Flying Lead Changes

Question: I am trying to do flying lead changes but still struggling. My horse is a 10-year-old Arab/Paint. We can ride all the dressage laterals easily – leg-yield, shoulder-in, haunches-in, side-pass and half-pass. He picks up the intended lead 100% of the time from halt, walk or trot. The canter is clear and has good cadence. Simple lead changes work 100%, as long as I manage to take him down to a walk by letting my air out and energy down. If I hold my breath, he will run through the lead change and cross-fire.

I have the Parelli Natural Lead Changes DVD, and have watched it over and over again. Here is where I am confused:

1) To me it appears that Pat changed Magic differently than Linda changed Remmer. It seems that Magic is straight or even in a slight shoulder-in position, which makes the new-lead-side ribs open while haunches move to the direction of the new lead. In contrast, Linda seems to change the bend from old-lead-bend to new-lead-bend while the haunches move to the direction of the new intended lead.

2) The DVD explains to push the horse in the direction of the new lead before the moment of suspension. What does this mean exactly? If I push the horse to the left with my foot 3 inches behind the girth, this tells the horse to move to the left in a haunches-in-type bend. If I push the horse to the left with my foot right at the girth, this will tell the horse to move left in shoulder-in. Moving to the left in a shoulder-in-type bend would seem to support the theory of opening the ribs and freeing the new inside lead shoulder. So, my question is: how exactly to push the horse sideways at the moment immediately before suspension?

My horse is very cooperative and tries hard, but he is also high strung and gets easily frustrated when things don’t work. I can ride simple lead changes all day, but only get one or two chances to try a flying change – if it doesn’t work, I have a furious horse that wants to gallop away. I can get him calmed down by a series of exercises, taking his mind of the trouble, but it would not be wise to try flying changes any more that day.  ~ Hannu

Answer: There are lots of ways to do a flying change! In our Natural Lead Changes DVD we give you the steps to make it easy for you and your horse to learn. If one of these ingredients is left out, flying changes will not work. The Lead Change Ladder helps you do flying changes without force. How you shape the horse is then up to you and your goals – it can be straighter or more flexed through the body. The only way it’s awkward for the horse is if they are counter bent – that works for simple changes, but is harder for the horse in a flying change without losing balance.

One thing to keep in mind: Arabians are so flexible they can counter canter and cross-fire all day! The challenge with these kinds of horses (not just Arabians, of course) is getting all the Zones to line up. Usually, the more flexible a horse is laterally, the less suspension he has, and suspension is key to flying changes. Tight canter-to-walk transitions help build suspension. You’ll need engagement without tension to achieve the suspension you’re after. Please know that this is not easy and it takes time to build that kind of harmony and trust with a horse.

Finally, if you are in the wrong position, you can make the lead change impossible for your horse. And if your horse is running off, then it’s likely you are pushing him too much and creating pressure when his body is in the wrong position. Seek to do every ingredient with relaxation (emotional calmness) and take your time – don’t try to do it all in one day! This might take weeks or even months – depending on the skills and relationship a horse and rider already have. For something as advanced as this, I would recommend that you get a lesson with one of our advanced Parelli Professionals when you are having trouble – you could even arrange to do so through video coaching.

Yours Naturally,
Linda