the leg well. She is not lazy at all but struggles to bend or move off your leg or move the hind end over. She just seems to not understand to move off pressure…

[cbg]

I had a similar situation with a very green OTTB. I discovered that if I held a dressage whip in my left hand and laid it on his hip (I didn’t tap him with the whip, just gently touched) prior to asking for the left lead canter, he’d pick up the correct lead. He obviously had been falling into the left side with his hind end just enough to impact his canter departure and the touch of the whip helped to keep that hip out. It didn’t take long for the left lead to be easy even without the whip tap.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

I part leased a TB mare for about 4 months who appeared sound but had major trouble with the right lead. She was sold, and I heard later that she ended up being diagnosed with kissing spine and had surgery to fix it. She did not show any signs of back soreness while I was riding her, and others who knew her were surprised by the diagnosis as well.

Have you tried free lunging in a large area so you can see if she picks up the problem lead on her own sometimes when she is not on a circle?

[merrygoround]

I very fondly remember and OTTB who would not pickup the R lead.I found that over a low jump, the lead could be changed. After 6 mos of flat work, the canter came. The horse went on to do Intermediate Level Long format Three Days successfully and very soundly.

Balance and strength and straightness.

[pds]

Check her TMJ.

[NeedsAdvil]

When working to the right, start practicing counter bending. Do it slowly and build up, this will help build up her left side and give her the strength she needs without stressing her about “going left”. Just do this for a few weeks at the walk and trot and then see where you are.

[Lord_Helpus]

Racehorses are usually better at picking up the L lead. So the fact that she doesn’t means 1. you are not sitting correctly in the center or you are not asking in a way she understands, 2. She just plain does not understand what you want, 3. It hurts to canter on that lead (back, spine, stifle, hock, legs).

It sounds like you used a racetrack vet for the PPE. Bad idea, Horses on the track do not use their bodies the same way a hunter will. Most horses from the track get 3 - 6 months off. That is not just to let their brains settle, but to let their racehorse muscles get weaker, so that their “hunter muscles” can be trained to work the way we want them to. It sounds like you started riding her on day 1, so you have been fighting the musculature she has always used ---- of course she is confused. Get a chiro, a vet and a trainer. Not a bunch of people sitting behind a keyboard.

Are you working with a trainer? You certainly should be with an untrained horse who just might believe you when you tell her something, even if it is wrong.

We can give you 100 replies, but they will be guesses. Take lessons with a QUALIFIED trainer at least 1x/week

[sauvignon1008]

Thank you for the helpful replies! I will definetly try some of the suggestions. Just to clarify, she had over 6 months off before I bought her and even then, it was several weeks at my barn before I started working her. I definetly did not immediatly start working her. I am working with a trainer as I had mentioned and have lessons with an amazing trainer. I will have the vet check her and work on strengthening. … thank you for the ideas!!!

[CHT]

If she doesn’t understand that your leg is cuing a specific leg of hers, then you really don’t have a way of cuing the lead. It is very possible she just knows “one leg back = canter” and she is just that much more comfortable on the right lead. I would stop working on the canter, and go back to ground work and basics under saddle, until you can reliably cue her corresponding hind leg with your leg behind the girth. I would start in hand, using taps of the dressage whip to engage the chosen hind leg, and then cue with your hand behind the girth to transfer the connection.

[EverElite]

I just came through the other side of this issue (knock on wood!). Very similar situation - young OTTB couldn’t pick up the left lead under saddle, but was fairly proficient at getting it on the line. For us, it was a balance, strength, and saddle fit issue.

Since she is getting it on the lunge line, I would suggest going back to basics and put the both of you on the lunge line. Have someone on the ground cue her into the left lead canter while you just sit there. Do this for a couple of sessions and then slowly start cuing your canter aid more and more so she clearly understands what the cue is and what it means. For my mare, really exaggerating stepping into my RIGHT stirrup to keep her balanced while holding the outside rein to keep her straight was essential for getting her to pick up the left lead. However, going right I could ask upside down and inside out and she’d pick up that lead no problem. Go figure!

In between mounted sessions on the line, assuming there is no lameness or physical problem, I would suggest using side reins or a Pessoa lunging rig to help create strength and balance while lunging unmounted. For purposes of cantering on the line and in a small circle, my mare needs a balancing outside side rein, or else she’ll just dump onto her forehand and never pick up, or maintain, the left lead. I would also canter to the left twice as long as you canter right to build up that left side.

A properly fitted saddle was also a HUGE help - as well as a great chiro. Good luck! I understand how frustrating this issue can be.

