Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Barbara F. on January 14, 2009 at 6:37pm

Hi Catherine,

I am happy to help you. I have a few questions:

1. Does your horse change clean every time going both ways?
2. What kind of canter do you have going into your changes?
3. Where in the arena do you ask for your changes?
4. What aids do you use to ask for your changes?
5. Generally speaking, does your horse accept your leg consistently in soft, steady contact on his sides?
6. How are his canter/walk/canter transitions?

Let me know these answers and we'll go from there.

Permalink Reply by Barbara F. on January 14, 2009 at 6:40pm

Hey Catherine,
I just saw that Gina is your coach. Are you with her consistently? All of the ideas I was going to give you come from her, as she helped me with My Dutch Warmblood many years ago and I still use her methods!!

Permalink Reply by Catherine Chamberlain on January 14, 2009 at 6:55pm

Thanks!
1. He has been getting more consistently clean changes every time I do them.
2. I try to have a collected and uphill canter going into the changes.
3. I have been doing them either on the long side or on a circle.
4. I give with my inside rein while sliding my outside leg back. I have been trying to be more gentle with my outside leg lately.
5. He is ussually pretty responsive to my leg but he can get lazy so he might be getting upset if I am having to use a stronger leg for the changes.
6. He has fairly smooth simple changes.

Permalink Reply by Catherine Chamberlain on January 14, 2009 at 6:58pm

Barbara,
I have been to a few of Gina's clinics but I don't train with her regularly. At the last one I started working on changes so I have a few suggestions from her.

Permalink Reply by Barbara F. on January 14, 2009 at 7:42pm

Does he canter consistently in front of your leg or do you have to drive him?

In order for him to do the changes, he needs to be in front of your leg and soft in front, but "on the bit" as Gina says.

If he is high behind during the change, it suggests that he is not jumping through the change in leg, so that has led me to ask if he is in front of your leg before the change.

If you think of your change as being the same as a canter depart, you are doing everything right, but you also need to apply your inside leg so the horse jumps forward and through to the other leg, as opposed to side to side. In other words, also as Gina always says, "ride both sides of the horse".

Really think of the canter depart when you ask, because it feels the same. It's really hard to convey what "feeling" you should be going for, so I hope I am giving you a bit of an idea. When I do my changes, I use mostly a little seat aid and I give a bit with my new inside rein. I do apply both legs as well, but just my change in weight and seat position from canter depart on one lead to canter depart on the other lead. It feels like my horse is jumping out in front of me during the change and I can feel his hind legs right under my seat.

The leaping, in my opinion is a better response than high behind, because it sound like, in that case, he is at least responding to a light aid and in front of your leg. Can you do a little video and post it? Do you have a coach or someone experienced on the ground watching and helping you? He looks so much like my old DWB!

Permalink Reply by Catherine Chamberlain on January 14, 2009 at 11:22pm

Thanks Barbara! I think that will help a lot. Yeah, I'm currently working with a trainer so hopefully we'll get them soon. Thanks again.