And what is the training hole? It’s ok, we’ve all been there*
*code for SOMEONE MAKE ME FEEL BETTER FOR NEEDING TO SPEND 4 MONTHS FIXING A HOLE AND MISSING HALF OF SHOW SEASON
2 Likes
You know the part in training where the front of the neck is supposed to connect smoothly to the area in front of the withers? Yeah, well, someone got lazy with this particular horse because it’s hard for her to let go of her tension and allow those muscles to work and the lower neck muscles to relax appropriately. Sigh. I am better than this … but apparently not with this horse!
It’s all good. It’s not like any of her other training is going to go away. In fact, it will all be better once we’ve truly fixed the hole instead of adding another layer of (unsandable Durabond 90 to it, forgetting to smooth it while wet and then going, “Meh, textured walls are ok.” 
2 Likes
I am here to say . . . . that it DOES get better. I entered the FCH abyss last winter—and posted about my need to start a “ministry of silly flying change equitation” due to my incessant need to torque my body into ridiculous positions when asking for the change.
So since then, we have gone through all of the FCH stages referenced in the various threads (plus maybe some unique ones because we are special): :
-
Bolty changes (but big praise because they are clean and they actually happened) where we change and then take off around the arena in our “victory gallop”, taking several minutes to regain control
-
Hip hop changes (hind end stops and hops in place then the change happens).
-
Tense, angry changes everywhere especially when not asked ("you want one now? how about now? again?)
-
Ignore the leg and continue in counter canter ('cause that “changes everywhere” phase didn’t seem to get much praise)
-
A miracle occurs and the mare actually starts to wait for me to ask for a change
-
Another miracle occurs and the mare starts to maintain the balance after the change (see bolty change stage above)
-
And . . . finally, we start to get nice clean changes, when I ask, followed by a balanced canter MOST of the time
Also good news—we debuted at 3rd and the changes got better as we got in the show ring a few times. My highlight was a 7.5 on one of our changes from Lilo Fore. I was pretty pleased with that score (even though our overall score wasn’t amazing—but, baby steps----it’s my horses and my first time at 3rd).
Even bigger though—at home the changes are starting to feel like a “ho hum” thing now. I can ask anywhere and we are getting clean, relaxed changes with no drama AND I am slowly losing my elite member status in the Ministry of Silly Flying Change equitation!
13 Likes
Thinking a little bit haunches in sometimes because he’d want to place his hindend slightly to the outside, and keeping him through and relaxed, in his back especially. It generally stemmed from tension and crookedness. Really firing him at the changes helped too. I went into them with a lot of forward energy and power. Lack of impulsion can add to this problem. Also make sure you’re not closing the front door and letting the energy flow through from back to front. I don’t know if that’s an issue (couldn’t see the video), but just something that could have an impact too.
3 Likes
How now?
We have had some breakthroughs, mostly the progression of working canter to halt, canter halt canter same lead, canter half canter same lead with no real time spent in halt, canter halt (with no real time spent in halt) canter other lead. My coach likes to report on the perfect flying changes she sees him do in turnout now. Sooooo helpful
We are committed to showing 3.1 in early October. I expect light chaos since we are now entering the “changes are everywhere expect where I want them” phase, but I just need to ride better…all of the time.
4 Likes
Congrats on the progress and good luck at the show!
No pressure though.
I don’t know if I should make another thread.
My gelding has had issues with flying changes that I’ve posted about before but did not get much support for.
He changes in front right to left but doesn’t change at all left to right. He has done changes when he’s been amped up as a youngster.
He has good counter canter and can change from true canter to counter canter and back to true canter on the long side.
It seems that he has sticky hind legs. My trainer rode him today and we prepared for her exercises - riding down the long side in true canter, coming up centerline and leg-yielding to the rail for counter canter, counter-cantering around the short side and then asking for the change. He collected noticibly more when she asked as he knew he was asked to be doing something, but he didn’t change. In the other direction, he offered a change in front when he felt the balance was changing. He’s good with counter canter, and counter canter for spots on the long side mixed with true canter. He gets the aids as I ask for canter in different leads on the centerline and long sides. He seems to need to be jazzed up to learn and we’re jazzing him up. My trainer will only go so far because she’s new to riding him and knows his history.
