Losing the connection in transitions

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PennyBlack5

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Hi all,
I'm after some advice. My horse is a big bouncy warmblood type, she's gradually getting the idea of being more round & through, but I lose her on the transitions. My instructor tells me it's partly strength on her part plus my timing . Trot / canter & canter / trot are the worst. I clearly need to understand and feel where her hind legs are and when to ask but I'm failing miserably it seems. Any suggestions that would help would be most welcome x
 
Firstly don't try too hard to hold her together through them, she needs to find her own balance and strength and often it comes better if the rider just rides forward aiming for softness rather than roundness especially in the upward ones when a young horse will sometimes need to lift the front end in order to get into canter, that said don't throw the contact away just try not to set yourself against her in an effort to maintain the roundness.
Secondly if you can close your eyes as you ask so you can feel rather than looking at what is happening in front of you it may help you ride the hind leg and not the head, the use of poles can help, the upward one over a pole, the downward just before a line so the trot goes forward and she has to concentrate on them.
I often set up 3 trot poles then one at a canter stride from the third and use them both ways, canter the one then transition before trot poles, the other way trot the three then canter the forth, it sharpens up the reaction to the aids once they get the hang of it, good for the rider as well.
 
rather than thinking of a transition think of slowing the pace and asking for more engagement, slower , slower ,slower, if at any stage you lose the connection ride forward out of the slowing and then try again until you are so slow that the down transition is easier, in upwards transitions, think shoulder in (or actually ride a bit of shoulder in ) before and at the transitions, this encourages the hind leg underneath and helps with the connection.
 
I cant help you with the transitions. But for understanding and feeling the hind legs I might be able to, as I got terribly worried about that myself when learning to ride. I didnt understand the equestrian terminology used in some riding books either like Off Hind.
I learned in the end thanks partly to Mark Rashid explaining foot fall. And starting by learning to feel the movement of the hind legs in walk. You sit on a horse in walk, and breathe and relax and feel one of your hips dip and then the other. And you can count the gait 1 2 3 4.
Many people when they learn to ride imagine their hip will rise when the horse lifts that hind leg under it. But that isnt so,
I need to think of a horse as being like a table with four legs one at each corner. If you remove the support of one leg of the table, it will dip at that unsupported corner. And that is what happens when you are riding a horse. Your hip will dip when the horse raises its back leg that side.
Feel it in walk first. You can ride canter from walk too if you like.
But then the good news is that the movement of the two hind legs is the same in trot as it is in walk. So in sitting trot you can feel it just the same - tho it may need a try or too -and concentration. If you dont feel it you can even shut your eyes for a moment.
I myself don't think of it much when asking for canter transition but it does come in very useful for timing leg yield.
In rising trot the situation is a little different - because you have to do some calculations according to which diagonal you are rising on, or feel the swing of the barrel. But if you prevent yourself worrying and take it step by step it is dead simple.
It was a great worry and stress to me.
I would just add that feeling the horse under you all the time, does have other advantages. The horses often feel you back in return and know what you want.
 
One I always find useful in the downwards transition from canter to trot is to ask for the transition when the horse is coming up in the stride rather than down.

Diva struggles to stay connected in upwards transitions mainly, she has a dreadful habit of jumping into her transitions rather than doing them smoothly, always has. She does it in the field aswell.
It’s getting better but it’s been quite difficult.
 
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