You use the spur when he spooks? What is the thought process behind this?
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Good news - bad news. We have a pretty reliable change right to left. But is still clueless left to right. It is amazing how he cannot process the change in the opposite direction. Today we settled for some really good simple changes. And dealt with his belief that the far end of the arena has goblins! 
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Thanks for the comment!!
In short (short!), he’s been going in this arena for, oh, 8-9 years. There’s a gate at the far end that opens to the playground (obstacles) and then opens to a pasture. He’s done years of work in the playground and has ridden multiple times in the pasture (I’ve locked inhabitants in their paddock to do this). He looks beyond the pasture and finds things to spook at. At this point, yes, I get it when things change in the playground. We’ve occasionally kept steer in there and he freaked out at their feeder which is now in his pasture. He gets his hay in the feeder and regularly plays with it. But pretty much, very little has changed beyond the Gate of Doom. I’ve consulted with several trainers who said “Yea, he’s blowing you off”. He’s very hypervigilant.
I went to longer spurs because a) they require less movement of my lower leg and b) he’s obviously ignoring the short spur. He tried to spook the other day and today at the Gate of Doom and when I applied the spur, he realized that Oh, he should pay attention to me more than what he thinks he sees a half mile or more away.
He’s a fine line to navigate. Today, several friends were out riding and we rode together. I worked the cow flag with him and he said “what’s the point of chasing this?” He’s done it before. Seven of us went out for a walk around the neighborhood afterwards in the very late afternoon, and he became very tense to the point that I had to ask people to not trot up the hill (he’s been on this walk many, many times). He was tense about seeing the horse’s shadow on the fence before we entered the hay field. He showed all of the signs of exploding which I haven’t seen in years from him. Luckily, everyone complied.
So basically, he’s a bit of a potentially explosive horse with a hard spook who is really smart… several trainers have mentioned that he takes advantage of that. I’ve had good results so far reminding him that it is easier for him to pay attention to me and my aids than pay attention to something he sees that isn’t close to him. Some days are better than others but that’s him.
The Vaquero guy suggested longer spurs that meant something when applied, and I know from previous dressage horses many of them come to ignore the smaller spurs.
Does this address your question? If not, I’ve got boatloads of detail I can go into!!!
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I think I used to count the inside front landing and go “3, 2, 1 and change” and change my legs on the “and.”
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Brag of the quarter: showed 2nd level over the weekend, and despite succumbing to show-off impulses and ending some canter work with a flying change in the warm up the day before, executed 0 unauthorized flying changes in the tests.
That, my friends, is true mastery of the flying change. And zero mastery of show-off self control.
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Thank you so much for this suggestion. My horse has been struggling to grasp concept of L to R change, and after a two days of canter-wp-canter, we actually got one. It has identified our “hole,” lacking straightness and falling out the right shoulder. If I can pick that shoulder up, he has a chance at a clean change.
Our R-L change has been more consistent, but also improved with the canter-wp exercise.
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My little update on our journey - I got maresy some hock injections and our L to R change has greatly improved (in her willingness to jump through clean without a scramble step). She altogether feels like a new horse. So, if one change is great and the other lags for months, could be physical as they say! 
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I had my horse’s hocks radiographed just a couple of months ago to make sure we weren’t missing anything - thankfully clean and honestly no ‘other’ signs of issues anywhere, just his commitment to the skip a change. I went out-of-town for a week and left my guy with my instructor to keep in work. She worked on making his simple changes explosive instead of polite. Then when I came back, we worked the flying changes with her on the ground using the lunge whip. He had clean in the air flying changes both directions every time. Just needed an incentive that mattered to him. My guy has to learn that the only acceptable change in in the air. So, the plan now is to only work on the flying change in a lesson with lunge whip support until we feel he’s really committed to the launch and fly LOL. Between lessons I am still working on all the other components to get him and keep him supple, keep him jumping in the collected canter and now in addition to riding squares I’m riding working pirouettes and half pirouettes. It’s clear that strength is no longer his issue and he’s far more supple.
What was funny was after the first lesson with my instructor chasing us (with appropriate timing I should emphasize) with the lunge whip where we worked on the FCs and also passage, my instructor exclaimed, “THAT was fun! It’s not often I have anyone brave enough to let me do that.” I had to laugh and remind her that not only was I born with velcro on my backside, though it’s had 59 years of wear and tear, I ain’t ready for the KMart pony yet.
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That’s so good to know! Thank you!
