How to Introduce the Flying Change

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Teaching the flying changes can be one of the most difficult things to teach the horse. While a flying change is a natural movement for a horse, getting the horse to do the flying change on command is really tricky. The horse must first feel and understand the aid from the rider for the change, and then organize all 4 legs in mid-air to land in the new lead. A lot has to happen in a split second for the horse to get the flying change. It is common that when teaching the flying change, the horse will run off, buck, show their head up, only change in front and not behind, or do nothing and just keep cantering.
In this video I demonstrate and exercise to teach the flying changes. This exercises is particularly useful for a horse that anticipates the flying change or wants to run off and take over during the change!
Happy Riding!
Amelia
#flyingchange #amelianewcombdressage #dressagehorse

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

What are you struggling with in the flying change? What exercises has helped your horse?

[@missionxminded]

I ride a schoolmaster who has changed in there, but he is so balanced at counter canter and he is really good at not doing them. So he either decides to camp out on counter canter OR he anticipates and will do just about anything to take a trot step and sort of trip through the change. I have trainers and we are working on it, but I would like any advice you might have.

[@SHAFEEQAKHTAR]

@@missionxminded aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa@@a@@aaa@aqqaaaqaaaaaaa%

[@animallover4101]

This video is sooo helpful ! Flying changes are my horse’s nemesis 😣He gets so hot 🥵 so if I get one on each lead we quit and do something he likes.

[@marygagliardi5315]

You are a beautiful rider! I love to watch you ride. So graceful!

[@SusannMarieDye]

All the horses you ride always look so willing and fun to ride. This one is especially cute. I really appreciate the time you spend preparing these videos.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Awe Thank you! Yes, Mercurio is a very special boy!!

[@krissand12]

Absolutely fantastic video and perfect camera placement. Thank you so much for showing this process on a horse that is just learning. Can’t wait to try the “snowman” on my enthusiastic and strong young horse!

[@bethcook3679]

Kris Last Agreed. I love seeing the process unfold because it gives me confidence to keep going even though it feels a little rough.

[@dancing.with.adagio]

thanks SO much for taking the time to walk us thru this! as a dressage nerd in a hunter community, I find your videos so helpful for learning!

[@tanon2703]

Welcome to PREs. They anticipate. Some say it is their inbred desire to please. Whatever it's source, it makes for creative schooling at times as you frequently need to defuse their expectations. I have spent years trying to reduce the excitement my fellow exhibits at the thought of a flying change. My best successes are when I can, as your husband recommended, get him back on his hind end before asking. For me, It is seems to free the front end and diminish the desire to plunge down, which precedes the usual surge forward in a let's-lose-our-mind excitement. Needless to say, it is a continuous work in progress. We are still working to reduce his notion of the canter as a 60 mph gait so your advice on walk/canter transitions and the snowman exercise are, as usual, great additions to my "arsenal of calm" I am developing for him. Some day I should write a book called "Zen and the Art of Riding a Goof Ball" and credit you in the intro. 🐴🙄

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

haha!!! Thank you for your input!!

[@ninahalvorson9451]

Amelia, I commented after you posted this and i wanted to give you an update. I not only used the yield to lope off with my western dressage horse (the one I was originally referencing to), and he picked up the concept very easily and improved the lope off! But just yesterday I also applied it to my reining horse who has a good departure from the stand still but could clean it up. He picked up the concept really Well! And after only a few times he had some really gorgeous balanced lope departures! Thanks so much !

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Yay! Awesome work! Happy to hear this!!

[@katiekerst14]

This is really helpful. I really like it when you use a horse that is green to the exercises. I think my horse's main problem with doing changes is he loves to be crooked. For example, right to left changes is the hard way-He just throws his butt to the right when I ask for the change, he'd just like to keep counter cantering, which makes it virtually impossible to get the left lead, since you want the inside slightly to the left. Carrying a whip and using it through the exercise helps, but it makes him very hot so he cannot do it very many times lol.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Ah yes! This can be a challenge! I would do a lot of work at the walk and trot with getting him to move off of your right leg. You can also do the change up against the rail or the wall so that he can't throw his hip over. Good Luck!!

[@aspenridgeranch]

This is best video I've seen on a simple exercise to help a horse learn the flying changes. I just recently discovered your channel and love your short, to the point, and very specific training videos and exercises! Thank you!

[@minderellafox7906]

Perfect session, and thank you for leaving in the mistakes! 😊

[@itsnina7989]

thank you thank you!! My aim is to get flying changes this year....so this was helpful. Ive been doing the 20m circle, cut through the middle and canter-walk-canter change leg exercise first. Will try the snowman now.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Ah yes! That's a good one too!!

[@Mini-wi1sr]

I'm working hard with canter-walk transitions as you say to prepare the flying changes with my horse 😄 love your videos! (Spain)

[@SabrinaLWilliams]

Same here Carmen RS! Good luck (Canary Islands)

[@kmiklaszewski]

You are really making great videos l!!! Would really love to see more videos with your husband too. The videos he did with your mom are amazing it was nice to see the changes good and bad within those lessons he did with her.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Hi! Yes! I will have to get him on more videos!!

[@joannatuczynska3508]

I love canter-walk transitions... And flying changes are super exercise... You can learn a lot of control and concentration that way 🏇👍

[@falizianme5846]

My guy is a tempi machine... his biggest problem is he likes to "climb" with his head and neck and then loses power which leads to us missing the count or being late... He also thinks its fun to just throw a few in whenever it seems easier than staying straight!🤦‍♀️. So we do lots of counter canter and changing the bend so he waits for the aid... and also I'll do like 2 or 3 changes then ride really forward to help keep him in front if my leg... or ride forward, then change , change then forward, change change... and vary the count between the changes...! He's been fun to learn tempis on as he doesn't get rattled! Loved the video excercises! 😊🦄👏👏

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Thanks for sharing!! I will have to do more videos on the changes!

