Training for the flying change - 2/2

In the second of her two-part series, NICOLE TOUGH explains how to train for the flying change. - As seen in Equest Hub Magazine

The always expressive Florenz in the arena (Image by Simon Scully Photography)

Welcome to part two of my flying change series. In last month’s article, I mentioned that there are generally four stages leading to an established change on our aid and on our line - those stages are: Attempt; Clean; Change Happy; Confirm. I explained the importance of our prerequisites - the aid and the timing of the aid - and outlined how to approach Stage 1, your first attempt.

But keep in mind that no matter what stage you’re in, the canter itself is crucial. A well-collected, balanced canter is essential for a smooth and accurate flying change. A long, flat, or unbalanced canter will make the change more difficult – so never compromise on the quality of the canter.

And now to Stage 2: Clean. This is normally the longest stage because now it’s time to change clean. Once your horse understands the task and is attempting to flying change on the aid, the moment has come to insist that the change is performed in one movement, in other words the front and hind legs change in the same moment and on the aid.

It is during this stage that access to a spotter, coach, or a mirror is imperative. A spotter is someone on the ground who can tell you very quickly if the change is clean, early, late in front, or late behind – and depending on whether you have a coach, a mirror, or an experienced spotter, this stage has the potential to take a long time to perfect.

There are many variations of what might occur in Stage 2. Most commonly, we have the flying change that is late behind. The horse might also change together behind, change early in front, come croup high through the change, trot through the change, leap through the change, and/or take off through the change. Some horses take longer to learn flying changes than others, and each horse will have their own learning style.

The most common mistake is late behind, where the horse changes their front legs on the aid, and a stride or few strides later, changes behind. The spotter’s job is to say ‘no’ as close as possible to witnessing that the change is late. The rider should then return to walk as quickly and calmly as possible, and either pick up the canter lead they wanted to change into, or return to the old lead and try again.

Coaches have an array of exercises to help riders and horses through this stage, but basically, for the late behind change, the rider should delay the front leg, focusing on just changing the hind legs. We do this by holding the new outside rein to the old side enough to ‘block’ the front leg, thereby approaching the flying change with the haunches slightly in to the new side before aiding the flying change.

During this stage, we can try riding the change from a counter leg yield, from a counter canter on a circle, from a half pass, from a counter-canter renvers, or just on a diagonal. Another method is using a pole on the ground and attempting a flying change over the pole. Experiment with different approaches to see what works best for your horse – what works for one horse might not work for another.

This stage is difficult because horses anticipate the change and/or resist the rider's attempts to prepare the change, making it harder to get a clean change. Unlike some other movements where there's more room for interpretation, flying changes can provoke a clear yes or no answer, making them more challenging to learn.

Once you have a clean change on both sides, we enter Stage 3: Change Happy. This is the stage where your horse knows best, and as you’re setting it up, changes before you ask. It’s wonderful that they know what to do; but they have to learn to wait. It is important in this stage, that the rider always corrects an unasked for change with a very quick and calm transition to walk, returning to the lead they were on. Never flying change back from a dishonest change, because a third change is guaranteed and you will start something that has no end.

During this stage, practise preparing for a change, and then don’t. Riders must have the prerogative to change their mind. Practise setting up for more changes than you actually carry though.

Once the horse is waiting and the changes feel close to being confirmed, the real test is trying them on other lines. And through it all, always work to improve your horse’s balance, straightness, throughness and collection, because the change is only as good as the canter.

And finally, there's Stage 4: Confirm, which is all about making the change better. Once you have a clean flying change on your aid, you can then develop the single change to be more in balance, uphill, straighter and performed with more confidence. Confidence equals expression, and the way to get more volume in the change.

There is no doubt about it, learning the flying change seems like you’re at the bottom of Mount Everest. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and remember, challenges make life interesting, and overcoming them is pretty awesome.

Nicole trained Florenz up through the levels from Novice to FEI (Images by Christy Baker Photography)