Hi Guys,

With a young horse, you do changes of canter lead through the trot. Around Second level, you do simple changes of lead. In a simple change, your horse goes from canter to walk and back to canter without any trot steps.

At Third level and above, you do flying changes. In a flying change, your horse stays in the canter and switches his lead during the moment of suspension, when all four feet are off the ground.

In this article, I'll go over a single flying change. At the higher levels, flying changes can be done in a sequence (tempi changes) every fourth, third, second, or every stride.

How Do I Prepare My Horse to Do Flying Changes?

Your horse needs to be able to do three things before you ask for a flying change.

1. Simple changes of lead (Canter/walk/canter).
• For the upward transition, he needs to be hot off your leg so that he reacts promptly to the canter aid.
• During the downward transition, he should be able to do a clear transition to the walk, with no dribbly trot steps. Shorten the canter with three or four collecting half halts before you ask for the transition to the walk. Your horse needs to be cantering at the speed of a walk before you actually ask him to walk. Otherwise, his balance will shift to the forehand because he's going too fast.

2. Balanced counter canter.
• Develop counter canter until your horse can do it without tension on circles and lines.
• He should also be able to do transitions from extensions back to collected counter canter without switching leads.

3. Collected canter
• Remember that a flying change is merely another canter bound. So, the most important prerequisite is the quality of the canter.
• Your horse needs to bound in the canter, with big, round, expressive, "off the ground" strides.
• If the canter is 4-beat or flat, he won't have time to switch his legs in the air.
• Develop and maintain the quality of the collected canter by working on exercises that increase collection such as shoulder-fore, haunches-in, frequent simple changes of lead (with only five strides of walk and five strides of canter), and "collecting half halts".

What Do You Mean By "Collecting Half Halts"?

• Give three short collecting half halts. During each of the half halts, close your legs, push with your seat and close your outside hand in a fist for a moment.
• As you give your three collecting half halts, think about reducing the amount of ground your horse covers with each stride by about 50% while keeping the same rhythm and tempo.
• Think of collecting the canter this way. If it normally takes three or four strides to go through a corner in working canter, it may take five or six strides to go through the corner in collected canter.
• Think about holding your horse on the spot during the three collecting half halts. Then, go forward for several strides, and ask him to collect again for three strides.
• During the short, engaged strides, visualize your horse cantering in a teacup. Pick a spot on the ground, and imagine that you're cantering on top of it for three strides.

When Do I Give the Aids for a Flying Change?

• The timing of the aids is very important.
• Give the aids just as your horse's leading front leg is coming forward. That's the step just before the period of suspension when he'll actually be switching leads.
• You need to give the aid before the period of suspension because it takes your horse a moment to "hear" your request and another moment to carry it out.
• Practice the timing of the aids in the walk. Look at your horse's inside front leg. Each time you see it coming forward, say out loud, "Now, now, now". In this way, you learn to coordinate your voice with the inside front leg coming forward.
• Then practice counting in the canter. As the inside front leg comes forward, say out loud, "Now, now, now."

What Are the Aids for a Flying Change?

For a flying change from left lead to right lead.

Seat:
Push your right seat bone forward toward your horse's right ear.
Right leg:
Close your right leg on the girth to ask your horse to go forward during the change.
Left leg:
Swing your left leg behind the girth to signal the new outside hind leg to strike off into the new lead. (Don't hold this leg back. Pretend your leg is "spring-loaded" so you give a quick aid.)
Left rein:
Close your left hand in a fist to stick the left hind leg on the ground and maintain uphill balance. Imagine that you're closing and opening your hand so fast that you can snatch a fly out of the air.
Right rein:
Soften your right rein forward so you don't block the new inside front leg from coming forward.

Where is the Best Place in the Arena to Introduce Flying Changes?

