To canter or not to canter...

[trickivicki]

Hi,

When working a young horse which technique do you take to get the canter balanced and sustainable...

The Long Haul.... only cantering when trot/ walk work is well established

The Quick Fix.... let them run through and learn the quick way to keep all legs going in the right direction

At the moment with PJ I am not cantering in the school at all (have the odd canter on hacks when the ground allows) just working hard on trotting/walking/transitions as in my opinion it is the better way but opinions on my yard differ and some think the best way is to get them cantering so they learn to 'sort themselves out' and then deal with getting it right afterwards.

What do you reckon? Or are there any other ways (I'm sure there must be a middle ground somewhere).

 

[Steorra]

I do think it depends on the horse, and what works for one might not be right for another. But having had a horse where the Quick Fix method had been used and gone wrong (before he was mine!) I'm a Long Haul kind of gal. Basically my horse would canter in front and trot behind - fixing this problem was much harder than just teaching him properly in the first place would have been. I had to really teach him to use himself correctly in walk and trot - poles, lateral work, transitions etc - before I could get a decent canter in the arena.

The second horse I taught to canter was a trotter, and letting her run through wasn't really and option, because she would just offer her racing trot if pushed to go faster. She got the idea following horses on hacks, then on a REALLY big circle in the 1 acre schooling field. I didn't canter her in the school until the aids were very established and she had completely found her balance outside. This took lots of repetition but she got there in the end, and though she'll never have perfect paces she's been placed every time out at prelim and novice dressage.

Horse #3 was a very backward thinking type, very green, had done nothing but hack since he was backed. Because he was so quiet he could be ridden by novices, but they hadn't really known how to teach him anything. We did gymkhana games, jumping, pretend barrel races, pole work, riding to music, lots of cheering and whooping and fuss. Once I found his 'on switch' his canter was actually fine.

So yes, different things are appropriate for different horses, so trust your judgement - you know your horse and what is likely to work best

 

[gunnergundog]

Hi
Any youngster I have had has always been well drilled from the ground (lunging and long-reining) and will make reasonable transitions in response to a verbal command before being ridden. When schooling I normally only ride youngsters in as large an arena as possible - not 20x40, but then my youngsters have all been a minimum of 16.3hh - and allow them to find their balance, slowly introducing various exercises to help improve their ability to carry me. In the past I have also had access to an all weather gallop which was a godsend in some cases.

Good luck!

 

[Walrus]

I've been wondering this. My youngster was backed in April time but then spent the summer hacking and not worrying about schooling. I started schooling him at the end of summer and we still don't canter in the school. I'm working on establishing quality walk and trot first - the state of his balance in trot at present means I wouldn't fancy trying canter. My aim is to establish the transition on the lunge with voice commands - lunging has only just really clicked in walk and trot now - we initially had a long time of spooking followed by broncing and dragging on the lunge but he's established now enough to try a canter transition. It's taking longer than I anticipated but he is the first horse I've owned and the first one I've broken in so we're not in a rush and it's slightly like the blind leading the blind!

Saying that he learnt to canter on a hack in straight lines fairly early on so he does know the pace and we can get the transition fairly well on the stubble fields where we hack! It's in the school that I am in no rush - he's also a native and although quite bright when being taught things we do have to repeat them quite a lot to make sure both pony and jockey have the right idea!

 

[Tangaroo]

I have a 16.3 5yr old who i have had 3 weeks and he finds it hard to canter for long in the arena. I had hoped to introduce it out on hacks but my other horse who is supposed to be the nanny explodes everytime we ask for canter! (due to lack of work due to weather) Not very helpful.
I have now asked a friend if she will meet up with me once weather is better cos her horse is more sane!

 

[Jesstickle]

Assuming they understand the voice aid for canter I usually just go for it reasonably early (once I am sure brakes and steering work!).

I would usually only expect them to canter the long side of the school though with me on board.