[findeight]

Left lead originates in the RIGHT hind which supports the entire horse as it lifts them and powers off. If anything is off in that leg, they won’t get the lead. And if this horse only gets the left lead once out if 20 times on a lunge line? I’d say you have an issue in the right hind anywhere from the hoof to the SI. Many if these type issues do not present as lameness. More often it’s asymmetrical movement, uneven stride length and reluctance to stay square and even over all four legs.

Most common culprits with issues like this are suspensories, stifles and old fractures in the hip and pelvic areas followed by spinal nerve impingement, especially in the neck, and even bad hoof angles. And they don’t appear textbook “lame” with any of these.

Instead of paying for for a chiropractor to come out, how about paying for a vet with an x ray machine ( and education with a license)?

Before any flames here, I use a chiro but not for undiagnosed mystery conditions where manipulation/ adjustment can cause more harm then good, My human chiro takes periodic x Rays when my lower back flares up to be sure he can safely proceed with manipulation/ adjustment and is firm about sending patients to a medical doctor if he doesn’t like what he sees. My horse chiro worked with the vet and only after understanding the diagnostics of specific complaints like OP has.

Are there any x Rays or ultra sounds on this horse since you got him or did the rescue take any?

[NancyM]

A racehorse, coming out of the starting gate, is supposed to ALWAYS start on the right lead (in North America), the OUTSIDE lead. They expect and are trained to switch to the inside lead when they get to the first turn. Then switch back to the outside lead for the straight of way, then back onto the inside lead for the next turn. When galloping for exercise in the morning, (if they have a thoughtful gallop rider) they are ALWAYS asked to start on the outside lead, since they come onto the track on the straight of way. In starting gate training, they are ALWAYS asked to start on the right (outside) lead. A well trained racehorse only has one lead transition, the right one. When a horse has been a racehorse for a long time, it is the sequence of feet that they learn IS the canter depart, that of the right lead, NOT the left lead. Since racehorses are usually ridden without a lot of leg on their sides, they do not know much about leg pressure, or how to respond to leg pressure. And they simply do not have the neural pathways developed to use the sequence of feet (starting with the outside hind foot) to get the left lead. It’s a pretty common occurrence that this is an issue that trainers have to work through when reschooling a racehorse as a riding mount.

Step 1) The horse thinks she’s doing it correctly, just as she has always done, and as she has been taught to do. She is not “misbehaving”. She has to develop a part of her brain to make her “ambidextrous”, so that she can use each side of her body equally in the job description of her new career. This takes time, and understanding on your part, as well as on hers.

Step 2) Develop her responses to your leg cues. Develop her bend. Racehorses don’t have much of this training, they don’t need it to race. Instead of leg cues, they respond to the stick, and the rider’s weight. So much of the training will occur before you ask for the canter.

Step 3) As others have stated, using a pole on the ground can be helpful in getting the sticky lead, once you have a bend and a softer, flexible horse under you, who understands some leg cues. Stepping over a pole during the transition elevates her step just a bit off the ground, plants her hind feet to some extent. Then it is simply a case of trying, and rewarding her with softness and release when she happens to get it right for the first time, and a show of your happiness at her success if she manages to stagger onto the left lead for you at some point. Eureka! Don’t expect perfection at first, be happy with an approximation, be happy if she somehow manages to find it. “Make much of your pony”. Let her know that she has done something that makes you happy. “GOOD GIRL!”.

Step 4) Until you can develop the neural pathways to GET that left lead depart sequence of feet, a racehorse will usually get their flying changes, so you can practice cantering on the left lead by starting on the right lead, heading across the diagonal of the arena, and asking for a flying change onto the left lead. Because she DOES have a left lead, and can use it, she just can’t break onto it right now. So this is how you get some cantering done to the left until you have solved her transition problems. This is not a “dressage” flying change, it’s a “racehorse” flying change… you change the bend and give her a verbal “chirp” (which adds a bit of energy to her step, and she understands this). Understand that the left canter depart starts with the right hind leg, then the left hind leg and right front leg together, and ends with the left front leg (the “leading” leg). This is why you must have control of her hind end with your leg pressure. To do that, she has to understand leg pressure, which she currently doesn’t.

Step 5) Know that she is “trying”. That picking up her right lead is like you picking up a pencil (presuming you are right handed), by automatically reaching for it with your right hand. And a Martian is telling you in beeps and hisses that he wants you to use your left hand instead, and you have no idea why the Martian wants this, or even WHAT he wants from you. This is how your horse feels, confused. You are the Martian.