I am having difficulty with the right to left lead change. The left to right is pretty consistent- occasionally it’s a leap, but for the most part it’s good. He can counter canter both directions with ease, simple changes are clean and easy. When I ask for the right to left, he gives a large buck and does not change. I have tried lots of simple changes, lots of counter canter to simple change at the same spot, leg yielding to the wall and asking etc. No medical reason was found at recent vet exam.
I am in the same position! Well, not quite it’s the opposite leads for me. One side quite lovely, the other is a handstand effort. Hopefully someone out there has been through this and can help us 
Not sure this will be of any help at all, but:
I have a horse that has his changes. As he and I were going thru our get to know each other phase, he would throw his right hip in the air when asked for a right to left change. Felt like a buck or kick out.
Problem was solved when a trainer told me that I needed to focus more on keeping my seat IN the saddle and weight on that right seatbone. I never actually felt out of the saddle but it was happening and so long as I think, its now fixed.
If it’s not the horse… it’s the rider. 
I often find something easier to do one way than the other, and sometimes get stuck the bad way completely unable to get any improvement. What I have found to be extremely helpful in this situation is to alternate rapidly between good and bad sides. At first I simply try to feel whatt I’m doing differently. I try to think in terms of inside/outside rather than left and right. Weight in hand, seat, leg. Pulse pressure vs holding. That sort of thing.
The next step is to try to make the bad way feel like the good way. What happens is some small improvement, almost always followed by the realization that I’m also doing this other thing differently. :lol:
The key is the rapid switch back and forth between good and bad ways. One attempt, maybe two, then swap. That goes for both sides, good and bad.
I think it’s pretty normal to have one change work well and the other be more difficult. I usually find it to be a straightness issue. Many times, the horse carries their haunches one way or the other and, while they may not feel all that crooked, when it comes time to do the changes, they struggle. It would probably be helpful to take a closer look at the straightness of the horse and possibly have a professional help you work through the tough change.
I’ve also found that some horses have a harder time creating the “jump” needed to make the change and so they buck instead of change. Sometimes using ground poles can be helpful or doing the changes out in a more open area. If it’s any consolation, it will most likely get better. I’ve had some very tough horses over the years and they’ve always learned to do very nice changes. Sometimes it can take a lot of patience.
[QUOTE=2tempe;8287154]
Problem was solved when a trainer told me that I needed to focus more on keeping my seat IN the saddle and weight on that right seatbone. I never actually felt out of the saddle but it was happening and so long as I think, its now fixed.[/QUOTE]
My horse knows his changes, though they were taught to him many moons ago and not used for a while. One direction is clean and lovely every time, the other is 99% of the time a bucking change. I assume it’s an issue with my straightness, so my plan, when he’s getting closer to competing 3rd, is to have my trainer school his changes a bit, as she’s very good at pointing out where I’m tight, or holding, or crooked, etc.
If he bucks with her, then I know it’s just an exuberance issue, which I am happy to ride through. But having her get on and confirm what I believe to be true, that I’m getting in his way, is much needed and appreciated.
I second the “address the straightness” issue with a trainer or coach, and also try asking for the change over a ground pole. Sometimes the horse finds it easier with something to “jump” over as he makes the change.
I am going through the EXACT same thing and it is a straightness issue for me. I started doing them on the long side using the wall to help hold us straight (go left and change to the right lead counter canter). Those got pretty good so now we are doing them on the diagonal with 2 jump poles on the ground on the right side to help hold us straight. It is 75% me and 25% my horse (probably created by me originally, but now he does it with my trainer too). I was just pondering last night why it is so easy for me to stay sitting and straight one way but not the other… ??
It is not unusual for a horse to have this problem. As said, it’s a matter of strength and straightness.
This is where the rider must be absolutely steady and strong in not only their position but the ability to hold that position throughout the change.
Unfortunately, horses who have an excellent counter canter can happily hold it when the he rider puts them in a position where the horse should have no option but to change. I have seen some riders effectively stop asking for counter canter at all, in order to get the change button squarely installed.
Lots of exercises that can help with this issue as it is a common one.
I find usually a small figure of 8 with two 10m voltes at x can be helpful, doing the change right as crossing x.
