When is the right time to teach my horse flying changes?

DappleGreyDaydreamer

DappleGreyDaydreamer

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My yard recently held an incredible jumping clinic, and I bought my place in the 60cm class with my 5 year old Connie. I was going to go for the 80s class, but I didn't want to overface his confidence. Anyway, the clinic went great, he really got the hang of everything we were asked to do and jumped like a star! But one thing the instructor kept on saying to me and the other riders in my class, was that we needed our leg changes to be quicker to be able to jump a good round at a show. Got me thinking that my horse doesn't know how to do a flying change, and I was just wondering what would be a good time to start teaching him? He is still young and green so, of course, I'd wait until he'd matured and progressed further in his training to start on complicated stuff like that, but does anyone have any good tips? Thanks!
 
You need to get the horse going really really well on the flat first.

Personally I am working on landing on the correct lead at the moment, which is important in itself. If they land on the wrong lead I go back to trot and pick up the correct lead.

I'm no expert but seems to me if the correct schooling is there, teaching it shouldn't be difficult, but if you try to "fly" before you can trot, you will probably make life harder in the long run.

In my schooling I have taught both my young horses walk to canter and I am working on canter walk, which is a lot harder. I believe this is the correct way to teach flying changes. Along with that I am working to improve the quality of the canter and to be able to collect and lengthen the canter. It all takes time.
 
I think what the trainer would like to see for now would be a much quicker trot, canter transition, until you can canter, trot, canter within a couple of strides you will lose time, be taking the horse out of it's stride pattern and jumping round a course will be unbalanced if it is not quickly corrected, you are probably a long way away from being ready to try a flying change.

Work on the canter, the transitions from trot to canter and back to trot, you can then start to ask for canter in various places in the school and be correct in every upward transition whether you are on a turn or the straight, then do it all again through walk, it will help your reactions as well as improve the horse in both the canter and it being on the aids. Once your simple change, canter, walk, canter is in place with correct strike offs every time and you can do a good counter canter you and your horse will be able to jump a course more fluently and you may find he pops in changes without being asked if he lands wrong, otherwise that is the time to start teaching him.
I had a good jumping horse in the yard that never got his changes, he was experienced when he came here and rarely went wrong on a course but he had no intention of doing a flying change when asked despite his flatwork being well up to the level required, he did a few at home but found them very hard, he could if required come back to trot for 1 stride and go onto the correct canter lead so he got away with it and was very fast against the clock.
 
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