The key to getting the correct lead every time is to set the horse up properly for the lope departure before asking for a particular lead. The horse’s outside hind leg is his driving leg. Therefore, if that leg is underneath the horse when he is cued to lope, there is a better chance that he will lope off correctly.
“If I am going to lope off to the left, I want the horse’s right rear leg to be forward and underneath him, or on the way forward and underneath him, before I ask him to lope,” Deary says.
When loping off from a standstill, Deary will allow his horse to take two or three steps to make sure the horse is in a good frame to lope off correctly. “However, by the time I’m ready to show, my horses will lope off from a standstill,” he says.
When Deary teaches a young horse to lope for the first time, he works in a large circle and uses his outside leg to push the horse into the lope. “If I want to lope off to the left, I will trot the horse in a circle to the left and push with my outside leg until the horse picks up the correct lead,” Deary explains. “If he picks up the incorrect lead, then I will break him down to the trot and try again.”
Once the horse understands how to lope and which lead to pick up, Deary will refine the cue. “I will put my outside leg on the horse to ask for the lope, but when he tries to lope off, I will hold him back. Then, when I am ready to lope, I will cluck, release the horse, and let him lope off.”
The horse learns that, when Deary pushes with his outside leg, he is to move his hip away from Deary’s leg but wait for the verbal cue to lope off. “The cue to lope is me clucking,” he says.
Don’t turn your horse’s nose to the outside. “I will only do that on a young horse the first two or three times I ask him to lope, until he understands what I am asking,” Deary says. “But I sure don’t want to make a habit out of it. I want the horse looking to the inside when I lope off.”
Don’t lean in to influence your horse to pick up a particular lead. “On a younger horse, I may lean forward a little bit, but on a broke horse I expect the horse to do all the work,” Deary says. “When I put my leg on the horse and cluck, I expect him to pick up the correct lead without me having to push or lean.
Further Reading
Question of the Week: Lope Leads
Video: Lope Leads with John Lyons
Walk to Lope Transitions
As U.S. athletes look back on valuable experience gained at the 2025 FEI World Cup Finals in Switzerland, the next…
If you’ve never cleaned a horse’s sheath, you probably have questions. First and foremost, is it really necessary? And more…
After a nail-biting two years of speculation about the inclusion of equestrian sports in the next Olympic Games, it was…
Welcome to Horse Illustrated’s weekly installment of the Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week, offered in partnership with the…
Equine arthritis can affect horses of all disciplines and ages, and early intervention is crucial for maintaining comfort and performance.…
Mother, grandmother, and winning 5* eventing rider—these three titles don’t typically go together. However, Tamie Smith, 49, is all of…
View Comments
Love it! I'm an Improver rider and when I asked my (ex) trainer how to help the horse when asking for lope, she said "Just ask. She'll work it out." I knew it had to be something to do with hind feet placement but couldn't quite 'get it' on my own. Thank you very much for this article - it is now ingrained in my head - and, oh, yes, I'm going it alone!
another thing is that when you're counter cantering, it should feel the same as the correct lead, because your horse should be wiling, and well rounded/driven up. trust me, it's hard to master. haha. my horse, Dayzi can do it pretty well now and she feels almost the same both ways. it took FOREVER to get her that way!
Good to know though I'm not sure why pulling the head to the outside would help.
informative ,helpful gives more than most trainers
That's interesting.