I was told I couldn’t canter and believed it!
To get the feel of the canter we have to learn not to do anything except carry ourselves. So commit to the transition - upper body back, hand not blocking, then go with it, go with it, just carry yourself and feel what happens to your seat – don’t do anything – just feel.
From – “Don’t let him do that”, “I must get this right” to “What happened then? Why? It doesn’t matter. Let’s have another go………”. Riding is a learning process …..you must enjoy the learning to enjoy riding.
I used to think that my horse was judging me and finding me wanting. I was scared of this – I was also scared of hurting the horse. Inevitably the horse will be uncomfortable by us sitting on him – we have to accept this – otherwise we shouldn’t ride him!
The quality of the canter will follow the quality of the transition and the quality of the preceding pace. The best way to improve the canter is not by cantering for long periods. It is through transitions. There are many possible transitions to canter:
-Walk to canter
-Trot to canter
-Rein-back to canter (helps to train halt to canter)
-Halt to canter
-Giravolta to canter. Giravolta is essentially a protracted turn on forehand (see Paul Belasik’s Dressage for the 21st century (7))
-Leg yield to canter – either from a circle or a straight line or towards the wall.
The degree of difficulty of the strike-off increases depending on “location” as follows:
-approaching corner
-on a circle
-on the track (from shoulder/fore for greater ease. I find it better to think I am about to do a corner)
-on ¾ line (from shoulder/fore for greater ease – really telling!)
Why canter? What we hope to achieve by cantering can best inform us how to make the transition. For me the transition to canter is very important and it is easier to get a balanced transition and retain a connected seat from the walk. Think tall; allow the inside seat bone forwards and down; give with the hands; allow your horse forward through your seat. Ensure that your feet are underneath you so that you can keep a lighter seat.
If your leg is more in front of you all the weight is in your seat and passes directly into the horse’s back. As a result the horse hollows his back making it uncomfortable for you to sit to; you tense and then the problem gets worse. A vicious cycle!
If your leg is too far back, you will tip forwards with your upper body to compensate and this will push your weight onto the horse’s forehand. Like this he will find it very difficult to strike-off into canter and once in canter, if this occurs, he is likely to fall out of canter as he is pushed onto his forehand.
With the leg directly underneath we can carry more weight into the thigh ie your weight is supported over a larger area. This means less pressure per square inch on the horse’s back and more comfort for the horse AND for you. Whatever you do, don’t tense up! Focus forwards, sit up, release and give the hand forward.
I have really struggled with my seat in canter over the years. I have discovered a number of ways of improving my seat in canter:
-Lots of walk – canter – walk transitions on a circle
-Figure of eight in canter with simple change
-Thinking of growing tall, releasing, releasing, releasing the weight of the body on the thigh and equal weight into left and right of seat
-Legs long. Think of legs being pulled down by a force. Most people are not open enough behind the knee and in the ankle joint. Oil those joints
-Downwards feeling from centre down – upwards feeling from centre up. Try to make a space between each vertebra
-Let the body innards just be. Let them go where –ever they want to go, but don’t hold on to any of them.
-Distract your busy mind by counting strides.
Try the following stride counting exercise. Commence a 20 metre circle in trot; transition to canter; canter a set number of strides (say 5) then trot; then repeat. Allow the horse into trot; feel the moment where he becomes more secure in your hand and keep allowing him forwards in the trot. It is very important that balance is maintained through all this.
With a good canter seat you can execute many movements in canter. For example, shoulder in, counter canter. Try changing the frame in canter but be careful! As you ask for stretching down, the weight on the forehand increases and the horse could fall out of canter. You will need to support him with your seat to stop him going faster and losing his balance.
Training counter canter – Michel Henriquet (10) and Paul Belasik (7) have different ideas. Try both and see what works for you.
Improving the canter – the canter must “jump”. Aim for bigger, longer more purposeful strides, not short and “on the spot”. Trot, canter, trot transitions can help with this. Also try using canter poles – single and multiple.