Flying Changes

[WelshJumper]

Hi!

I am schoolingmy mare allthow she is 13 she has been living wild on the wealsh mountins for 10 years so she is really only a baby.

She knows how to work in a out line etc... But imschooling her for ShowJumpinhg.

The prob teching her to do Flying Changes.
She dos get worked up quickley when being ridden due cos she is a VERRY FIZZZZZZY type!!!!!

Eany tips or segestons please.

[lyra]

I know this may souond like a suicide mission and may completely wrong but this is what my sister did to train her fizzy horse how to do flying changes.

canter them on one leg leading for arguements sake the left lead toward a wall or just in a straight line if you're unsure. When you wan the horse to change leads (in this example change to the right lead) turn (right in this case) sharply and apply your legs where they would be for a flying change.( i would tell you where to place them but they seem to be different over here)

Do this several times and your horse should eventually do it by itself if you tell it too.

I don't know if it'll work on your horse but good luck. just keep trying, persistance is the key.

Over here we always train older horses to do new tricks so to me your horse is still young!

[Hunt~Jump21]

That's interesting, I've never heard of that method before. Another method you might try is cantering her in a smaller (two 20m circles) figure-8 pattern (if she can't canter a 20 meter circle comfortably and well-balanced yet then she probably isn't ready to be doing lead-changes). Place a pole horizontally in the center of where you plan to do your figure-8. Start out trotting your figure-8 getting her familiar with the pole in the middle, then start cantering her but bringing her back to a trot to go over the pole and before you ask her to pick up the other lead. Keep building this up over a few days until she becomes confident enough that she only needs about 2 strides of trot over the pole before she can easily pick up the other canter lead.

Eventually, you should be able to keep her cantering and just ask for the immediate lead change as you are in mid-air going over the pole. The pole placed in the center, exactly where you want her to change, will not only act as a marker for both of you, but will also help her change her lead as she will have to elevate herself and collect up in order to hop over the pole, making the lead change easier. Not to mention how much it will help when you start jumping her, as she will have learned from the pole that in mid-air she always needs to feel for your aids so she knows what lead to pick up on the landing. Hope this helps - Good Luck*

[jade&I]

I am currently training my mare how to do flying changes, and am just working in a large figure-8 at the canter, doing simple changes in the middle. After I do quite a few of these so that she knows we are going to change direction and pick up the other lead, I ask her for a flying change. It works quite often! Try that lots and lots of times, and hopefully your horse will respond.

[maverick927]

My pony changes his leg when I shift my weight to the left or right. I can even get him doing it on a straight line and I didn't train him. I lean left him leads left and vice versa.