Mastering the flying lead change is a significant milestone in a horse’s training journey. It’s a maneuver that requires precision, balance, and coordination from both the rider and the horse. In this guide, we’ll break down the process of asking a green horse for their first flying lead change. We’ll discuss the preparation, preparatory movements, and the essential steps to achieve a successful lead change.
Preparation is Key
Before attempting a flying lead change, it’s crucial to ensure that the horse is adequately prepared. This preparation involves establishing a few fundamental elements in your horse’s training:
1. Bend to the Right and Left:
Begin by making sure that your horse can easily bend to the right and left. The flying lead change is essentially a change of bend, so your horse must be able to transition between these two directions smoothly. The horse must not be resistant to the bend and must be able to stay moving forward in a straight line while maintaining the bend in their body. The horse needs to be acceptant of changing direction a bend while maintaining a rhythmic trot.
2. Resistance-Free Bend:
Your horse should exhibit no resistance when you ask for a change of bend. Any resistance in the horse’s mouth, body, or feet can hinder a successful lead change. This resistance is often the result of the horse not being soft and responsive to your aids. The article, Foundation Exercises Every Horse Should Know, goes into depth into this bending exercise, how to ask for the bend, and how to get the horse fort to it.
The Theory Behind the Lead Change
Remember, the flying lead change is not as complicated as it may seem. It’s merely a change of bend while maintaining the horse’s speed and balance. Now, let’s delve into the practical steps of achieving this maneuver.
Step 1: Begin with the Trot
Start at the trot as it provides a more stable platform for teaching lead changes. Begin by working on changing your horse’s bend from right to left and vice versa. Remember to focus on maintaining your horse’s speed and softness throughout these transitions. At this stage of training, I am usually riding in a low port leverage bit like this one. This bit helps maintain the bend and lift in the body that I am looking for.
Step 2: Control the Shoulders and Engage the Hips
In your circles, ensure that your horse’s shoulders aren’t falling to the right (for right bend) or left (for left bend). You need to be trotting in the direction of the bend with the spine forming an arc that corresponds to the circle you’re riding.
Step 3: Right Bend to Left Bend
Practice changing your horse’s bend from right to left and back again. Use your legs to control the movement of your horse’s body. For the left bend, have your left foot behind the girth to keep the shoulder to the right, and your right leg slightly further back to encourage hip engagement.
Step 4: Left Bend to Right Bend
Repeat the same process for the left-to-right bend. Keep a close eye on your horse’s responsiveness to your aids and their ability to maintain the desired bend without resistance.
Step 5: Mastering the Lead Change
Once your horse can smoothly transition between right and left bends at the trot, you can attempt the flying lead change. Here’s how:
- As you lope to the left (in the left lead), maintain a good left arc in your horse’s body.
- Use a combination of your legs and reins to encourage your horse to maintain the left bend.
- Ensure that your horse doesn’t lose forward momentum during this process.
- Maintain this left lead and left arc and ride into a counter canter, keeping the horse soft, rhythmic, and shaped for the left lead.
Step 6: Asking for the Change
- It is from this counter canter that we will ask for the lead change. As in all the steps before your horse must be soft to the bend and maintain a rhythmic forward movement.
- Use the same aids as before to change the bend and change your horse to a right bend.
- Be patient and give your horse a chance to figure out how to get his body in the position to do what you are asking for. If your horse does not get it after a couple of circles simply go back to a trot and remind him what he is supposed to do. You can watch me work through this process on a horse that has never been asked to change leads in the video, Developing A Lead Change On A Young Horse.
- One of the most common reasons for a horse not to change is the horse being too heavy on its front and not engaging enough in the back. The video, Horse That Speeds Up, describes that body position and how to correct it.
Conclusion
In summary, the key to successfully asking a green horse for their first flying lead change lies in mastering the basics: bend, rhythm, and control. By following these steps and patiently working through the process, you can help your horse become proficient in flying lead changes. Remember that consistency and clear communication with your horse are essential throughout the training journey. With practice and dedication, you’ll achieve those smooth and effortless lead changes you’ve been aiming for. Now that your horse has a basic understanding of a flying lead change the article, Mastering Flying Lead Changes: A Step-by-Step Guide, will help you to refine and further develop your horse’s lead change.
My horse training journey has brought me from winning world titles to now trying to make every horse the best they can be and to help you improve your equestrian knowledge.