A little history, last summer we spent the summer at the trainers taking lessons, had a very successful summer at Second Level with scores into the 70’s. Due to the rising costs of everything, and me breeding a mare this year, I am unable to go for lessons. Bummer!! 
He is solid in his trot and canter half-pass, very solid with his collection work, counter canter, shoulder-in, haunches-in etc. We do not intend on showing much this year, as one I can’t afford it, and two, I don’t want to keep drilling him on Second Level, when we had a great season last year. I don’t want to bring him into the ring at Third Level, and not have our changes, as some do, saw it last summer. I’ve been doing simple changes on the wall and center line every 3 or 4 strides getting him quicker to my leg, and also working on straightness. So, what are some exercises that helped your horse learn the change, helped you as a rider ride a change, and I guess what worked best for you?? TIA
Leave the rail and go across the long diagonal, starting haunches in to X. Then straighten for a stride or two, and then ask for the bend in the new direction. Do this with in the trot, and with a trot transitions a few times, then do it in canter and ask for the new canter lead when you change the bend.
See also the thread, “I’ve Created a Flying Change Monster” or similar. Lots of good exercises on there that I’ve used!
The best one is the counter-canter to true canter on the 20m circle.
I also worked one in a lesson yesterday doing 20m canter circle to 10m canter circle.
Do walk transition a “X” of the 10m circle (at center of 20m). Then walk-canter again.
Next time, do simple change through the circle, taking as many walk strides as necessary.
Reduce walk strides until horse anticipates change, then ask for the flying change.
If you are getting changes that aren’t clean, go back to simple changes and counter-canter exercises to get the horse quicker to the aid.
If you are just trying to teach the aid, and not the actual change, and aren’t getting a reaction, try the medium canter across the diagonal, and as you approach the wall ask for the change and tap firmly behind new outside leg with the whip. You should get “something.” That helped me re-establish the aid when my mare “lost” it after doing too much counter-canter work.
Spectrum.
There are many great suggestions.
Here’s my two cents: Alot will depend on your horse. For example, going into a change from haunches in would be a disaster for my horse because she moves her haunches with any twitch from my unsupported outside leg. I ask for canter and changes with my inside hip, seatbone and leg, and I use parallel “new outside aids” to keep my horse straight. Straigtness is key.
I don’t ask on the centerline because if/when you move to fourth level and you enter at collected canter and are expected to halt, your horse might anticipate changes with your half halts and throw them in. Your horse will think he’s great but the judges won’t. :winkgrin:
I use short diagonals and simple changes to introduce the flying changes. When the horse begins to anticipate the simple change, I ask for a flying change. If your horse knows half pass, I think half-pass to the wall, counter canter and then change (as it is in third level) is a great exercise. Some horses get it quickly, some very talented horses don’t. If he doesn’t do them cleanly at first…so what? I don’t punish, I don’t drill. In the beginning, the point is to give the horse the idea that changes are now on the table. I reward and effort and call it a day. I might introduce the changes this way for a week and then put them away for a month and work on the quality of the canter. Then, I might pull them out again. Again, I reward effort, not necessarily clean changes. If they are clean - bonus. Stop. End the ride. Show the horse he was great. If they were not, I work on the quality of the canter and don’t even ask unless the quality is great. If the horse tries - great, I reward him. Alot of time, if the changes aren’t clean it is because there is tension in the back and the horse is anxious. Drilling or forcing the issue sometimes makes the anxiety worse. Showing the horse that changes are “no big deal” by keeping your seat and aids relaxed but clear will eventually teach an anxious horse that there’s nothing to worry about. And through that relaxation, the changes will come.
It took the horse I’m riding, another horse, as well as a superstar in our barn, quite some time to learn changes because of anticipation and anxiety about the movement. Now they are all ho-hum about it because they were given time to figure it out. Other horses figured it out right away and never looked back. Go figure. :lol:
J.
I have a hunter rider teaching one of my horses flying lead changes because the horse is in jumping training and that’s “what they do”. I’m trying not to cringe when she goes over the pole and then makes a sharp turn and switches her body weight pretty severely to the new side/lead. :sigh: Wanna have a little contest on whose horse learns them quicker/better???:lol: (repeating my mantra: It will be OK, they do this all the time.)
Dune, I’ll take your bet on which horse learns them better!
Be able to do a figure 8 in trot which sustains shoulder in (which makes it s.i. one direction and counter shoulder in on the second half)/then do travers and sustain it (which makes it renvers on the other circle). IF you can do those exercises well in trot, then do them in canter (si to counter s.i. and travers/renvers). The travers is in true canter and the cc is in renvers. When that works on both leads, then ask the horse to go from renvers cc to renvers cc, the changes WILL be united and the horse will change straighter in the long run because it truely jumps off the leg.
…
Hi,
Not all jumpers teach flying changes this way … in fact
none I know … and certainly not at the barn I am at.