Or a right HP to x and left 10m volte with FC as crossing x, or we can choose to do the left volte in CC and ask for the change on the wall, etc… etc…
There are so many possibilities for exercises to correct the issue. The key is that likely the rider’s half halt is not in time with the aid for the FC, or the FC aid is late or too slow, so we choose exercises which put the horse on the hind leg and cause the rider to need to do a quick aid with a half halt on the new outside rein.
A lovely book that I think has many many suggestions to try for the flying change and its preparations is Dressage Solutions by Arthur Kottas.
[QUOTE=~DQ~;8287535]
…
I find usually a small figure of 8 with two 10m voltes at x can be helpful, doing the change right as crossing x.
Or a right HP to x and left 10m volte with FC as crossing x
…
There are so many possibilities for exercises to correct the issue. The key is that likely the rider’s half halt is not in time with the aid for the FC, or the FC aid is late or too slow, so we choose exercises which put the horse on the hind leg and cause the rider to need to do a quick aid with a half halt on the new outside rein.
A lovely book that I think has many many suggestions to try for the flying change and its preparations is Dressage Solutions by Arthur Kottas.[/QUOTE]
My guy and I are working on these 2 exercises right now! Totally agree that it helps the rider and the horse. We warm them up at the trot and when changing direction ask for the canter. When perfect, then we repeat them at the canter…
The Kottas book has helped in so many ways.
He does the same thing to the trainer. She was able to get the change with the ground pole technique once or twice. She has told me to ride him more forward, but honestly I cannot physically do that- he bucks just as much, just bigger and it’s really unsafe- he LAUNCHES me, I almost came off last week. And honestly he bucks her out of the saddle too- and she is very good rider and trainer. I really feel he just needs to do it a few ( hundred) times and he will get it. It was the same the other direction, but buck not as big and i could ride through it. Isn’t there some flying change guru boot camp? ! lol
I’m not sure what part of the country you’re in but there are trainers out there that are extremely good at fixing problems with the flying changes. That aside, my personal horse would do what we affectionately called “handstands” when he was learning flying changes. I found that doing a lot of quick changes of lead through the walk and/or trot and very few actual flying changes helped a lot. Ground poles and small jumps also helped a lot. Some bucking is normal with some horses but, I would be careful not to drill it too much if he is bucking severely. If he gets you off that will only be a detriment to your training. Try to mix in the simple changes and changes of lead through the trot with other work, possibly work that helps get him more collected and straighter. Make changing leads a non-issue and something that isn’t “worked on” or exciting. Every now and then ask for a flying change and see if he starts to offer you something better. It took a while, but my former-bucker does flying changes for an 8 now. They will never be easy for him but he did get it.
It’s incredibly hard to diagnose changes issues without seeing the horse and rider.
A lot of the time, it’s a straightness issue. But just as many times, it’s a canter quality issue. I personally would not be going bigger with the canter. I successfully taught a horse that had the same issues clean changes. The trick was to bunch him up and lesson the distance that his hip had to travel in order to make the change. You want the horse in that instance to have to make as little a move as possible.
Also, RIDE THE CANTER. DO NOT ride the change, or for the change. If the canter isn’t good enough quality, it won’t happen. I’ve seen riders pitch forward, contort themselves and do all manner of things except for ride the canter stride. So sit down, get the eyes up and feel the canter.
But, I would get getting horsie to a trainer, or at least make sure that you have eyes on the ground. The chances of teaching a late or early change increase dramatically when they are flailing around trying to get the change.
[QUOTE=Reddfox;8288036]
It’s incredibly hard to diagnose changes issues without seeing the horse and rider.
A lot of the time, it’s a straightness issue. But just as many times, it’s a canter quality issue. I personally would not be going bigger with the canter. I successfully taught a horse that had the same issues clean changes. The trick was to bunch him up and lesson the distance that his hip had to travel in order to make the change. You want the horse in that instance to have to make as little a move as possible.
Also, RIDE THE CANTER. DO NOT ride the change, or for the change. If the canter isn’t good enough quality, it won’t happen. I’ve seen riders pitch forward, contort themselves and do all manner of things except for ride the canter stride. So sit down, get the eyes up and feel the canter.
But, I would get getting horsie to a trainer, or at least make sure that you have eyes on the ground. The chances of teaching a late or early change increase dramatically when they are flailing around trying to get the change.[/QUOTE]
Agree with the issues of diagnosing from description vs. video. Sometimes the change issues are fixed with adding power, and sometimes they need the power taken out. And most of the time the straightness issues are strength issues.
