Change of hands

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The hand change is a term from equestrian sport .

In the riding arena , this describes the change in direction of movement from clockwise ( right hand ) to counterclockwise ( left hand ) or vice versa. The rider is on the "left hand" when his left hand is pointing to the inside of the track, i.e. the boundary is to the right of him. The rider is on the "right hand" when his right hand points to the inside of the track, i.e. the boundary is to his left.

In general, the term is applied to riding curved lines, with the side towards the center of the curve being the decisive one. For example, when riding a serpentine line, hands are changed at every turning point .

Carrying out a hand change in the arena

There are various path figures or lessons to choose from for changing hands . A variant is selected depending on the level of training of rider / driver and horse as well as the desired training effect. The hand can also be changed according to any figures that are not official track figures.

The usual orbit figures for changing hands are as follows.

  • Change through the whole web
  • Change halfway through the web
  • Jump through the length of the path
  • Change from the circle
  • Switching through the circle
  • From the corner of Kehre / Kehre volte

The main lessons for changing hands are as follows.

According to the lane rules , priority is given to the riders who are on the left hand. It is common to agree on one hand if there are several riders at the same time, inexperienced riders or young horses on the track.

Change of hands in light trot

If the trot is lightly trotted , the rider relieves the saddle in time with the horse's movement. Since the trot is a two-stroke cycle, there are two variants, depending on whether the rider is sitting when the horse's left or right hind leg reaches forward. If the left hind leg reaches forward, the rider trots on the left foot (and vice versa). When riding in the riding arena (also on larger riding arenas) one trots on the right foot without exception, i.e. the one that fits the direction (hand).

In the event of a change of hands, you have to reseat. Every change of hands is therefore associated with a change of feet. The rider remains seated for an additional step before relieving the saddle again.

Even when riding outside a riding arena, e.g. B. in the field, the foot should be changed more often to prevent one-sided stress on the horse.

Change of hands at a gallop

The canter is special because it appears in two manifestations as right canter and left canter . If the horse walks on the right hand in a right canter (or on the left hand in a left canter), one speaks of a hand canter . If the horse goes right canter on the left hand (or left canter on the right hand), this is called an outside canter .

If a change of hands is carried out at a gallop, a distinction must be made between the following variants:

  • Change from hand canter to hand canter with change of canter
  • Change from outside canter to outside canter with a change of canter
  • Change from hand canter to outside canter without changing canter
  • Change from outside canter to hand canter without changing canter

All variants are required in dressage tests at horse performance shows .