Yours in sport,
Lynn
Thanks everyone, I’ll look up the thread “flying change monster”, these tips sound great. My horse is very balanced in the counter canter, and I think honestly changes are going to be hard for him to learn, but everything is hard for him at first(He over thinks almost, and really likes to challenge everything), then the light bulb turns on, and he’s like wow that’s easy, let’s do it more. One positive thing, his favorite gait is cantering. J-Lu, I very much have your attitude, he did do one about a month ago, we did a half pass to the right, came to the wall, changed my seat, changed bend, change, scared himself, change back, GOOD BOY! It was cute. I haven’t worked on them much since, well haven’t asked for one anyways. Been working alot on getting him quicker to my leg, HI in the canter HO in the canter etc. SI in the canter, and SO in the canter. Pretty much everything with the canter this guy loves. Which will hopefully help us, any more suggestions?? TIA
Well, it’s been the norm at every h/j barn I’ve been to and these are “A” show barns, so…:uhoh: The funny thing is that I’m sure that my description of what “they do” is not what they think they do. :winkgrin:
Ok, so here is an update everyone, thanks again for all of your help. I actually have two updates, the first one is, thrilled about this also, we do after all get to go to our trainers for the summer for lessons. YEAH! Second update, I got TWO beautiful flying changes today to the left. Yesterday and today I had fabulous rides on him, just light and willing(Willing, what’s that??). Anyways, today I was schooling canter half pass to both directions, as I’d come into the corner, I’d ask for the change, I could feel him trying to figure it out, but just couldn’t get it, so I did a few more half passes, and didn’t ask for the change coming into the corner, then decided to do a figure eight(Canter on the right lead), approached the center line, changed his bend, changed my seat and legs, and BOOM, CHANGE!!! YEAH GOOD BOY!! It was big, and he felt a little unsure of himself, as in “Ah am I suppose to be doing this??”, but wow wonderful. Of couse, me, never having ridden a change on a dressage horse(Ridden them on pleasure horses), was just wow’d, and had to attempt another, same thing, changed bend, seat and legs, and boom, and this one was BEAUTIFUL!! Felt just amazing. He got a little hot after them, not bolting hot, but felt just amped. Boys. I didn’t know wether to cry(As we have been threw alot together, and to come this far) or scream out loud with joy. I am so thrilled with ourselves, more so with him(I’m just glowing, I’m so proud of him) we have taught each other alot, have been thru thick and thin together, and I’ll be honest, up until last summer, I never thought I would see this point with him, it’s been a long haul. He’s such a tryer, I’m just thrilled…lots of treats after today’s ride…THANKS EVERYONE for the exercises!!
I am excited for you! My guy gets frustrated with H.I. in trot and then canters and then does changes on his own when I am working on counter-canter.
So when I am actually teaching flying lead changes it could be interesting because his is thinking too much…
Teaching/learning flying lead changes are so frustrating…
Congratulations!
To the OP, congrats! Flying changes are a very fun part of a horse’s education. :yes: Now, to J-Lu, who threw down the gauntlet :winkgrin: the hunter gal has the little filly doing her changes both directions and even on course. They are lovely looking changes, back to front and clean when she does them. Now, I wouldn’t say they are definitely confirmed every time but she’s almost there, horse understands, is not stressed over it and the aids for the change have gotten much less obvious. I’ve certainly seen plenty of dressage trainers muck it up much worse and/or take longer to teach them. It’s only been about a month. I never thought “her way” was going to work, but I guess it did. How are yours coming along?
[QUOTE=Dune;3126769]
I have a hunter rider teaching one of my horses flying lead changes because the horse is in jumping training and that’s “what they do”. I’m trying not to cringe when she goes over the pole and then makes a sharp turn and switches her body weight pretty severely to the new side/lead. :sigh: Wanna have a little contest on whose horse learns them quicker/better???:lol: (repeating my mantra: It will be OK, they do this all the time.)[/QUOTE]
Taught my pony that way with one trainer. Took 2 YEARS to get a counter canter back. :sadsmile: Still don’t always have it, but my sister (who rides him now) WAY over schools the changes. :mad:
My hunter was started like the pony. Stopped riding with said trainer, took the horse back to the basics (like retaught “whoa” :lol:). Didn’t touch the changes till this winter. He started to get the idea on the flat (is pretty solid when jumping a 3ft course, because he’s paying attention and using himself) so we left it alone. Now I don’t ever school the changes. I counter canter, leg yield, do those wierd v things (go from k-x-m) at the canter, and tons of transitions. On the rare occasions I can ask the him for a change he’ll pop a clean, even, LIGHT change out, and though he never truely “got” them on the flat this winter, the various exercises to build the strenght for the change and the understanding of the aids have allowed us to get them. 
The biggest thing my trainer emphasized was a) the horse understood the basic canter aid, if you are looking to the right, left leg back and inside leg on you pick up the RIGHT lead no matter where you are. After establishing a solid counter canter, he understood the aids, and the change was there.
That was to the OP and from a hunter rider’s point of view. 
