4 beat canter ? show jumpers??

AceAmara

AceAmara

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I have never come across this and so would appreciate any thoughts :) There is a horse I am interested in buying, he is 10 years old and has been in the same home since he was 4 and was a young girl’s first horse, they have grown together. He has done really well BS with her but flatwork has not been her thing by her own admittance. To ride he is very balanced and has a cracking jump, he travels nicely into a fence, turns on a sixpence but does motorbike his corners. He doesn’t understand anything about bend and doesn’t come round onto the bit. I don’t think it would take much to achieve this however as the basic balance is there, he tracks up well and moves nicely, if anything he is prone a little to go on the forehand. As I was watching him ridden there was something about the canter i couldn’t quite put my finger on, then they told me that their RI had said he has a 4 beat canter. It’s so subtle as I said I didn’t notice straight away but once pointed out to me I could. Ridden wise you can sort of feel it, he works on the correct lead and doesn’t go disunited. As I am very keen on this lad Ive done a bit of searching and have read about showjumpers having a ‘4 beat canter’ , i also saw an issue of HHO from a year ago had an article on it but I missed that one sadly. I do like to do a bit of low level dressage and am wondering how much this can be corrected and should it really be a problem? He’s a great horse and ticks every single one of my boxes! Many thanks and apple pie & custard with a nice G&T for those who can help :D
 
If the four beat canter could be scored in a dressage test, my horse would get tens.

It's annoying, but if you get the horse moving with enough impulsion and engagement and coming into the hand from the back end, it goes away. Or if she is doing something she likes, such as jumping or galloping on the trails, she has enough engagement and doesn't do it. Her canter is total crap if I don't put it together, but it is okay if I do.

It depends on what you want to do with the horse. If it's your upper level dressage prospect, I would not touch it. If you're wanting to do a variety of low level stuff with it and it ticks all your other boxes, then it's not a big deal and can be dealt with. My horse's canter will never be awesome and will never land me high scores on dressage tests (or it didn't, back when I was showing), but I made it passable.

Here is her not doing it, but you can see where it has the potential to go that way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnHR7dAYCdo
 
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Mine was 4 time in canter when I bought him. I had a ban on it, and whenever he was 4 time he was pushed on until the canter was 3 time again, even if that was rather an energetic, forward canter. Once it was 3 time we put it back together correctly. He has won up to Elementary with me, and yes, was a SJ before.

I would just mention it to the vet for the vetting.
 
My horse has a 4 beat/trotter-type canter, and it's very very comfy and earned him the nickname of 'the train'. Various people have looked at him, and have said anything from 'oh he's a trotter' to 'is he still learning to canter under saddle?'

he is 14, and has always been like it and even in the field has his little 4 beat canter. he is a great, keen jumper but oddly enough he jumps more like a hurdle. I've found pole work with him and gridwork is starting to teach him how to jump, and he gets more of a canter, but otherwise I can't see my boy changing.

You can help some horses with a 4 beat canter, some of them physically find it harder and some of them (like mine) don't seem to know any better. I have found with more work on bend and softening, there has been an improvement in his canter and through his trot too, and in the field he will pick up a 3 beat canter on a rare occasion and we're slowly getting there in his flatwork and jumping, he seems to find it easier to work in a 3 beat canter over long lines of poles and poles/grid work combinations that make him think about where his feet are going. Interestingly enough, he also struggles with bend and is only just learning to soften down.

I would ask the vet about it, to see if there's any possible leg/back issues that could cause it. Other than that, if you have an instructor speak to them and ask for their advice - I personally love my little oddity and his canter, I find it very smooth and comfortable even though it is a very, very fast pace.
 
I had a livery in that cantered in 4 time, he also had a lateral walk, passed vetting fine when purchased the vet didn't notice it until I got him out to check after he arrived as both the walk and canter were obvious the first time I saw him ridden and wanted it checked out.
You could ride him into 3 time canter once you knew how much to push, the walk was far more of an issue to get round, dressage judges picked it up a few times but as long as he was really ridden forward into the bridle it was not too much of a problem, he always reverted if allowed to idle or he became very tense, it would put me off if buying for dressage to go up the levels, probably ok to elem level but as a general allrounder if he ticked all the boxes and passed the vetting there are far worse things you could end up with, at least you know what the issue is and as long as it is down to training, or lack of, it should be something you can improve.
 
my horse does a 4 beat canter when he gets stage fright at bigger arenas (dressage) and tenses up and drops behind the leg. We are currently competing at Novice level, and given that he only does it on occasion it doesn't hinder us too much. The lowest mark I've had for the canter (at prelim or novice) is a 5 and that's despite a 4 beat canter :)
 
Red-1 said:
Mine was 4 time in canter when I bought him. I had a ban on it, and whenever he was 4 time he was pushed on until the canter was 3 time again, even if that was rather an energetic, forward canter. Once it was 3 time we put it back together correctly. He has won up to Elementary with me, and yes, was a SJ before.

I would just mention it to the vet for the vetting.
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Would a horse fail a vetting on this or is it more that there could be problems? I only ask as i have one for sale that canters 4 time but he is a youngster and is improving especially now he's started pole work etc..
 
Loulou2002 said:
Would a horse fail a vetting on this or is it more that there could be problems? I only ask as i have one for sale that canters 4 time but he is a youngster and is improving especially now he's started pole work etc..
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The one that came to me passed, the buyers had not seen it nor did the vet, it can be a sign of wobblers so when he arrived and I noticed it I got the vet in to have a proper look, while there was still time to send it back if something was wrong, he did various tests to see if there was anything amiss and nothing showed.
I think if the buyers know it is a training issue that is improving and are prepared to purchase subject to vetting then unless the vet finds a reason to fail it should pass as fit for purchase, I suspect your main problem may be finding a buyer while he is still doing it, you may be best holding off advertising until he is showing a true canter fairly consistently, selling a young horse is tough enough if it has no obvious issues.
 
Loulou2002 said:
Would a horse fail a vetting on this or is it more that there could be problems? I only ask as i have one for sale that canters 4 time but he is a youngster and is improving especially now he's started pole work etc..
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Mine passed two vettings (one by YO who I bought him off, and then by me 2 years later) and old YO even commented when she bought him she had 2 different vets look at him to make sure he had no underlying issues.

They wouldn't fail a vetting as a direct result of having a 4 beat canter - however a 4 beat canter could be a sign of more serious problems in back/pelvis.

I agree with be positive though, make sure your horse at least has his basics and is able to canter in a 3 beat canter before you sell.
 
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