unwanted flying change! suggestions please

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exracemad

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On the right rein Ronnie will start to lead on the right leg but will swap lead straight away, so he will be on the wrong leg. It is proving diffiult to get him to lead on the right leg.

I have only started schooling him 'proper' the past 2/3 weeks but have been consentrating on walk/trot/transitions before i moved onto his canter.

Thanks
 
I agree, was gonna say either saddle or back. Will he canter on the lunge on that lead with no saddle?
 
Had his back checked around 3 weeks ago... everything was fine. And the saddler is hopefullly out next month to fit him a new saddle.

Will try him on the lunge tomorrow and see what happens...
 
Do that and let us know how it goes.

It's perfectly possible with this wet weather that he has slipped in the field and pulled something since his back was checked. Mines an a*se for doing that!
 
ok will do
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...

However it is something that he has done previously (with a different saddle), even before we got him, but because i only hacked when we first got him, with the odd hunter trial i have only recently picked up schooling again, i have only really picked up on this problem again.

Think mum said his saddle was ever so slightly tighter on his right side, which could be causing it i guess. He is in need of a new saddle anyway, just the money! lol
 
My boy has learned how to do that too!! Turns out it's partly my fault he's doing it.... starts off on the right leg, albeit a little unbalanced, makes me shift my weight to the outside, he thinks "ah ha I have to change something to keep my balance" and so we get a flying change.... It took my instructor and I ages to work out what was happening, but eventually she saw him shift his weight to throw me over... I am in the process of remedying it by emphasizing my weight down into the inside heel and making sure my outside shoulder is forward, (he only does it on a certain part of a circle!!)
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This is actually a commom problem. Do get the saddle checked but genrally is a problem of balance and connection.
The horse is like you and i it has a strong and weak side he is shifting you to his strong side. [if i asked you to hop on a leg you would go straight to your strong side i would have to specify and make you use your weak leg for you to do the same thing. you would find that side weak and unco-ordinated. By using that side more it would become easier. This is what we are doing to our horses or rather what we expect from our horses when we cant do it ourselves]. Horses with this problem tend to curl their hind quaters is and not bend infront. When you do manage to get the canter it is genrally from a tight trot that produces a tight transition.
The rider then tends to lean in look down the shoulder and drop their inside hand. this is NOT helpfull. You need to use your weight to balance him and yes you do need to press in to the inside stirrup but the body MUST remain upright and tall with the shoulder turning to the right so you need to imagine turning the handle bars of a bike not turning the steering wheel of a car. This has the effect of turning and opening the inside rein but giving a little but still supporting in the outside rein. The inside leg needs to be at the girth and think of squeezing with the whole of the calf reaching under him not pinching at the knee and pulling up as this will put you not the outside seatbone again.
You need to turn on a circle and use enough pressure in the leg that he does not 'fall in' when you take this bend. You need to push the ribs out so that he yeilds from the inside leg at the girth to the outside rein. Physically this causes the inside hind leg to take more weight forward under the body and there fore balance better and therefore keep the canter.
Trot canter transitions so that the inside hind leg [on a 20m circle] steps under and carries more will also help develope this side. You must take care also to have a clear supporting outside leg behind the girth to help hold the outside leg on and there fore further encourage the inside hind to carry weight.
Hopefully by understanding what and why things are happening you will be able to help your horse develope his straightness.
 
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