After a great response last week, we’re back working with Caine and the lovely OTTB Luke.
In this week’s video, we’re demonstrating the Leg Yield Staircase. To execute The Leg Yield Staircase, we leg yield a few steps, go straight again, and then repeat the process making a staircase shape on a long side of the arena.
Here’s a video I made last year that goes into more detail on the Leg Yield Staircase, but for this week, we’re drilling down with our resident OTTB Luke.
Luke is a 12-year-old horse and Caine’s been working with him for 18 months. When Caine began working with him he knew no dressage at all and was very tight all through his body. (Any OTTB riders can probably relate to this!)
The aids for Leg Yield are:
Primary aids – the inside leg to push the horse over, and the outside rein to control the outside shoulder.
Secondary aids – the outside leg to keep the horse stepping forward, and the inside rein for flexion – (remember that leg-yield has slight flexion, but no bend)
Your horse might try to escape out the outside shoulder when you ask him to bring the inside leg beneath him and that is where is exercise is so helpful!
Tips to improve your leg-yields:
- Maintain your tempo – don’t allow the horse to slow down or speed up
- Keep your shoulders back
- Keep your outside rein consistent
- When you loose the alignment, go straight a few steps and then resume the leg-yield
Have a look at the video where I take Caine and Luke through the Leg Yield Staircase and once again see his improvement!