I recently did a really interesting exercise with my pony, who can get a bit ambitious in the changes:
Do square turns in the canter. As soon as you feel like you can tuck the outside hind (which will become your new inside hind after the change) underneath your seatbones and turn, go on a straight line and ask for a change. Rinse, repeat. Make sure that the canter quality (rhythm, relaxation, etc.) stays constant. If things get too hot, find a different exercise.
Another one that “gets at” the mobility of the hips (which is often why horses buck through changes) is counter canter shoulder-in-- where the shoulder-in is relative to the arena, not the canter lead. You really feel that outside hind stepping under and across the body and all the joints from fetlock to hip bending and taking weight. Once you feel like that outside hind is accessible, ask for the change. I’d be surprised if your horse doesn’t offer it before you’re ready though.
I am located in Ohio- would certainly be willing to travel if there is someone who can work through this problem.
When I started changes on my horse, I swear I installed a buck button. I had to really focus on quality of canter, and to not ask for a change if there was any tension. I also schooled them less, as to keep her anticipation down. I took my spurs off for a couple of months too. I kept playing with them, and they are better, but it took time. I really have to focus on making sure my aids are the same every time. One thing that seemed to make the change a nonissue was putting a reason to do them. I would canter cross rails, and ask for a swap hunter change when changing directions. I think she realized that it was for her benefit, not mine. It took time though, get a really good trainer to check out the issue. I know my trainer said that teaching changes can cause a lot of other problems to start. You just have to train it, and then work on it. Not sure where you are at, but try to find a good coach to help!
[QUOTE=cnm161;8288084]
Agree with the issues of diagnosing from description vs. video. Sometimes the change issues are fixed with adding power, and sometimes they need the power taken out. And most of the time the straightness issues are strength issues.
I recently did a really interesting exercise with my pony, who can get a bit ambitious in the changes:
Do square turns in the canter. As soon as you feel like you can tuck the outside hind (which will become your new inside hind after the change) underneath your seatbones and turn, go on a straight line and ask for a change. Rinse, repeat. Make sure that the canter quality (rhythm, relaxation, etc.) stays constant. If things get too hot, find a different exercise.
Another one that “gets at” the mobility of the hips (which is often why horses buck through changes) is counter canter shoulder-in-- where the shoulder-in is relative to the arena, not the canter lead. You really feel that outside hind stepping under and across the body and all the joints from fetlock to hip bending and taking weight. Once you feel like that outside hind is accessible, ask for the change. I’d be surprised if your horse doesn’t offer it before you’re ready though. [/QUOTE]
hi C,
Can you comment on difficult this exercise is to do “correctly”? Should this be for a solid third-level horse who is just sticky in the changes? It seems like it takes alot of strength and coordination to perform correctly. Or is this a good exercise for confirmed “upper-second level” horses? Thanks for describing this!
[QUOTE=RSohio;8288278]
I am located in Ohio- would certainly be willing to travel if there is someone who can work through this problem.[/QUOTE]
Sent you a PM!
[QUOTE=J-Lu;8288582]
hi C,
Can you comment on difficult this exercise is to do “correctly”? Should this be for a solid third-level horse who is just sticky in the changes? It seems like it takes alot of strength and coordination to perform correctly. Or is this a good exercise for confirmed “upper-second level” horses? Thanks for describing this![/QUOTE]
No problemo!
I’d say as soon as you have a solid shoulder-in and a half-halt that connects through the outside rein and to the hind end, you’re ready to go. You can always start with less angle and less bend (shoulder-fore), and if you’re just starting out on this exercise I’d recommend doing only short pieces of it. It definitely is a bodybuilding activity for the horses. So to introduce it:
Collected canter across short diagonal to counter canter. Establish balanced counter canter (however long that takes, but if it takes too long probably you’re not ready for Step 2). Transition over the next 3 or so strides to shoulder-fore. If that’s easy, hold it for several strides and then transition back to straightness. Repeat several times before asking for a sustained shoulder-in.
I also recommend only using this sparingly until the horse develops some strength because it can be a lot of work, especially if like most horses he/she is not evenly using both hind legs.
I started my gelding on this exercise when he was schooling I/GP, and my mare when she was starting 2nd+. Really depends on the horse as far as how early this exercise is valuable.
