Changes from left to right are USUALLY together behind for me - for my trainer not so much. Pretty sure my left leg is “slow to the aid” (its the femur I’ve broken twice now… and pretty sure its a bit shorter and def. weaker than the right).
So I need ideas just what am I missing? What are some exercises for us both to do that will improve my timing.
I KNOW I should not drill the changes. He has them down to the twos.
We are showing PSG, tired of getting 4s on the line of fours tempis.
TIA
(And the typical disclaimer about saddle fit, teeth, lameness, shoeing, ulcers, diet, bit selection, - have I left anything off?.. its all fine/recently done/recently checked/etc etc)
I bet it’s your hip/seat bone on the right side not giving enough room for the right hind to jump through. I lift my hip and seat bone and bring it forward on the new “inside” during the change. It’s kind of like the motion of pedaling a bike. I don’t think about changing my legs forward and back (although they do some), because when you get to the 1s, there’s not enough time and you’ll end up swinging/crooked.
I would practice single changes and try to get them really big and bouncy and clear. Once you both figure out the single change the difficult way, let him stay big and try to string 2-3 changes together. You may have to fire up the right hind to jump through faster with the whip and/or think a little leg yield to the left to get the left grounded a bit longer.
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Typically 2 causes of together-behind changes (assuming all the vet stuff is A-OK):
- Canter rhythm is too quick/not enough airtime
- Canter’s too far behind your leg; legs stab downwards instead of jumping forward (can be a function of blocking with your hip and/or hand)
Also 1) can be affected by 2).
What helps separate the hind legs in the canter: renvers in counter canter. As follows:
- Short diagonal from true canter to counter canter
- “Fluff up” the counter canter around the short side
- Develop HI (to the direction of the canter lead) and introduce inside (to the arena) flexion to make it into renvers
- When the canter feels uphill, with a clear separation between inside hind and outside hind, ask for the change
You may get the change quite a bit earlier-- this exercise is a true test of bending vs. canter lead aids.
It’s really body-building work so make sure to take breaks.
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@cnm161 Thanks! THat sounds really interesting, I will try that… and I am sure I am blocking somehow, as it mostly happens towards the end of the line of changes. He either runs through my HHs , or gets behind my leg because of my HHs… LOL.
And, @theresak, thanks! Blocking with a right hip could very much be it… I tend to have it too far back all the time… and I have been thinking about the ones, so working on this now will help later!
Without seeing a video of what’s going on, my first thought is you need a lot more jump and activity behind. I have a tendency to ride them a little more collected, but as the great Jane Savoie said, your change canter is the most forward of the collected canters. So you don’t want them to be careening about on the forehand, but you do want to feel like you are charging forward on your line. So, 1. forward, and 2. active. In a regular canter, when you put your leg on, does the horse respond immediately with either more forward or more energy? If not, that button needs to be in place first.
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To get my horse in the right mode for good changes doing a lot of forward back forward back in the canter helps. Short bursts. So only a few strides each. The horse has to be on. the. aids. You can do this every 3 strides on a circle (it’s quick!). You should be able to get the horse back from mostly your seat alone.
Sometimes people use far too much hand for that exercise and for the changes in general. This can then block them in the neck, shoulder, and back. If the horse isn’t prompt, on its hind end, and free/through in the back/neck/shoulder, any hope for a good change (at least on mine) goes out the window.
You also have to allow with your hips. Your hips cannot stay in canter left while asking for a change to canter right. They have to ride the canter you want. It’s subtle, not a dramatic motion.
It is likely you’re blocking him somewhere. Been there, done that 
Thanks. Pretty sure losing some of the forward as the line progresses is part of the problem - and keeping the forward while not allowing him to run thru the aids and HHs is the challenge (as ide from my part of it of course).
I’m lost. Please help to untangle my brain. So you’ve done your half diagonal and your short side, and you’re in counter canter going down the long side, let’s say you’re going left on the right lead. If you were to go into haunches in position (with the haunches towards the inside of the arena - towards the left) you’d be in travers, if you do what I think you’re saying and develop a haunches in position that is not in opposition to the lead, then the hindquarters would be closest to the wall, the shoulders off the wall, and the bend would be to the right. That would be renvers. If you change the flexion/bend you are then in shoulder-in which is counter-bent to the right lead. Continue in shoulder in left while on the right lead, make the canter uphill and then ask for the change.
I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re saying and maybe just have a couple of terms confused? But if it’s another exercise to the one above that makes good sense, please clarify! More exercises are always good!
Here’s a picture of what I think you’re saying:
Squiggle = tail
Pointy things = ears
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HI towards the CANTER lead, not the arena center.
You change the flexion so counter flexed in canter. then ask for the change.
As she said, separating bend form canter aids.
Right. So that makes the HI actually renvers* and not actually HI and makes the counter bent part shoulder in against the canter lead.
*renvers has the butt closest to the wall/fence - the mirror image of HI/Travers which has the shoulder closest to the wall/fence.
No, because “inside” and “outside” ALWAYS reference the bend of the horse not the arena. (Unless made clear in description of course). If you do HI towards the canter lead you are doing HI, no matter where you are in the arena.
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Well, no, no you are not.
There is absolutely no mistaking renvers for travers. They are exactly the same movement in mirror image. And technically “haunches in” is not a movement. It’s a direction denoting deviation from having the horse’s body in a straight line or asking for more angle in travers or renvers. It’s not the name of a movement. You will never see haunches in on a test.
You’re right and I mistyped (probably shouldn’t have tried to multitask with a phone call and dressage advice, huh?).
Your schematic is correct. Half pass to rail; land in counter canter in renvers (relative to the arena; relative to the canter it’s haunches-in). Develop shoulder in (relative to arena) and BOOM CHANGES EVERYWHERE.
Sorry for the confusion, folks!
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