Would love it if someone knowledgeable could reply. I’ve done so much that normally works but he seems to be a tough cookie to crack. How to activate his new hind leg even when he’s actually on the new outside rein.
I don’t know if I have any answers, but my guy has been tough, too. We have been working on fc for a loooonnnng time.
What seemed to work best for us was/is hundreds of simple changes with them getting quicker and quicker. Collect, collect, collect, walk, canter new lead. Or the same lead. an
An exercise I saw a pro do was canter through the short side, then leg yield across the arena, really bending opposite to your lead, and when you get to the wall, change. That seemed to work for other horses. He had riders really go in the leg yield. Very forward and very bent. Then collect for a stride and change.
Just some thoughts and sympathy. Just keep plugging away.
2 Likes
I’ve had to use this exercise for my current horse in order to get him to truly bend in his rib cage so that he could change properly. My horse has a ‘weak’ left hind and is reticent to bending around my right leg. He’s build like a brick sh!t hous so the bending issue was expected. Lots of work to get a true bend and suppling both left and right AND exercises to strengthen his left hind in particular have helped. Another exercise that I’ve used which has helped him learn the mechanics of the flying change is walk pirouette to canter. This is also a strengthening exercise, so I recommend not overdoing it.
I’ve been told that I won’t be able to do the flying changes reliably well until I have the same canter in both directions hence the exercises above and doing a lot of shoulder in and haunches in at the canter on both reins with this horse. I have also being doing a fair amount of transitions in all 3 gaits, back and forth while maintaing the shoulder-in. I do feel that after a summer dedicated to this, Junior is giving me the correct mechanics to do reliable flying changes and now waits for me to supple to the new inside leg and wait for the half halt of the new outside rein in order to change without a ‘skip’ step and doing so with a decent jump. He’s consistently clean right to left because he’s stronger in the right hind and will bend around my left leg. Now I’ve been starting to get more consistency in the right to left change with good clarity as he’s started to accept that he must bend his rib cage around my right leg (move it out of the way) so that he can step under with the right hind (and thus engage his left hind more) which was the focus of the evasion.
My younger horse who is just training level also has a noticeably different canter on the right rein vs. the left (5 years old). I’m already working hard to develop the proper alignment and use of front and hind legs with appropriate bend in the rib cage just in the trot-canter-trot transitions; so that when the time comes (which will be soon) he’s not going to be a deja vue training moment for the flying changes. He’s not noticeably weak on his left hind but instead likes to cross over his inside legs to the front of his outside legs when on the right rein (think rope walking but at the canter). So a lot of riding to the right with my fully weight into the right stirrup just to get him to step over and under my weight (and remain more square with his leg placement). I’m doing ground exercises with him as well plus he’s still growing/developing his hind end to catch up with the chest expansion he’s recently had. Hopefully all of this will make the flying changes a little easier to teach him.
1 Like
An exquisite form of horse-torture that gets at this exact issue is:
- Half pass from the quarterline to the wall
- Canter along in haunches-out in the counter canter (half-pass positioning)
- Halfway to the corner, start changing bend (but not angle!) to bend towards the center of the arena (away from the lead)-- aiming for shoulder in (relative to the arena) but in counter canter
- Repeat
This will help build separation between the two hind footfalls, and enables you to get at either hind leg as you need. The change of bend often triggers a flying change. It’s a rare horse that will do this exercise without offering a change-- and usually the issue is that the canter gets too quick or too flat, which short-cuts the exercise. Keep the canter lively and consistent in tempo and there will be a flying change somewhere in there.
You can also skip the half pass step and just do circuits of counter canter to extend the time in haunches-out (relative to the arena) transitioning to shoulder-in (relative to the arena).
Finally, this exercise is hard work and uses muscles that may not be in as great of shape as the rest of the horse. So start with small pieces and then work your way up.
2 Likes
Changing the bend in the canter is very similar to the exercise I described (leg yield across the arena). But it didn’t have the half-pass. So that must be good for getting at the other hind.
@exvet, my guy is getting pretty good at right to left. Not so much left to right - weak left hind…He was SO stiff to the right when I got him, but he’s getting pretty even now…
Thanks! That’s what my trainer recommends. Of course, he was all jazzed up in his field doing flying changes all over the place. Sigghhhhhhh!
2 Likes
Thanks for this detailed post!
