Next (Diagonal) Step
When your horse is moving reliably off your leg in both directions, it's time to move up to a trot. Because of the rhythm and increased forward motion, you and your horse both may find leg yielding easier at the trot. If you're more comfortable sitting the trot, then sit. If you're more comfortable posting, then post. Keep in mind, though, that you're starting over with an entirely new gait, so you're going to teach the whole process again, progressing in small increments.
Sometimes when people increase speed, they react by pulling back more on the reins. "Don't pull back!" Kelly emphasizes. "Keep your hands out in front of you because that's keeping the door open." You can still pick up on the bit with your hands staying well in front of you. Just shorten your hand position on the reins.
Softening the Face
Leg yielding helps teach your horse to give in the face, softening his response to the bit. It's also a neat way to work on getting your horse to learn to give you "one jaw at a time." Instead of taking hold of your horse's mouth and saying, "You're going to give to me now," you can introduce softness slowly during a leg yield.
As the horse learns to move away from your leg, ask him to soften by lightly closing your fingers on the rein as if you were squeezing water out of a sponge. The horse will usually comply without too much trouble, not knowing what you're asking until he's already doing it. "It's kind of like going through the back door," says Kelly.
Big Wide World
With leg yielding, eventually you'll want to move away from the fence or wall. Starting back at the walk, come around a turn, keep your horse straight from head to tail and ask him to move away from the wall on the diagonal for a step. Then go straight again. Proceed in the same way you worked the horse along the fence, asking for an extra diagonal step each time and working equally from both directions. Remember to keep the horse nearly straight and those hands forward so the front door can stay open!
You can do leg yields at any gait. Keep in mind, however, that keeping a good, cadenced rhythm is more important than speed. "It doesn't matter what speed you're going, just keep it the same all the way through," Kelly says.
Learning something new to both of you is probably not going to progress without the occasional frustration. "If you get in a bind, quit for a while," she advises. "It's not a big deal." You can always go back a few points in the exercise and begin again. "Go forward. Get parallel to the fence and get your ducks back in a row before you ask again. Just ask for a little bit. Quit. Go forward. Ask for a little bit again. Go forward. When you start getting it back at a walk, trot a little bit. Move over. Go forward."
Eventually, as your cues and the horse's strength improve, you and your horse will be dancing a beautiful ballet. "And that's how we go," says Kelly.