Sir SpooksAlot is still having problems with changes but I’ve not been asking much because the weather has precluded regular work. His walk-canter transitions have developed into big, uphill transitions. We’ve been working on working canter pirouettes and he’s very good to the right. He can change in one walk or trot step.
When the cowboy schooled him in changes, which he got, he was not in boots and created cuts in his legs (has shoes all around). He can’t seem to figure out what to do with his legs in changes under saddle. I’ll run this post/idea by my instructor. Thanks!
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Guys. Omg. I think I have a clean and reliable left to right change now. I’m pinching myself (we’ve had the other direction getting 7s for months). Ahhhhh!!! It only took, uhm, 14 months 
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The flying change gods giveth, and the flying change gods taketh away: I’ve had clean changes on the aids for, hand to heart, at least 6 solid months now. Set some 2023 goals to start showing 3rd, and suddenly my R to L change has disappeared.
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I am a little superstitious because this horse has a way of being mind blowing amazing and I say it out loud and then she tries to commit suicide kicking through a fence etc. She has hand to god almost killed herself twice in front of my eyes, including flipping over out of a trailer. So nothing is certain 
. Training wise, she’s interesting because it can take a long time to “get” something (like these changes), but then it’s like she just gets it completely (my other horse is far less linear in his learning). Of course, if she hurts herself and goes off again for months, it slows things the hell down.
My big 5yo goes from nice east, clean changes (albeit not on the sequence of aids I’d prefer at all), and then other days he is quite certain he doesn’t even have 4 legs and certainly doesn’t know where they are and what they are doing.
But I’m here with a new kind of flying change hell with my 10yo. He’s quite broke (with a mostly front to back hunter style change but that’s what he came with), but he hasn’t done any changes for a year as we have been rehabbing a serious injury. I decided his canter might be good enough to try a change again. And it would give me some insight into his strength and coordination at this point of the rehab. Go across the diagonal and ride straight, and I don’t cue anything and he’s like I got this and changes just fine. See if it he’s good the other way too. No problem.
So now his evasion to working better (straighter, more over the back, more push from behind) in the canter is to throw in lots of random changes and straight up porpoise leap into the other lead if I try to hold him on the original lead. Glad you are feeling so confident, but…sigh. Let’s just be able to canter a couple minutes on the rail without stopping first.
Been there! Ah, find memories it will get better.
I’m really interested to see how it goes with my next youngster, but he’s just turning 2 so still have some time before we even think about flying changes LOL
It did give me a laugh when he would change anytime we went past the other horse having a lesson in the arena today. Other horse is PSG/schooling I1 and was doing a lot of passes of changes across center line or long side. So first time we go past him in canter, my horse is like look…I can do 3s too…if only my mom would LET ME hello ok is the JUMP in THIS change better? What if I threaten to put my head between my legs while I’m at it? No? Well, this is dumb. When’s lunch?
But 20+m circle in canter….hells no, way too hard. Ah the joys of rehab in winter.
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Anyone else can’t tell what lead they’re on or if their horse actually changes when you ask if he changes rhythm?
My horse has such a comfortable counter-canter that I get confused what lead I’m on, mainly when on a straight line. There are also times I ask and he changes his cadence in response to my half-halt aids but doesn’t change leads and I can’t tell. Oh yeah, and then I forget which I’m doing - a simple or flying change - and leg-yield the wrong way in preparation for the change.
My horse has been anticipating the change in 3rd 3, so we’ve been working on changing from counter-canter to counter canter at all different points around the ring (including where you do the simple changes in 2nd 3), which totally confuses me!
We only started working on changes since the summer, so maybe with time we’ll both get better.
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There is no shame in glancing down at the shoulders (with your eyes, not your whole head) when you’re at this point. It’s not a cheat - it’s a way of training your body to feel what you see.
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I was reminded of this video I made last year last night and and had to share… this was me just playing around, I’ve learned a lot since then so please no judgement too harsh but this video makes me laugh and is the epitome of my flying change hell.
Also ignore my outfit it was deep winter in Canada and freezing
If the link doesn’t work…
IMG_8192
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Yep, my horse will sometimes do a hop but not change and I can’t quite tell if he’s changed, and yes when we start trying to do counter canter to counter canter or leg yield and then change I get confused and I ask for a change to the lead we’re already on. I just laugh it off and continue on - it doesn’t happen every time, just from time to time.
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Proof of life on our changes: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnORFN8ohxk/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The hop without changing I am familiar with! Particularly if the horse gets tired and doesn’t want to change anymore.
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