Looking fabulous!!
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I’m am venturing in to the first level of flying change hell with my young mare. Her lateral work (aka, homework) is confirmed. Now I just have to convince her that straight is ALSO an option.
Let this be my offering to the flying change hell gods. Blessed be thy name.
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I’m probably jinxing myself but the cowpony is really coming along (with my trainer)! She feels great when I ride her but my body isn’t coordinated enough to ride her less-than-in-November-but-still-green changes (half-pass yes, changes nope). It seems once she figures out the “hard thing” isn’t as hard as she thinks it is, the pieces sort of fall into place. They even tried half steps last week!
Of course, now she’s brewing an abscess so she just can just mull it all over during her “vacation”.
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Well, I did. Got a call this morning that my horse had a hock puncture, arrived at the same time as the vet … long story short, pony is spending the next week or longer in the hospital and until the swelling goes down, we’re praying that the tendon sheath was avoided. Horses.
Oh my god 
- I’m so sorry! Sending jingles
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Thanks
My trainer and I are both kind of mopey now. It’s not like we were planning on debuting third this season, but it would have been nice to have a chance and we were supposed to go to Tryon this spring .,. The show fees are now going to the hospital bill
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Whelp, my dressage trainer couldn’t get them. The cowboy could but my horse cut up his legs trying. They both tell me I’m too nice to him and have to whap his hind end when I ask but he doesn’t change.
Did that, he bucked and unseated me (you can’t sit his buck, no one can). I found a soft spot in the arena to bail. I’m not a fan of this. Go back on, he couldn’t to a clean change. I didn’t press that.
He can do all sorts of lateral work without changing, even half-pass changes in direction small circles in counter-canter. He gets flustered. Am re-thinking our approach to flying changes. Zero counter-canter. May try again with simple changes - one walk stride to the new lead and then omitting that step. Failed before but I’ve got new approaches. Luckily/unluckily, he anticipates everything and often provides the answer we did previously, not the answer for the aids I’m giving now. I’m must be wrong because we didn’t to this before, he says. or “WE HAVEN"T DONE IT LIKE THIS BEFORE-AAAGGHHHH!”
We’re in flying changes hell. Still.
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The very first horse I had that got to flying changes did a lot of flying and little changing. My trainer says he put more than one gray hair on her head. We put a jumper rider on him but that resulted in some major bucking. It took a year. From there he went on to be a PSG star and the world’s best horse. Although he always had an opinion.
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@Jealoushe your horse did ones… so clearly you have a GP horse in the making! Just skip the singles 
Changes are not for the faint of heart.
My mare finally has single changes mostly quietly after two years. The gelding I started the same week as her is schooling 2 tempi and some flip flops… sigh. Luckily for me I get to train them both so I’m not ready to slit my wrists but good lord 
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Some progress with my boy. His r-l change came first. He was very proud of it. But still not jumping through enough behind. His l-r change was more challenging. First he just braced and refused to change and got flustered. After much work on his canter and moving him around he became more manageable. But then he backed off and threw in a trot step. Just got something resembling a flying change last week.
Now that he understands the concept, I think I am going to have my instructor hop on and push for more jump and a clean change. I am too old to ride through major acrobatics!
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Thanks1 He’ got everything else at third level and we’re schooling fourth. But the changes… he’s the most difficult horse I’ve ever worked with on changes yet is cool with schooling the rest of fourth, offers passage. His bucking when I thwacked tells me he didn’t grasp the exercise, because he’s fine with thwacking when I ask for forward and he ignores the aids, He gets when I use harsher aids because he’s ignoring me. He doesn’t get to ignore me. But he seems to have a block about the changes. I’ve omitted CC from our rides and am reinforcing where I put the shoulders and hind end. Will try asking again soon. He’s not very weak in his hind-end.
The horse I have now is having a very difficult time with the L/R change and tends to be late. He was started on changes late in life. But he is very willing to p/p beautifully. Uh, he is Spanish. Anyhoo, he doesn’t get unruly. Just late. For 3 years. I am thinking maybe unruly is a little easier, once they do get the idea.
My guy is finally getting them clean. But I doubt he will ever get to ones.
So, chin up! Your guy will be a star once he gets it!
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Well, yeah - getting decked isn’t going to create an epiphany on his part.
My Old Man was chronic late behind, to the point that I flat out gave up. About 6 months later I decided to ask just to see what was there. Boom, he had them.
