Asking for canter on a straight line?

[MB1201]

My riding schools paddocks are open now, and my instructor feels that I am competent enough to try having a canter in the field, but she wants me to canter in a straight line. Last lesson we went in the field and the horse was spooky so I only tried asking for canter once, but it was on a small stretch on a straight line - I've always been told to ask for canter on a corner so being in an open field was a bit strange. Do I shift some of my body weight to either side? Does it matter which leg is going behind the girth? Thanks

 

[be positive]

I guess your instructor is suggesting asking on the straight so you don't over think it, in a straight line is doesn't matter what leg the horse is on so you can focus on your position and gaining confidence rather than worrying about the aids initially, once you are confident then you can start to think about what the horse is doing, most will favour one leg so to get the other lead you may have to give very clear aids, for now I would just say look up, stay in balance and just ask for canter with your normal aids without being concerned as to which leg the horse takes off on, then sit up and enjoy it.

 

[Barnacle]

Does your instructor mean for you to just canter a straight line or ask for it on a straight line and then curve around? If it's the former, I think be positive is right - you should just sit, squeeze and push with your seat. Don't worry about which leg the horse is on and just focus on staying deep in the saddle and going with the movement. If your instructor is asking you to do this specifically so you can get the horse on a specific lead, you need to give aids for that lead. People use different aids for this so I'm not going to tell you which to use - your instructor should be doing that! Regardless, cantering on a straight line is a great opportunity to learn to feel which lead a horse is on. You can also see which one they are on if you look at the shoulders like when you are looking for the correct diagonal in trot. The "inside" leg will be the front leg that hits the ground second every stride. That will tell you which way it's easier to turn once you reach the end of the line.