I would like to introduce you to the FLYING horse. Not a ‘Pegasus’ Dear Readers! A flying dressage horse. Let’s start with examining the canter. In dressage we want a clear three beat canter. In some other disciplines they do not want the horse to be airborne and are happy with a four beat canter. But in dressage it must be three beat. The fourth beat is silent because the horse is in the air. It is in that airborne moment that the horse can change leads. The lead is either the right or the left depending on which of the horse’s front legs are “leading” in the canter. When the horse is in the air that is the moment it can change leads. It is called a flying change and in dressage we want lots of flying in that change. The rider asks for the flying change one stride before and the trained horse knows that the change must come in the next stride . In this series of photos taken at Helgstrand Dressage the horse is executing a series of ‘one tempis’ or changes of lead every stride. Here we go!
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
HERE IS THE SIDE VIEW!
AND NOW….HE LANDS ON THE NEW LEAD!
Well? How cool is that? Dressage is a very athletic sport for both horse and rider. You can imagine what it is like to sit on that horse and look how beautifully this rider sits!
Happy Monday Dear Readers!
HorseAddict 
Those are great photos and you took them at the right moments! I love it!👍I had a cheeky little Shetland pony and when I rode him he was rather wild but you look so calm and you have great trust! I love it!👍
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Weee! They call it flying for a reason!
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Indeed!
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WOW!It looks amazing, nice pics. Bye. Kamila
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thanks for commenting Kamila!
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Lovely! I rode when I was a kid. There were four of us and we had three horses and a huge mule. I was the youngest of the cousins so I got to ride the mule complete with split saddle stamped “US Army.” As I sit here I realize that the mule kind of matched my personality. Have a great ride today.
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Ah! Wonderful! Mules have real value and are often underrated! Thanks for sharing this !
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Those are awesome pics!!!
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Thank you Jen.
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Wow. Its actually my first time to see someone here in wordpress that is fascinated by horses. Nice! 😁
Hope you can also check out on my posts 🙂 hellodewww.wordpress.com
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Stunning! Thanks for sharing them 🙂
I’m going to draw/paint some of them, is it OK for you if I post the results in my blog with a link to your post?
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Absolutely! I would be honored!Thanks!
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Thank you so much, Anne!
Here is the first drawing:
https://aghisladraws.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/weekly-drawing-flying-change/
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Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
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Thanks for the reblog Danny!
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You are so welcome. I just find your story so fascinating because I’ve never had much experience with horses.
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The most gratifying thing for me is the number of people who are not ‘horse’ people who are interested in reading about horses and looking at the photos of them. It is wonderful to know that I can bring more knowledge of these wonderful animals to more people. Thanks for your comment it makes me happy!
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Very interesting. I’m guessing this happens fairly quickly? that a judge would have to have fairly good eyesight to catch all this?
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Yes it is quick but the judge can see that both hind and forelegs change in the air at the same time. That is what they are looking for. If the hind legs are late , for example, it is not a “clean” change and would be marked down. If it is in a series of changes the mark for the whole series of say five or seven changes would be marked down considerably.
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Do they ever have a video review for this sort of thing? or does it tend to be pretty cut and dry and not to many people second guessing the judge?
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How amazingly talented horses are it is because of people like you it is revealed to the world. Excellent photographs
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Thank you. I’m happy you enjoyed the photos.
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Way cool – great photos!
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Thank you Robyn!
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Another great post, Anne! Ya know, if you ever wrote a book, I would totally read it.
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Oh my! that is a HUGE compliment Gayle! Thank you.
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so beautiful! amazing fotos too 🙂
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Thank you! so glad you enjoyed them.
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Wow…that’s incredible!
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It is pretty amazing when you can see the motion “stopped” by the camera. Thanks for commenting!
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Sure!
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Amazing pictures!!! It was so cool getting to see the sequence! It is amazing to watch these flying lead changes performed in dressage tests, and even more amazing to be able to see them in “slow motion” in these pictures here! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thank you! It is amazing to see how far off the ground the horse is mid change. This is a Grand Prix horse and he has super changes! I appreciate your comment.
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Excellent timing with those pictures!
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That is awesome! Again I know nothing about horses, but that must take a bunch of practice and concentration on the horse and rider.
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Yes it does. But once the horse has learned and understands the aids then it is up to the rider to execute the aids correctly and it all falls into place. Thanks for commenting!
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Amazing, so clever, great photos
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Thanks I’m glad you enjoyed them!
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Wonderful shots Anne and a very happy Monday to you too! ☺💖 xxx
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Wonderful flying horses!
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That is so cool – thanks for sharing.
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Glad you liked it!
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