We’ve worked alot on bend because this trainer really emphasizes it. I think he has a weaker left hind because he’ll not at first pick up the canter from the walk going right (adds a skip step). But he can more easily do schooling canter pirouettes to the right and will offer them (he anticipates alot). His canter is close to equal in both directions, my trainer notices he doesn’t half-pass as well going to the right but I told her that MY right seatbone isn’t as strong as the left and that likely plays a large roll.
The walk pirouette to canter is a new exercise to me and I’ll give those a try.
Hmmmm, much to really contemplate in the rest of your post. So helpful. THANK YOU! Unfortunately, my horse is not good at “waiting” for aids, he likes to anticipate. He’s very smart and I tried to use that to my advantage by doing canter-walk-canter on the other lead transitions in the same place in the arena - then transitioning to a flying change. He can change leads with one walk step but gets flustered when we ask for a flying change. He gets mentally flustered easily as well.
I was able to get clean changes when we went to QH shows when he was young. Yes, I went to QH shows with him and a friend. I needed to de-sensitize him and that was a great way for him to see alot and who cared if he melted down (which he did at times). He was always jazzed in the arena and a couple of times he picked up the wrong lead behind the judge’s back and I was able to get a flying change because I thought the judge would notice if we trotted. I know it’s in there somewhere!
Thank you again!
OK, help me understand…
Cantering to the left, I do a half-pass at the first quarter line to the wall and continue in half-pass positioning which is kind of a Shoulder-out at this point? Keep the angle but change the bend? Huh. He will claim this as torture but we are really emphasizing that he has to change his balance and bend and “outside rein” so he should be able to do this. He might be that rare horse that can do this without offering a change, I’m afraid, but I’ll try this out. We are really emphasizing “jump” in the canter these days.
THANK YOU so much for this suggestion!!! Great advice!
It’s generally easiest to get into the exercise I laid out above in counter canter-- counter canter a 15m arc on the short side, and proceed straight down the 2nd quarterline. Then half pass to rail, but keep the half pass positioning (shoulder out, as you’ve correctly noted) when you land on the rail. Then toy with the bend within that angle and go from shoulder-out/renvers to shoulder in (while maintaining counter canter). The change is typically pretty easy to access right as you’re changing bend to SI.
If at any point the canter gets flat or races away from you, reestablish the canter quality first and then go back to the exercise.
I really really like this series because it lets you get at all four corners of the horse in a very short distance.
2 Likes
Guys, guys! My regular clinician (sees us a couple of times a year, since my guy was 4, he’s now 11) watched us ride our simple changes up the long sides and she was “wow, what straight, so lift, much smooth, big confidence!” and then she said, “He’s almost ready for flying changes. It won’t be long.” I know that there’s a distance between “almost ready” and “ready” and I bet that if I knew how big that distance was, I would be less thrilled, but still. Clinician isn’t one to hand out praise or dangle the prospect of improvement for no reason, so I’m very excited! Gonna buff my simples and work on my counter canter (ugh) and generally fluff my canter loftiness so that I can get on the bus to flying change hell and (probably) drive it straight into a wall. 
5 Likes
@J-Lu you could have written this word for word about my gelding. No advice, as we had to take a break from working on the lead changes to address some other unrelated health issues. But if it helps at all to know, we’re in the same boat! I’ll be following along and hoping you find some success. Forgive me if you already shared this, but how old is your gelding?
1 Like
Don’t worry, as soon as you start flying changes you will lose the straightness, lift, and smoothness 
5 Likes
He’s 13 and is doing around 3rd level, 4th level work. Except for the changes!
1 Like
The hard core forward leg yield across the arena to !!change!! has definitely helped my mare not do her skip. I need to keep surprising her to keep her from shortening her strides and drop her shoulder in her anticipation of the change, which is when she shuffles the hind end and tries to do a trot step.
Her right to left changes are, basically, 100% perfect and amazing at this point. Like, they were pretty good a month ago, and now it’s like she just has it down-pat. So I’m hopeful we’ll get there on the other side too. Just keeping working on building her canter strength, which I think is the last piece…
We qualified for regionals and have scored as high as 68.9% at 3-3 this year…so we’re going, even though we’ve got 50% of perfect changes. Her trot work is really great, sooooo…Smoke em while you got em.
2 Likes
