by Ruth » Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:47 pm
#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I got my coach to teach Boomer, as he has a great counter-canter, and was quite resistant about learning changes. He didn't see why he should put forth the effort required for a flying change when he could canter around perfectly fine in counter-canter. So that's my suggestion! He would ask him on the diagonal and then once he hit the wall without the change would keep after him on a circle until he changed. Even the first time he schooled him it didn't take long to get a couple each way, and then we just put him away. I think he only had to school him 3 times before I started doing them, but for quite a few months afterwards I wouldn't try the changes unless my coach was there to hop on and do them if Boomer wasn't responding to me. We stopped working on them for the summer, I just started schooling them again and he finds them much less exciting. We have lost the acrobatics for the most part, and he is now doing them from counter-canter on the long side.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#A couple of pointers - at first be happy with one or two each way as long as they are clean. Don't overschool changes, especially at first. I don't worry if they are crooked at first as long as they are clean. Once the horse becomes more comfortable with the movement you can go back and fix the crookedness. Certainly with Boomer his right to left change was very crooked at first, pretty much in a haunches in left position, but as he has gotten more relaxed about changes they are straightening up nicely, and I'm better able to work on keeping him straight as he has gotten more obedient to the aids.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Some people do find that if you introduce the changes and work on them until you know the horse is pretty much confirmed, then stop schooling them for a few months that they will come back to better changes. I did find that to be the case with Boomer, we didn't stop schooling them for the summer for that reason, it was because at 2nd Level I didn't want him throwing in changes when he should have been counter-cantering, but nonetheless, he came back doing better changes than when I was still schooling them in the spring.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#