Balance, forward momentum and horse-and-rider communication are all vital parts of teaching your horse flying lead changes.
Most performance horses need to know how to perform flying lead changes if they’re going to excel in the show arena, regardless of the discipline for which their owners are training them. If you plan to try show jumping, dressage, reining, cutting or western pleasure, teaching your horse flying lead changes should be part of your training regimen.
What are Flying Lead Changes?
A “lead” refers to the leg with which a horse steps out at the canter. When traveling to the left, horses naturally pick up the left lead, and the reverse is true when traveling to the right. A flying lead change means that the horse doesn’t perform a downward transition to the trot in order to pick up the opposite lead; instead, he changes the lead in the air.
Not only are flying lead changes smoother and more elegant, but they serve a valuable purpose. When you’re cantering around a course of fences, for example, you will have to change directions several times, and your performance horse will have difficulty keeping his balance if he has to turn sharply on the wrong lead. The same situations present themselves in other disciplines.
Asking for Flying Lead Changes
In order to teach your performance horse flying lead changes, you must first know how to ask for them. The cue you use doesn’t really matter, as your horse will respond however you train him, but the position of your body makes a big difference.
In order to signal your performance horse for a flying lead change at the canter, you’ll need to shift your weight to the opposite direction of the lead you want him to switch. For example, if your horse is tracking right at the canter and you want to switch him to the left lead, you’ll want to shift your weight to the right. You might also add pressure with your right leg behind the girth to shift his hindquarters left.
Additionally, exaggerated movements are required when teaching your horse flying changes. You might want to physically lift the rein of the lead you want him to pick up to tell him unequivocally what you want him to do.
Methods at the Canter
Once your performance horse understands flying lead changes, you can ask for them on a straight-away or in just about any situation. However, when training him initially, it is best to make it as easy as possible for him to do what you want. For this reason, it is easiest to teach flying changes on the diagonal. Start asking for the change at the center of the diagonal, and aim for him to complete it by the time you enter the turn for the opposite direction.
Some performance horses may have trouble learning flying lead changes if they are unbalanced or under-muscled. It requires a great deal of control for your horse to maneuver his body this way, and he needs to be sufficiently comfortable at the canter to make the change.
In preparation for this type of training, work with your horse on fast simple lead changes (breaking to the trot) and on maintaining forward momentum at the canter. When you first start out, your horse may speed up significantly during the change, but that will ease as he grows more confident.