[@danw6014]

I guess I hadn't thought about the flying lead change as a trot canter transition. Should be able to pick up on this easier by breaking things down that way.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Flying change is a walk canter transition. Because this requires more engagement and collection 👍😁

[@danw6014]

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage oops my mistake. Thank you for correcting me.

[@stephaniesmith5974]

Ty ty!! Walk canter is great! Flying changes and counter canter are in my future so keep these wonderful videos coming ty!!

[@kellyandthehorses2877]

Very helpful, and I love this horse!!

[@danielabackstrom]

My horse is 17 and he doesn't change his canter lead when riding in the paddock, weird since he has been an eventer in his younger years 😅 I'm trying to strengthen him and improve his balance and hope that the changes come with time 😊 he changes leads when galloping while hacking and they're usually really wobbly, so I feel like strength and balance will help us 🤞

[@coraliesentch4515]

Such a helpful video Amelia (as all of your vids are...!) thanks so much !! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🥰

[@TheGinny77]

Thank you for this video, very helpful! Beautiful horse too

[@equineelli2726]

My share horse is so cheeky! He will make it look like he did a flying change by lifting up his front higher and swishing his tail, but he doesn't actually do it Or, he will do a half flying change but be disunited! 😂 he is a funny boy! 😂😂😂😂

[@pavlinaglodekova4643]

Your videos are helping me a lot while teachinig a flying change to my horses, many thanks for that. Our struggle is to change from tim to time in front but not behind and from time to time my horses (hot young 7yo and 8yo shagya stallions) explodes after the change. We managed also already some clean changes so we are not totally lost... Would you please try to make some video showing you from both sides during flying change for that I see what exactly you are doing with both your legs while doing the change? My trainer told me to make "electric" touch behing the girth with my leg that will be leading in new canter after the change and the move the leg on the girth (f.ex. with right leg when changing from left to right canter) but I found somewhere that it should be the contrary. How are you doing it in your training? And another question, how long does it take to you to actually teach the good flying change to young horse = from the first try to the point where you realize that he know exactly what do you want and make it well? Thank you for your response

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

When they change in front and not behind it is because they are not staying enough back on the hind leg and thinking about the hind leg. Going back to the canter walk canter transitions and perfecting these will help. It really depends on the horse how long it takes for the cane to be completely confirmed but I would say on average 6 months to a year.

[@xaviermartinezelizaldel5382]

Your explanation is awesome!! I was always doing the walk transition and once I tried following your instructions we could make it in the very first session. Three times from right to left and only one time from left to right... if I understood correctly it’s not a matter to repeat and repeat in the same day, but to be consistent in the exercise... am I right? Thank you and I will practice all your exercises

[@mackenzieirvine8943]

this was super helpful, but i do have a question. whats the best thing to do when your horse becomes explosive through the change? my ottb is calm and supple through simple changes etc but when it actually comes to the flying change he becomes quite explosive and runs off a lot.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Great question! I just go back to the canter-walk-canter until the horse is calmer and accepting those aids and then go back to the changes. It's one of those things that in one way you need to do the changes enough that the horse realizes they are not such a big deal. But at the same time, when they do get explosive, the rider must stay calm and help the horse understand that the change is simply and walk-canter transition!

[@josephinegaarde4476]

Hi. Thanks for a great video! My horse only changes on his front legs. Sometimes I'm lucky to have him late behind towards the left canter, but never manage to get him to change on his hindlegs towards the right canter. Will this come with time or am I doing something wrong? What can I do to help him understand that he has to change not only in front but also behind? Thanks a lot.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Be sure to focus on the quality and engagement of the canter in the hind end. Lots of walk canter transitions will help!

[@Clarke_Girls]

Hey! What happens when he does the exercise well but when i ask for the chwnge he just never changes?

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Check out this free webinar on the flying changes. There's some great troubleshooting tips! amelianewcombdressage.com/free-flying-changes-webinar-reserve-your-spot/

[@KR-qn5oi]

I have heard that counter canter should be trained before a flying lead change and then I have also heard that training counter canter before lead changed confuses them. Thoughts?

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Yes. Both are true. Counter canter should be introduced first. But if you do too much counter canter before asking for a change the horse will never want to change!

[@MegaMeh101]

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage yes, I've been having that exact problem with my horse training changes. He doesn't understand why he should change when he can just counter canter everywhere. Oddly, now he is sort of getting the idea he prefers to change from true canter to counter canter.

[@KR-qn5oi]

Amelia Newcomb Dressage so I guess you just need to go by feeling to know when you have trained enough counter canter?

[@maryallen2603]

Get a lot from your videos. Wish your videos had been around when I was training and showing. Even though I showed western the techniques would benefit western riding as well. Although I learned to ride English and even jumped some there wasn’t any one nearby for training in English. Will pass on the information to my grandchildren who are learning to ride by choice English.

[@naunettemartin7450]

I like it and want do you do win a horse though there head that s is want she dose win I'm telling her to do some things and I want to show her but I don't Want her to do that in the show with me and that's is all she dose

[@judithmullin8361]

Naunette Martin what?

[@mackenzieirvine8943]

@@judithmullin8361 she's asking what to do when her horse throws her head as she doesn't want her to do it at shows :)

[@judithmullin8361]

Mackenzie Eventing I’m amazed you can understand her. Thank you for explaining what she is talking about.