08/10/2025
I shared a reel earlier today of an exercise I find particularly difficult to ride: changes of lead from the inside to the outside on a circle ( https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPhuJKoDC1T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NXB6OW9wNjZtenZp )
This exercise is how Philippe Karl trains the initial flying changes when educating a horse. You can read a much more in-depth explanation of how and why he does this in his book Twisted Truths. But, given that this book is out of print in English at the moment, for the uninitiated I will give you my brief crash course on the benefits of this exercise, which I myself find very, very challenging, but well worth attempting.
First, we need to understand how a horse strikes off into canter, because a flying lead change is simply a canter transition from canter. To strike off into canter from trot, the horse must disunite the diagonal pairs of legs of the trot in order to take up the three beated footfall of the canter. There are two ways to do this: one by a loss of balance and one by a gain of balance. First, one can rush the horse into canter, causing them to overload the forehand, and they can disunite the forelegs first initiating the canter like a wheelbarrow running downhill, by a loss of balance. The horse essentially makes a half stride of canter with the forelegs first, then begins a true canter stride as the hind legs follow. In the second way, instead, they can disunite the hind legs first, and step up into the canter by grounding the outside hind and engaging and lifting the inside hind for the lead. This creates a full canter stride in the natural footfall of the gait, which is: outside hind, inside hind and outside foreleg simultaneously, and finally inside foreleg. We look at the inside shoulder to see the lead, but this is not actually the leg that leads in the balanced, correct transition to the canter. (See the diagram below for an illustration of these two scenarios, from Twisted Truths by Philippe Karl)
Often, when people are teaching horses to change leads, regardless of discipline, they take advantage of the horse’s natural inclination to stay in balance and upright ( ). Generally, the system is to either change direction while cantering, and cause the horse to therefore overload the new outside shoulder, and switch onto the new inside lead. Or, sometimes, to change direction over a pole or small obstacle, where the horse lands, again forelegs first, onto the new lead. This is quite easy for most intermediate riders to achieve, and when paired with the aids for a regular canter transition, will generally create a lead change of varying quality and consistency. It works, because the horse doesn’t want to travel out of balance, and after falling onto the new lead and overloading one shoulder, wants to recover and carry on. The horse learns that switching leads is done for two reasons: 1. Because they have changed direction (which is essentially all most jumping disciplines require) and 2. Because they have lost their balance and need to recover. So the horse learns to change leads as a solution to a loss of balance.
Conversely, the exercise Philippe teaches trains the horse to change leads through a gain of balance. Because the horse is in a more upright posture from the renvers position, the horse naturally swings the inside hind leg into the new lead first, and grounds the new outside shoulder, rather than falling onto the inside shoulder. The renvers position gives the same footfall as the new canter lead, so the horse will change leads consistently from the hind legs first, rather than falling onto the lead in the forelegs. In essence it’s a fail safe against changing the lead with only the forelegs, and creating a late change behind, that we see so often.
The next benefit is that because you are asking for a change of lead from inside to outside, you can be sure that the horse is listening to the aids and timing of the rider, rather than relying on a change of direction or a loss of balance and recovering onto the new lead. Nota bene: the horse must be well versed and balanced in counter canter and renvers in canter before this exercise is attempted. By starting in this way, you can then ask for a change of lead by the same aids anywhere in the arena, and on any figure you like, removing the challenge of changing leads somewhere other than on a diagonal.
Another benefit is for horses who tend to contract or become too upright, this system creates a long, fluid stride, so reduces the probability for example for the horse to double clutch behind, or contract the back. For horses that rush, this creates a long stride, but the figure limits the possibility to run forward onto the new lead, and again reduces the chance for a loss a balance due to rushing, or an association of discomfort or anxiety with lead changes.
So, despite how difficult this exercise is (particularly if done well!) I think it’s well worth it to try, and work towards it, even if it takes a lot of practice and a lot of preparation.
Some tips: make sure your horse is well versed in all the pre requisites. Those include:
- able to canter in both true lead and counter canter on a circle in a good balance.
-immediately responsive to swing the haunch following pressure from an isolated leg aid.
- comfortable cantering in renvers
-able to canter true lead, and add counter bend, on the circle
- able to displace the shoulders toward the inside of the circle
-able to return quickly to walk
-able to swing the haunches *CLEARLY AND IMMEDIATELY* to the outside into renvers position, on the circle in walk
-able to depart into canter from walk in the clear renvers position cleanly
Once your horse can do all of those steps, you simply try without the walk steps between the two leads. I suggest attempting with your horse from his difficult canter lead to his easier one first, and rewarding the try, even if he only swaps behind on the first few efforts. This is not an intuitive exercise for the horse, and effort must be well rewarded!
Will you give it a go? If you do, please share your findings here!
