WHO the exercise is for:

Inexperienced horses who do not have an established flying change of lead at the canter, or horses who often get disunited (front and back end not working together) when they are asked for a flying change.

HOW to set it up:

One pole or cavaletti on it’s smallest height, placed in the middle of the arena.

WHAT to do:

This is a canter exercise. The blue line illustrates the approach that is usually easier to begin with. Establish a canter circle on the right lead to the side of the cavaletti, then approach the cavaletti straight –as you pop over the fence look where you’re going (left) and shift your legs (left leg on the girth, right leg behind the girth). Your slight change in weight, coupled with the small jump should encourage your horse to land on the left lead. Once your horse understands what is being asked of him you can swap the small cavaletti for a simple pole on the ground (later removing the pole and just using your aids to get the flying change).

WHY we do it:

To help establish a balanced flying change. A horse getting out of sync (disunited) in the middle of a course can lead to a lot of faults (rails, missed spots, run-outs). A horse confident in its flying changes and landing on the correct leg will also be an asset in jumpoffs (a balanced turn will set you up better for the next fence).

MORE tips:

More experienced combinations may like to try following the red line. Coming in sharper some horses may want to change leads coming into the jump, so ride your horse forward and do not let him change until the jump (the danger of changing leads before the jump is that it may disrupt your rhythm – causing you to meet the fence wrong. Change of lead before the fence is also undesirable in showhunter/style-based classes).