My horse drops his shoulder every time I ask for a canter departure. Do you leg yield out for both the upward and downward transition?

Original Question

Hi Ange,
My horse drops his shoulder every time I ask for a lope departure. Also drops into the circle, so he is not even on the same circle line.
Very annoying.
Question – Do you leg yield out for both the upward and downward transition?

Angie’s Answer

Hi Charmaine,

Great questions! Yes I am leg yield out for both upwards and downwards transitions. At first I would exaggerate the leg yield with a young horse or a horse that is putting weight on their forehand, especially their inside shoulder in both upward and downwards transitions. Then over time I would only need to support the horse a tiny bit, where no one watching could even see, I would use just a little inside leg to support the horse to keep off their inside shoulder (this is a bit where Django is at in this video).

Also, keep in mind some horses won’t need much leg yield for upwards transitions and some will need a lot more help in downward transitions, as every horse is different, but to answer your questions – yes in both up and downward transitions

https://wicksequine.com/videos/three-things-to-improve-your-upwards-and-downwards-transitions/