Sometimes less is more. If he’s cutting his legs up and stuff with cowboy, I’m not sure I’d continue with that, it sounds pretty frantic and unhelpful. While he may be “getting” them, he’s not actually learning anything in that nutty mindset.
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I’m much where you are. After 18 months I have finally seen some glimmers of hope in regards to: 1. Yes, I really want you to fly and change in the air, NO REALLY! 2. Any attempt at skip a change brings the come to Jezuz response from me (but only immediately and in the moment) and 3. A dramatic inhale, kissing and stretching up tall with my new outside leg going back is the real deal for the FLYING LEAD CHANGE and only then darn it!
My horse (all ponytude in that not so little welsh cob frame) takes huge exception to any reprimand he thinks is unfair. He’s so efficient and convinced that the skip a change is the more logical way to go. The first time I got after him (after so many people telling me not to reprimand him for ANY attempt to change) because my coach told me I was too nice I got whiplash from his double buck. Stayed on but my cervical vertebrae are toast and still ache after almost three months.
I think we’re headed in the right direction. I’m not giving up because he too is so good and fun at all the rest of the third level movements and fourth level is looking to be relatively doable other than the changes. As some others have shared, it’s easy to scratch your head and wonder where it’s all gone wrong and question one’s ability, but my coming 6-year-old Morgan got the concept of flying change in one ride. He’s not as committed to energy conservation as my Welsh Cob is LOL which I think is a huge difference.
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Our bad change is now our good change and we have our first show of the year this weekend. I’m just going to ride forward and not make a big deal with it and go with what we have. I don’t care if they’re clean, just when I asked and not a leap.
LetItBe
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I’m sorry to say but that you’re having issues with one of your ponies makes me feel better because you are such a successful rider/trainer!
We’re now working on putting his shoulders anywhere and his haunches anywhere in the trot. I already know he can do haunches in on various lines and a 10m circle cross cantering and I don’t ride this anymore thinking he’ll change with very difficult work to CC in. Energy conservation doesn’t seem to be his “thing” here as it has to feel miserable to him to cross-canter on a 10m circle. I’m thinking of going back to coming around towards the rail, doing a simple change for one walk stride and using the whip along with my new outside leg to associate the leg change with that extra reinforcement. I think if he gets the association, I can really enforce it without him bucking.
I did get changes when I used to show at QH shows when he was younger. I went to QH shows with a great GH friend because they are the pinnacle of desensitization opportunities. He was usually very tense and when he picked up the wrong canter lead (not often) I could get a change behind the judge. But he was on adrenaline. He’s not in his home arena.
He can be lazy or rather explosive, it’s my job to find that fine line but yet he can be lazy and then spook at something and do an explosive spook. He’s a tricky horse. These days from a huge amount of work, mostly fun and he actually loves hanging with people, but he’s a tricky horse to ride. Being bucked off reinforced to me that he has an issue mentally with the changes. I’m fair but know I lean on the sucker side which the two trainers have noticed but neither can get good changes on him. That said, I’ve taught him to free-longe around me in the arena on voice commands (he’s excellent with this and we do it frequently) and lead from my hand on his withers (no halter - I can do this when he free-grazes around the property to lead him back to his pasture) so he is pretty accepting of my influence and “asks”.
Thanks for your reply! I appreciate hearing your experience with your horses.
An epiphany isn’t the point.
The point was to get back on and get even an incorrect change without the bucking. Would you expect I shouldn’t ask for the change again to reinforce that bucking is NOT the answer to the question? I think if I didn’t get on ask again I’d reinforce that behavior. This horse is very smart.
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Working on putting shoulders and hind end anywhere…that seems to be an excellent exercise, even at the walk.
I had a hip replacement in October, and for a couple of months prior, was unable to ride due to pain. My trainer rode him while I was off. And that movement, mostly of hq, when asked, seems to have made a big difference.
Now I spend a lot of time at the walk, s/i to renvers, on the wall, across a diagonal, etc. He must put haunches where I say and when I say. The changes are getting prettier and cleaner.
Maybe it will do the same for you.
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Thank you!!
I hope you have a continued great recovery! It must be great to ride again. He to all of that, too, at the walk and trot these days. He’s pretty good at this.
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You didn’t say that, you said “couldn’t do a clean change”.
Honestly if even your trainer can’t get them I’d back off for a bit as he isn’t learning anything good. Lock in all the other stuff, ask for him to sit deeper longer, get him stronger and more supple. Ask again in a month.
