Are walk/canter transitions physically harder for a horse...?

[Primitive Pony]

... ie harder than trot/canter transitions?

I ask as am restarting canter work with my horse gradually after some time off. He finds walk-canter transitions easy and I suddenly wondered if they are actually harder on him than trot/canter? - or are they only a next step in schooling in terms of refining the aids?

 

[Orangehorse]

No idea. I find walk/canter easier that trot/canter as you think clearly about the aids. Don't think the horses mind!

 

[MyDogIsAnIdiot]

Another without a clue but I'd be interested to know!

Mine will walk/canter beautifully if asked properly but will run into canter if asked from trot which is driving me mad.

 

[Primitive Pony]

I'm glad I'm not the only one then...! - I tend to prefer them too but suddenly wondered if it was a good idea.

 

[L&M]

My 5 yr old finds walk to canter easier than trot to canter - he is also more likely to pick up the correct lead too if asked this way.

 

[AppaloosaPonyHorse]

No idea either, but I find (once I have a nice active walk) I get a nicer walk to canter transition than trot to canter and the canter feels nicer too from start.

 

[Nannon]

Mine finds walk canter nearly impossible! Don't know if that's because he's an ex racer or not but trot canter i only have to think about cantering and he pops in lovely, in 2 months we have only managed walk canter once - he just has to pop 2 trot strides in. My instructor thinks it's a strength thing and as he gets stronger behind it will get easier

 

[minesadouble]

Our ex racehorse does a brilliant walk to canter and seems to find it easy. We usually use it in Championships (we show him in RoR classes). We have had him a few years now though. Our newest ex racehorse cannot even canter round the school yet so we are a way off trying it with him!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

My sports type mare found walk to canter and trot to canter simple, my welshDx Dales couldn't do walk to canter no matter how many months I spent on teaching her but her trot to canter ended up a lovely smooth transition, My veteran welshDx also finds wak to canter tricky but he has had hock athritis now since he was 15 and he's now 23 so I never ask him for it anymore.

All the TBs i have had found walk to canter easy and also walk to slow gallop easy.

 

[Dusty85]

I agree with what someone said before about you have to really prepare for the transition a lot better, therefore asking much more clearly.
When Ive done it I find that the canter is much more balanced and uphill with more impulsion rather than when asking for canter from trot which can tend to produce a flat canter.

I guess every horse is different and therefore will find different things easier!

 

[Primitive Pony]

Thanks for all the replies - food for thought! Maybe it will be slightly harder work for my horse at the minute then but also, perhaps more effective.

 

[Polos Mum]

My older ex eventer (20 y/o) finds walk to canter much easier - I'm not sure if it makes a difference but he's out 24/7 so always wondering about - I'm not sure if I'd do it with him if he'd been stabled before riding because he'd need a really long walk warm up. Nice warm day straight from the field he works much more easily if I warm up walk then canter then start the harder trot work - he really feels looser and freer after a nice stretching canter

 

[JFTDWS]

Fergs finds walk to canter easier - better canter, better trans that way. Though now I've clearly had to go back and sort out the mess of trot-canter trans caused by me never doing them

 

[Queenbee]

Glad I could find this... Read it a while back thought it may be insightful

http://www.schoolyourhorse.com/2012/03/10/what-is-it-about-canter/

 

[Primitive Pony]

Fab, thanks for the link - that's really useful input!

 

[EstherYoung]

It depends on the horse but walk is closer to the canter than trot is in terms of where the legs are and what the back is doing. Trot is very diagonal but walk is a bit more lateral, like canter. It generally is easier for them. In the field, they don't usually go W T C, it's generally walk to canter or halt to canter. Canter to walk they find quite hard though. Loose, they'll often use trot as a braking mechanism, or they'll just do a sliding stop.

 

[Sneedy]

My trainer is an advocate of trot canter transitions, she says they are harder for the horse as it requires more co-ordination than walk to canter.........I've seen her do numerous trot to canters on her GP horse (hers are considerably better than mine !!).

 

[Skib]

We students all learned canter from walk at our riding school. And I needed re-teaching how to ask for canter from trot in the school. However, out hacking it is the opposite - the mare I ride (and rode as a beginner) would often offer canter when trotting forward - so it is more a case of saying not yet, or allowing. She will come back to trot and then back into canter easily. Alternating canter and trot strides seems easier than alternating walk and canter -
A related question I asked when sharing an elderly horse was whether it was less effort for her to go steadily forward in one gait (in her case trot) or to do frequent transitions. I ride a lot of transitions out hacking and may be transitions themselves, done for my own benefit to ensure an attentive, compliant horse, are an additional work load for a horse?

 

[star]

A good walk to canter transition requires the horse to sit more on its hindquarters than trot to canter. Same as halt to trot is harder than walk to trot. That's why walk to canter only really comes in at Elementary (can be progressive in the few tests at Novice it's in)whereas trot to canter starts at Prelim. DDirect transitions are great at getting the horse to take the weight off the forehand and shift his balance towards his hindquarters.

 

[Primitive Pony]

So, further to my question a few weeks ago, I asked my physio for her thoughts on this and she said that walk-canter requires more pelvic strength and trot-canter more back strength. Her suggestion was to vary it and work on both, which makes sense! - and chimes with what you've said above, thanks!