Flying Changes

[kateandjack]

 Hello everyone, I'm new but have a question:

Have you got any tips on how I can teach my jumping pony to do automatic flying changes?
When I flip him onto the other rein he will change with his front end but not with his back legs, and then he gets upset and frustrated.
Any ideas?
Thanks
 

Comments

[meupatdoes]

I was taught to teach flying changes thusly:

First, get a good counter canter installed. You start off counter cantering the long side and one turn, bent to the outside, before coming back to the trot. Gradually you work up to cantering the whole ring and being bent to the inside but still holding the counter canter. Then you counter canter the whole ring and go across the diagonal, holding the lead so in the new direction you are going in the true lead.

Then you counter canter up the quarter line, and about four strides before the turn into the shortside you leg yield to the outside for two strides and ask for the change.

If you are very clear and have prepared your horse well you should get a clean one.

[thelitas]

Hmm.... I'm of complete opposite thought on this. Not to hijack the thread, but I think I'd like to discuss the reasons behind why you feel this works, and why I feel that just teaches the horse to have one heckuva nice counter canter.

[meupatdoes]

Well, the main reason is that when I was riding with Rob Bielefeld (or, more accurately, his awesome assistant Chystal because he could not *once* be assed to teach me a lesson), it was time to teach The Noodle his changes and this is what she told me to do, and it worked really well

[thelitas]

Fair enough. I can understand why hunters would not want the horse to just think it can change when the leg moves. (a la the automatic changes of western horses

[meupatdoes]

Oh, I forgot: the other reason I advocate the method is as a diagnostic tool: if your horse isn't organized and 'easy' in the counter-canter, his canter probably isn't ready for changes.