Medium canter

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Any tips on how to start working on this?

Grace did her first novice tonight, got 8s for her medium trot but 5s for the canter... we have another test on Sunday so I have a few days to start doing some work on it (I know it is not going to be 10s by then, but I would like to perhaps improve on what we had tonight)

Thanks,

Rebecca x
 
What's the problem? The canter itself? Coming back from it? Is it just not enough shown, or are you motorbiking off, is she getting tense/excited etc?

Can you give us some more info?
 
Sorry...
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Her canter is very uphill and easy to collect, but on my sheet tonight it said she didn't show a difference. I thought I could feel a change, but I was obviously wrong. She doesn't motorbike off, just obviously doesn't show enough increase in stride length.
 
Ahhh - certainly doesn't sound like the most difficult medium canter problem to solve!

Can you not just push on & ask for a bit more? Obviously you want to keep her together enough so she doesn't run on, but sounds like she naturally wouldn't do that anyway. People say you should collect a bit, before & after to highlight the difference, but not really convinced that's necessary.
 
Exercise I use may help?
I count my number of canter strides along the long side of the school. I then ask for shorter strides and again count, another long side of 'regular' canter, then ask for medium and again count - I was working on it tonight. Regular I got 13 strides, collected 16 and medium 9. It really helps you focus on the tempo and length of stride - and quite how much bigger each stride needs to be.
 
That's a brilliant tip isz!!!

Sal E, I think I was probably not pushing her enough because was a bit concerned she would disappear rather than go back to working canter. I know I have a picture of her at home going a good medium, but then you are not worried in your own school about staying inside the boards
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Yes exactly - I had to yank up the handbrake on one occassion..! You only have to show a bit though, so I take the approach of hurrying up & showing it & then having enough time to come back before the marker...
 
Lol!! Im too busy panting to count when have chased G boy down the long side!
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!! Fab tip though.... also doing circles in canter, making it into a 15/10m circle dependant on how balanced she is so she is really engaged and collected, and then really pushing her on on the ong side, to get a real feel of the difference, and then circling again to bring back. That way you keep engagement without running on forehand, and can really concentrate on lengthening the stride without having to worry about engagemnet etc cos it is already set up!!
 
Thanks... just wondering now whether I should be really mean and ride her tonight or be a kind mummy and give her today off and ride her tomorrow for the comp on Sunday
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quick tip - really collect the canter just before you do your medium canter in a test, it will make it look like you are showing a lot more than if you go from working canter to medium canter and back. I used to do this with Bloss and her medium canter was rubbish, but she always got 7s as i managed to show a big difference by using that technique - something i was taught by my old trainer
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Also practice at home over lengthend canter poles - keep the rhythm the same but push for a longer stride over the poles.

What mark did you get hun? Im assuming she behaved herself
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x
 
She didn't behave herself in the Prelim... she kept spooking across the school at things that were Grace eating monsters and only came out with 61%
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But in the Novice she got her head together (although we had 5 mins to get to the ring after the Prelim so hadn't actually done any meduim work at all before the test as didn't have time
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) and got 64.75%. She only got 5s for her medium canter
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But she got an 8 for her first medium trot and then a 7 for the second because she was, ermm, a bit full of herself. She also cantered a bit before X but it was either that or she was going to have a bouncing paddy in trot
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I chose the former
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theres nothing wrong with 61%, thats great, at least she dosent rear in her tests and get 53%! The spooking will go, shes just got to get used to everything.
 
agree with the collecting a little before , it helps highlight the difference along with helping to engage the quarters to propel forwards & also to keep the balance in the medium work

when i first started competeing novice i was surprised at just how much extra movement the judges were looking for & would routinely get 2 marks higher for the trot than canter work
 
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