Horse not doing for me what he does for trainer

[SJS1]

So I’m not sure whether I came on here to rant, or if I’m looking for advice, or just want to know if anyone has had the same issue as me...
So for about a year my horse and I have been trying to learn flying changes. Needless to say we had our good days and our bad days but the overall trend was not good. He’s an established medium level dressage horse and has lots of other upper level movements, but flying changes were just that thing holding us back. My trainer, after 2 terrible lessons, said maybe it’s time we send him away for schooling. She herself couldn’t take him as she’s pregnant. So he went off to someone she recommended for 8 weeks, and I got him back yesterday. At about week 6 I went to ride him and had a few successful changes each way and went home confident that we would be out at advanced medium soon. Yesterday I was due to ride him once more in the presence of the lady we sent him to, and she could give me some last minute tips. Unfortunately something came up and we had to just load up my horse and bring him home. But she assured me he was doing the changes really well for her, and she would stick him in an advanced medium now! Well I rode today... and they were terrible. It wasn’t that he was terrible, it’s that I was. And he’s still green in the changes so it was a complete mess and we are doing as badly as we did 8 weeks ago. I’ve never trained a horse to do changes before, or any dressage for that matter, and when I bought this horse he was only 3, and we learnt everything together and got on well enough, but the changes I just cannot seem to crack. I’m not sure why I have such trouble on him in particular. I rode a few other horses while he was away at training and got good changes on them all, but I seem to become a mess with my own horse.
Has anyone else had similar experiences and ended up totally unable to do what the trainer could do and feeling totally inadequate?
Unfortunately the woman I sent him to for schooling lives quite far from me, so it’s not really an option to bring him up and down every weekend. I have a lesson on Wednesday with my original trainer, but she’s 8 months pregnant now, and I think this will be my last chance for a lesson with her for a little while. Not really sure what to do and feeling a bit lost

 

[AmyMay]

When teaching a new movement it always takes time for them to become established. So I’d back off a bit until your trainer can come back to you to help you and the horse.

 

[bluehorse]

I think you might need to try a different trainer for yourself tbh. If the lady who trains you currently can’t help you understand why it’s not working you can’t possibly improve. if it’s a bit difficult to step away from her perhaps her pregnancy may be good excuse as she may want some maternity leave once the baby is born.

 

[milliepops]

It's unfortunate that you weren't able to ride with the person who has had him for schooling again. I think in the first instance I'd try and set something up with her despite the distance. Teaching changes can be a bit like teaching a canter transition, all horse and rider combinations will end up with something slightly personalised and so it can help to try and get some continuity with what the previous rider did before you inevitably end up making it "your own". I ride changes on my current horse differently to the previous horse, it's the horse that has dictated that I alter slightly and doubtless the next one will be different again.

Don't feel inadequate, getting the changes can be tricky particularly on a horse that has got established to medium level without starting them. it'll come, you just have to find out how to chip away at it now.

 

[GreyDot]

As above, but I'd also add - did you get any video footage of the training over the 8 weeks? Or did you see the recommended trainer ride your horse and show the flying changes? Apart from having a sort of lesson in front of the trainer, actually seeing how she had managed to progress your horse would be really a really useful tool.

 

[wren123]

Can you email her and say you're having issues and ask exactly what aids she used and the best way to set him up for successful changes.

To be honest I'd be unimpressed with your own trainer, I'd have expected her to know what's going wrong. Also as she recommended the trainer, could she communicate with her and find out more.

 

[splashgirl45]

i ihad trouble with changes on my friends established GP horse, i was having a lesson from her and the reason i had trouble was i didnt have him straight. once that was sorted i got the changes but it was really difficult not to go back to my old ways as i have straightness issues myself due to hip operations..it may be something simple like that. i think you need to book some lessons with the person who can ride the changes even if she is a long drive..

 

[Ossy2]

What blue horse said. You shouldn’t feel bad that you and your horse are finding a particular training area difficult, you are learning together and by the sounds of it, done great so far training him from a 3 year old. But it gets really hard as you move up the levels, and I’ve found that changes in particular some horses get them some don’t, and the ones that don’t you have to have some experienced to be able to look at the two of you and pull some ideas out the hat. I went to CDJ master class as myerscough last year and they had a horse there that didn’t grasp changes very well and they had to trial and error lots of training techniques until they found one that worked.

Maybe you have outgrown your current trainer. I find it odd that your trainer would suggest sending away for schooling for such an issue rather than working with you through it. I’d maybe take the excuse they are pregnant to find someone else with experience to teach you for a while and see how you go.

Remember if it was easily everyone would be doing it.

 

[tristar]

well a least you know he can manage to do some, step back and try at the end of a session

its just a misunderstanding which will sort itself

 

[Birker2020]

Not a trainer but a friend. My horse would always change from right rein to left rein without an issue. We were competing at unaffiliated elementary level so didn't need to have them but it used to frustrate me. Probably about every fifth time she would change on that rein but it left me feeling frustrated that it wasn't every time.

My friend could do them without issue on the more difficult rein which used to frustrate me even more.

I came to the conclusion I was a bit lopsided and it was me and not my mare being difficult.