The lead leg is usually the leg that people use to catch themselves while falling. People can trip forward or have someone push them to find which leg makes sense for them. Many people also switch back and forth between legs which is a possibility.
Steps in between will be different for every person. One thing to note, however, is that if the hurdles are evenly spaced, you should have the same amount of steps in between every hurdle. You should not take three huge steps and then eight little steps. . . Instead maybe take 6 regular stride steps. Picture yourself going barely an inch over the jump. You might find that when you try to get as low as possible, you end up clearing the jump by plenty, while increasing your speed. Practice really does make perfect! And leaning forward opens a whole new world of speed.
