Striding for doubles

if you're working off of a 12ft canter stride, then one canter stride is 4 big-ish steps.

So, a double would be 8 of your steps plus one big step on either side of the distance to allow for take off and landing.
 
Just normal walking strides will do. You want 2 strides for landing, 4 strides per horse stride and 2 strides for take off. So for a 1 stride double its 8 human strides. For a 2 stride double you want 12 strides. This is the distance for average horse and average adult stride length
 
Lol oh ok

You've got the right advice above, 2 of your longish strides (approx 1m per stride) at each end for take off and landing then 4 of your longish strides per horse stride, you can then build doubles and related distances of 3, 4 or 5 strides based on this.
 
Whilst I agree that comp distances are 8yds (1 stride) and 12yds (2 strides), I often build shorter at home, even for very big horses. Mine tend to be 7 and 11yds, or just slightly over. I find that you're often in a smaller arena/space at home and often working from a more collected pace. At a competition you're naturally more forward and flowing and less likely to be stoping and starting.
 
Gamebird said:
Whilst I agree that comp distances are 8yds (1 stride) and 12yds (2 strides), I often build shorter at home, even for very big horses. Mine tend to be 7 and 11yds, or just slightly over. I find that you're often in a smaller arena/space at home and often working from a more collected pace. At a competition you're naturally more forward and flowing and less likely to be stoping and starting.
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Agree wholeheartedly with this - plus please don't muddle yards with metres (see different answers above), GB is right, you need to walk one yard strides not one metre ones - there is only a difference of 10cm-ish per human stride, but by the time you have done eight or twelve it equates to a big difference and will make your distances wrong.

Average horse stride = 12 feet = 4 yards or four of your 3 feet paces.

For big fences and competition distances you would add 2 paces for take-off and landing, however, for schooling purposes assume rather less for the reasons GB outlines. It is almost always preferable to school at home on slightly shorter distances than you ride in competition - for a bold long-striding horse it makes them shorten up and work harder, for a short-striding horse it keeps their confidence high, and discourages them from getting in a habit of "chipping in". There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but I would say we build short far more often than we build long.

So in summary, at home I would build a one stride double at 7 paces and a two srride double at 11 paces. Start small to test the striding and adjust as necessary before you put them up :)
 
Great answer above and from Gb, but just like to add it's easy to learn to walk distances properly. Just measure out an area you walk regularly - down a barn aisle or through the yard works great - and put marks at each yard interval. Whenever you walk this section make your strides match the marks and take note of the changes you have to make to your normal walking stride as there almost undoutably will be an adjustment. That's why sj'ers look so funny walking courses, because they all have a '3' stride' they know by feel.
 
lyndsayberesford said:
Just normal walking strides will do. You want 2 strides for landing, 4 strides per horse stride and 2 strides for take off. So for a 1 stride double its 8 human strides. For a 2 stride double you want 12 strides. This is the distance for average horse and average adult stride length
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Perfect ! Followed this and made a double , pony jumped through it perfectly :D
 
Gamebird said:
Whilst I agree that comp distances are 8yds (1 stride) and 12yds (2 strides), I often build shorter at home, even for very big horses. Mine tend to be 7 and 11yds, or just slightly over. I find that you're often in a smaller arena/space at home and often working from a more collected pace. At a competition you're naturally more forward and flowing and less likely to be stoping and starting.
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Agree entirely on this; when I am at home I tend to work on 7 of my strides for a one strided double, and then 11 for a two stride double and so on rather than 8, 12 etc etc

However, yes, if you are working from the usual horse canter stride of 12ft - practise walking 4 of your own strides in a 12 ft distance. Get a measuring tape out and practise striding it until you know the correct sized four human strides needed to make up a 12ft horse canter stride. Then, when walking distances you can do two of your strides for landing followed by four of your strides for one canter stride, or eight of your strides for two canter strides (and so on) and then allow two of your strides for take off :) it is simple enough!

As for your horse being 15.1h..this is irrelevant - when working over fences, never shorten a distance because your horse ''has a short stride'' or ''naturally is long'' - you need to teach your horse to travel at the correct stride pattern...a course designer isn't going to change a course distance at a show for you :) you need to adapt your horse yourself during schooling :)
 
TarrSteps said:
Great answer above and from Gb, but just like to add it's easy to learn to walk distances properly. Just measure out an area you walk regularly - down a barn aisle or through the yard works great - and put marks at each yard interval. Whenever you walk this section make your strides match the marks and take note of the changes you have to make to your normal walking stride as there almost undoutably will be an adjustment. That's why sj'ers look so funny walking courses, because they all have a '3' stride' they know by feel.
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Exactly what my instructor suggests to train yourself how to walk. He also says watch folk pacing out fences while walking the course, firstly, as they get closer to the second element they will shorten their stride or lengthen it to get the right number of strides in and secondly, if everyone was pacing it out correctly there wouldn't be three thousand foot falls everywhere :D
 
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