How are your trot-canter-trot transitions? Are you ready to move up a step? Once you have confirmed trot-canter-trot transitions on a 20m circle, you are ready to start working on trot-canter-trot transitions across the diagonal. If you are still working on your trot-canter-trot transitions on a circle, don’t worry! Check out this video for some tips on perfecting those transitions.
Trot-canter-trot transitions across the diagonal start to appear in First Level, and are a test of your straightness and transition quality. Working on these transitions on the diagonal also helps your horse to begin to learn that there is a left lead and a right lead.
Your goal for your trot-canter-trot transitions across the diagonal is to turn up the diagonal at canter, transition to trot just before X, use 5-6 trot steps to change bend, and transition back to canter. This is your end goal, but when we are beginning to teach the transition, we’ll use much more trot to prepare.
To start teaching the change of lead through trot:
1) Pick up the canter, and turn onto a diagonal line
2) At X, or slightly after, transition to trot
3) Change bend, and pick up the canter again at C
As your horse gets better and better at this exercise, you can decrease the amount of trot in between the canter until you reach your goal of just 5-6 trot steps on the diagonal! When you are riding this exercise, make sure to ride good corners and get your horse bending. Even ride a little shoulder fore as you are working on these transitions.
If your horse is running through your aids, or has trouble bending during your transition down to trot, try riding some 10m circles at X. You can do a figure eight pattern with these circles or just ride one 10m circle. To ride the figure eight:
1) At X, start circling the direction you were originally tracking (if you were going left, then circle left first, and vice versa)
2) Coming out of your first circle, change bend, and ride a circle the other direction
3) Then, as you are finishing your second circle, continue on the diagonal
If you are only going to ride one circle, turn onto the 10m circle tracking the opposite direction you were going (if you were going left, then circle right, if you were going right, then circle left). As you finish your circle get ready continue along your diagonal and complete your exercise.
As you are riding, remember to reward your horse! Tell your horse “Good job!” when they do the right thing! The reward/release is how your horse learns.
Hope these tips help you take your trot-canter-trot transitions up to the next level! If you are planning on showing First Level this summer, check out my course on First Level for support as you are training your horse!
