Ask The Trainer

I have a question regarding teaching my horse to do flying changes. I have a 7 yr old mare that I want to train for western riding. She knows her leads and can do simple changes in a figure 8 & in a straight line from a right to left lead with a halt, a few strides a walk and even with a trot transition. I want to take her to the next step. Am I doing the right thing by practicing simple changes and making the halt time shorter and shorter. In theory, she'll come to expect and feel my cue for the switch, right? She has a tendency to get a little hot with new things, but as she becomes more confident she relaxes.

Do you have any suggestions?

Basically, yes, with your horse's temperament, I think the technique you are using is a good one. I've found that with somewhat sensitive horses that become easily excited or worried or tense, that asking for clear simple changes, giving them time to relax before resuming the canter, then gradually reducing the non-canter steps until only one or one-half a stride remains works best for teaching the flying change. When there is only a half a stride left, it's generally quite easy to remove that and get the flying.

When you get to this point, you will need to be very careful about your horse's way of going. As you approach where you want the horse to try the flying change, collect the horse a little more so that he has a bouncier canter. The flying change is executed during a moment of suspension above the ground, so the more the horse's momentum is directed upwards, instead of forwards, the easier it will be to do a flying change, especially in the beginning.

Also, pay close attention to how you are sitting. Nearly all horses will lose their balance slightly the first few times that they attempt this with a rider on their backs, so you want to make sure you are not contributing to it, but instead can be a help for the horse to remain balanced as much as possible.

For example, if the horse is on the right lead, the rider sits a little bit on the left seatbone, pushing forward through to the horse's right front leg to maintain the canter. This needs to change in order for the horse to change leads easily, yet the rider must change how they sit in a calm and deliberate manner.

For the flying change, the rider should sit more evenly a couple of strides before the cue is given, and use both legs to maintain the bounce and action of the canter. As the horse's rear right leg lands, the rider should sit, not heavily, but distinctly, on their right seat bone, to "trap" that leg and cause it to hesitate. At the same moment, the rider closes the fingers on the right rein in a half-halt which will also create a hesitation in the right rear. During the hesitation, the rider brings the right leg back behind them, simultaneously bringing the left leg forward to the neutral position. In the next instant, allow some freedom with the right rein and use an active right leg to push the horse laterally to the left lead. At the moment you relax the right rein from the half-halt, flex the horse to the left.

When the horse does the flying change, it may be somewhat awkward, and the rider should sit lightly and relaxed and balanced, so as to not interfere or jar the horse's back. After the change is completed, then the rider now uses their right seatbone to push through to the horse's left front leg to help the horse regain rhythm and balance and continue the canter.

While this sounds like a lot is happening (and it is) it is not much more than a sequence of cues with impeccable timing. Practice the sequence of cues while doing the simple lead changes, till you and your horse are familiar with them. The flying change comes when you both have practiced the sequence enough to apply them quickly at the correct moment.