I like to start on a 10-meter figure eight.
• Do simple changes of lead at the point where the circles touch in the middle of the figure eight.
• Do this several times until your horse understands and anticipates that he's going to change leads.
• When you feel him anticipating, give the aids for the flying change instead of doing the simple change.
• If he changes, praise him a lot.

What Are Some Exercises I Can Do To Get Clean Flying Changes?

Here are some exercises to help the horse that changes late behind:

1. Counter-flexion
• Ride lots of counter canter, but counter-flex your horse at the poll with an indirect rein aid. (i.e. flex your horse in the opposite direction from whichever lead you're on.)
• Alternate between true flexion and counter-flexion until he feels soft.

2. Counter Supple
• Supple your horse away from the lead you're on. For example, if you're on right lead canter, take his neck 7 inches to the left three times.
• When your horse can do this easily without stiffening or swinging his hindquarters out, he's ready to start flying changes.

3. Half Pass
• Start a canter half pass to the right.
• Go sideways for a few strides, and then continue to move right, but bend your horse's neck to the left.
• Once your horse feels soft on his left side, straighten his neck completely.
• Ride straight forward, and immediately ask for the change before you lose the softness on the left side of his body.

4. Serpentine
• Canter on a three loop serpentine.
• As you approach the centerline to start the second loop, slide your new inside leg forward on the girth. Leg yield with a bend for a stride or two toward your new outside rein.
• If your horse feels stiff in his rib cage and leans on your new inside leg, don't do the second loop.
• Instead, stay on the first loop. As you approach the centerline again, try the leg yield with a bend once more.
• Keep doing this part of the exercise until your horse bends softly around your new inside leg.
• Once this happens, ask for the flying change, and arc onto the second loop of the serpentine.
• Do the same thing as you approach the centerline for the third loop. (i.e. If he doesn't leg yield easily, stay on the second loop and try again. When he leg yields with a bend easily, ask for the flying change, and progress to the third loop.)

5. Haunches-in (a working pirouette)
• Ride haunches-in in the canter on a small circle.
• When you feel your horse lower his hindquarters, leave the circle. Ride straight forward on any line, and immediately ask for the flying change.
• Do the circle somewhere in the middle of the ring so you can leave the circle at any moment without running into the wall or fence.

6. Engage the inside hind leg
• Give three "preparatory half halts" when the inside hind leg is on the ground. (That's the moment when your seat is deepest in the saddle, and your horse's mane flips up.)
• Take and give with your seat, legs, and inside hand in sync with the rhythm of the canter. Do it during the second beat of the canter so you can influence the inside hind leg when it's on the ground. After the three quick preparatory half halts, ask for the flying change.
• To help you get into the rhythm of giving the half halts and the actual aid for the flying change, count out loud, "One, two, three, change."
• For example, if you're changing from right lead to left lead, give the half halts on the right rein. On the fourth stride, when you say the word, "Change", close your right hand in a fist again, and also bring your right leg back to ask for the flying change.

7. Use the whip to engage the inside hind leg
• If preparatory half halts don't engage your horse enough, use the whip in a similar way.
• Say, "Now, now, now" each time you tap your horse with the whip on his inside hind leg. Tap as firmly as you need to get that leg active and jumping. It should feel like your horse's hind legs are begging to switch leads.
• When you feel that eagerness, give the aid for the flying change.

8. Haunches-out (Renvers) (This is another one of my favorite exercises.)
• Ride to the left in right lead counter canter one-meter away from the wall.
• Bend your horse around your right leg, and ask for haunches-out. (His forehand will be one meter to the inside of the wall, and his hindquarters will be in the track.)
• Once this feels easy, keep all four legs in the same position, but straighten his neck. (Because he's on three tracks in haunches-out, his neck will actually be at a diagonal to the wall when you straighten it.)
• Close your left leg and push his left hind leg toward your right hand.
• Go back and forth from haunches-out with bend to straightening his neck.
• When your horse feels like he's stepping from your left leg into your right hand, ask for the flying change.

A Happy Horse