Improving the canter (need more jump and ground cover)

[Walrus]

Any tips or excercises for improving the canter. Pony is consistently getting comments about needing more ground cover and more jump in the canter (particularly canter right). We have been doing loads of work on getting the useless jockey (yours truly) to sit straight and not lose the outside shoulder in some sort of crooked heap and this has improved but now we need more quality.

Pony is small and native so not naturally endowed with ground cover but everything in canter is just a bit flat at the moment.

Any ideas to try greatfully received.

Thanks

 

[kassieg]

Mine is exactly the same except larger & irish. She has a good canter but me & my instructor are working on a wow canter! As he said she needs to lift herself off the ground.

Work on a circle & ride medium then ask for collected & work on keeping the power you had within the medium really sit your arse under you lean back & give really subtle but sharp leg aids whilst half halting each stride & you will feel a lift. Its hard work for both horse & rider so don't ask too much but i really felt the difference & wow it was nice !! Also counter canter will help you & leg yielding in canter

 

[wkiwi]

Hill work is the fastest best way that i know. Ideally a nice long sloping hill rather than a shorter steep one, and make sure you do it on both leads. Walking down again is also good for developing the muscles.

 

[Aspire]

Mine is exactly the same except larger & irish. She has a good canter but me & my instructor are working on a wow canter! As he said she needs to lift herself off the ground.

Work on a circle & ride medium then ask for collected & work on keeping the power you had within the medium really sit your arse under you lean back & give really subtle but sharp leg aids whilst half halting each stride & you will feel a lift. Its hard work for both horse & rider so don't ask too much but i really felt the difference & wow it was nice !! Also counter canter will help you & leg yielding in canter

Sorry I don't agree with tucking one's bottom under and leaning back. This causes the horse's back to drop away when what is required is a rounder back to allow the hind legs to step under more and give greater lift and support to the front end. It's actually about sitting light, draping the leg around the horse and using light leg aids to encourage the back to lift, whilst employing the stomach and core to 'hold' the horse for a few strides before relaxing and allowing it all to flow on again. Pole work can assist too.,

 

[Walrus]

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I should have mentioned these comments are on prelim and novice test sheets so we're not at any great level. We're currently working on sitting quietly and letting him canter underneath a bit like Aspire describes and using the leg aids clearly then removing them completely and encouraging him to carry himself and maintain a rhythm (I have a habit of trying to ride every stride, although occasionally not in the right rhythm!). I do also find some strides of medium help, although not too much as then he just charges on. Transitions aren't something we find too helpful generally as too many at once just wind him up and he gets angry but lateral work really works with him (funny little creature), I think I'm also going to up the walk to canter work too.

Would love to do hill work with him, I think it would benefit him in so many ways but I live in a ridiculously flat area, to find a decent game hill I would need to box him somewhere which isn't practical after work but I might have to make the effort on a weekend!

 

[be positive]

One of the best exercises I have found for improving the canter, especially the straightness and rhythm is to put 4 poles on the quarter marks of a 20m circle and canter round over them, it is far more difficult to do correctly than you would expect, although if your pony is small it will be easier, use the outside of each pole to open the stride, middle for normal working canter and the inside to shorten, to keep a regular stride pattern, control the shoulders and work the canter takes real concentration but should be very beneficial for the canter.
Some work over small bounces, cantering lines of poles in forward seat so you are not driving and the back can come up, walk to canter and counter canter are also good exercises, the cc can be very helpful as long as it is correct and they do not lose the bend.

 

[BlueThePiebald]

do lots of transitions. This is what i do:
down long side of arena- lengthen stride for more ground coverage
down short side of arena- shorten stride to ensure collection

what you want to do as well is start by not letting pony act like a slug during the gaits. Start with a walk and make sure that it is nice and active and bouncy. Then do the same with the trot and canter.