"When Do I Get to Canter?"

Many horses struggle with the canter, and many riders struggle with it too. It is the most unbalanced gait, leaving the horse to support himself and the rider on just one leg in two different strides. Many horses have an unbalanced canter all on their own, and when stacked with a rider, will struggle exponentially - especially a rider who is not balanced, or worse, pulls and clutches. This will cause the horse to scramble, drop their back, rush, break gait, or even stumble or fall.

There are many skills required for both horse and rider to come together and pull this precarious gait off successfully. A smart rider does not ask for this gait until these elements have been schooled in both.

In the rider, some of these these skills are:

- A balanced seat both posting and sitting the trot

-the ability to take even connection without pulling the inside rein back in transitions

-the ability to ride basic figures like a good corner and a 20 meter circle (used to shape bend through the horses spine)

-the ability to control oneself and not get greedy or in a state of self protection (managing fear)

In the horse, som of these skills are:

-stability in the hind leg and ability to lift the inside shoulder

-ability to go relatively straight and relatively bend on a simple figure like a good corner and a 20 meter circle

-ability to correctly diagonalize the trot

-ability to keep the back elastic and tempo steady when rider transitions from posting to sitting trot

-ability to stay relatively level between both reins

Many riders throw their horses into a rushing trot, leading into a frantic and stumbling canter, then stack on restricting or driving aids to compensate. A smart rider layers their schooling with these elements in mind so that by the time they are schooling canter, it flows relatively easily. And when things go wrong, the rider has the skill to manage and support the horses balance.

Don’t leave the canter up to fate. Educate your seat, educate the horse, and prepare systematically to be improving the gaits with each ride.