Are Flying Changes proving to be a Challenge???

​For many people, training their horse to do clean flying changes can be quite a journey! There are so many things to consider in the preparation of the horse for this movement. This is all in their training – in the development of the canter, the quality and air-time as well as the horse’s understanding and reaction to the aids. As most people are training with their own coaches for this I thought I would mention a few variables that can influence the ease and correctness of the changes that are not directly training related and sometimes overlooked.
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Anything affecting the balance of the rider and the distribution of their weight is going to have a huge impact in their ability to ride changes correctly.

If a rider is slightly behind the movement or crooked, unsteady in their seat or unable to follow the horse’s movement in the canter they will not be able to time their aids correctly. Some horses are so talented that some riders can get away with this but for many, this can be problematic.

Likewise saddles that are fractionally too long for the horse’s saddle platform area, especially if combined with a rider who is crooked or slower to move one hip that the other, may actually be the reason that a horse may go late one way. Up until that point in training it may never have been a noticeable problem but nothing is so rewarding as changing a saddle, altering its balance or the back panels/gussets and having the same horse/rider combination change clean both ways!

A few years ago I designed the Equest Connect Rider Program. I honestly believe this is absolutely the best way to become incredibly aware and in control of your own body so that you can move in sync with your horse and develop the feel to know when, how and what to ask for at the correct time. I run these as individual or shared sessions, tailored to your own specific needs. Best of all, these complement what you do with your coach and are by no means designed to replace or interfere with your current training.