MAY 2024 THE RIDER /29


Focus on Transitions


By Kathy Farrokhzad. Active, balanced transitions are


among the most fundamental parts of riding. Transitions are like a pass in hockey, a volley to your teammate in volleyball, or the skate-up to a jump in figure skating. Without a good transi- tion, the horse will be unable to balance into the next movement, no matter how hard he scrambles after the fact. This month,


let’s focus on


walk/trot/walk transitions as well as left/right changes of direction.


The walk-trot-walk transition is a


basic movement but don’t be fooled by its simplicity! Many horses, trained or not, have difficulty managing a bal- anced, energetic transition in these gaits. We will work on the preparation to each transition to help develop impulsion to, through and after each gait change. Change of direction and circle


size is also added in this exercise to help the horse (and rider) develop a begin- ning level of suppleness and balance.


Aids: Please note that these are general aids that do not necessarily resolve specific problems.


Trot Transition From the Walk 1. 2.


Start with a good walk. Prepare to trot.


3. Trot. 4. Go! 5. Half-halt. Let’s look at each step one at a time.


Start with a good walk. As in, don’t just drag your horse


into the trot. Get a good march, prefer- ably on a large circle with a mild bend. Establish a strong walk rhythm before heading into a trot.


Prepare to trot. Use a mild half-halt two or three


strides before the transition. Keep the strong, forward walk footfalls right to the transition (as in, don’t allow the horse to slow down or conversely, speed up the last couple of strides).


Go! After the legs change, ask for a


couple of steps of increased impulsion. This might sound counter-intuitive until you realize that the horse should have increased energy to allow the hind legs to come deeper underneath the body just as the trot is beginning. Let the horse give you this slight energy surge and ride it through. Don’t block with your hands through this moment.


Half-halt. This is like the icing on the cake.


In order to help your horse maintain bal- ance through the gait change, you still need to “recycle” the energy back to the hind end. Some horses need very slight half-halts (maybe even just from a little finger squeezing on the reins) while oth- ers need a true rebalancing from the seat. You might even have to adjust your half- halt strength in different times for the same horse. Again, stick to the same rule - use as little strength as you need but as much as you need.


Walk Transition From the Trot 1. 2.


Start with a good trot. Prepare to walk.


3. Walk. 4. Go! 5. Half-halt.


Go around that circle one and a You might be noticing a pattern in


the transition aids. The down transition aids are


pretty much the same as the up transition aids. I won’t repeat everything I already said above for the walk/trot transition,


Full size ring. We’ll do a variation on regular


figure eights. This first diagram is drawn on a


large 20x60 metre ring. The second dia-


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half times to #2. Transition to the next 20m circle,


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Where the Whispers of Many Horses


in need are Heard! Trot. Start with your seat. Trot in your


seat bones. Add legs - even pressure on both


sides. Use as little as you need, but as much as you need.


Maintain your rein length. Don’t get left behind when the


horse trots off. Do you best to not pull back on the reins through the transition (we all do this even subconsciously). However, also do your best to not let the reins out during the transition. We also do this when we’re trying to not pull!


but all the explanations would be the same - just with opposite gaits. Use your seat the same way


(switch from trot to walk), use your half- halts in the same way, and use the Step #4 “Go” the same way, after your horse is walking. Do use your leg aids as you prepare to walk. Keep your legs on in the transition. What you shouldn’t do is use your


reins to pull your way into the walk. Half-halts should do nicely and then your seat can take over from there. Exercise:


gram is drawn for a smaller, 20x40m ring. Unless you’re using these exercises for show preparation, the size of your ring doesn’t matter as much as the accu- racy and consistency in size of your cir- cles. We’ll run through the pattern for the full size ring. Let’s say you are starting the exercise at C, going left. Start with a 20-m circle to the left,


at the trot. You will go around the circle one


and a half times. So, you start at C but finish on the opposite end of the circle at #1.


Transition to the next circle to the


right. The catch here is that the right cir- cle is going to be half the size of the left circle: only 10m. Smaller Ring


on the rail going in the same direction as the last circle (right). This will take you back to C, going to the right. You can run through the pattern 4


times to practice each side twice.


Transitions There are three types of transi-


tions in this pattern. Each circle requires a change of


direction. The repeated left and right changes will help to supple your horse laterally. Remember to use your inside seat and leg aid in preparation of the new direction. The change in circle size helps


your horse bend more on the smaller cir- cle, thus requiring a deeper stride from the inside hind leg. Then the next large circle allows the horse to use that in- creased engagement into a more for- ward, powerful stride using a smaller bend. See if you can develop a steady tempo in both the large and small cir- cles.


Once you have a good handle on


the figure, add gait changes within the circles. Start at the trot and do a walk transition at each midpoint of the circle. You can make it easier for your horse by walking 5 strides. Or you can increase the level of difficulty by limiting the walk to only 3 strides. Just make sure that you do get a walk, and that the walk is at a good marching pace. Then go back to the trot. Try this exercise a few times this


month and see what you think. Does it help your horse develop better supple- ness left and right? Do the 10m circles encourage your horse to lighten the front end a bit? Do you run into any problems through any of the transitions?


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is a licensed EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collection, Goal Setting For The Equestrian: A Personal Workbook, and the creator of the Practice Sessions on- line program. If you liked what you read here, check out her blog at HorseListen- ing.com for many more articles about horses, riding and life in general!


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