Introduction

In a previous blog post, I wrote about the preparation for the canter and mentioned several exercises that can bring the horse into an advantageous starting position for the canter depart. The better the transition succeeds, the higher the quality of the canter will be. It is much easier to maintain a good canter than to transform a bad canter into a good one. If the depart fails, it is better to return to the walk or trot and to prepare the canter again from scratch. It is also better to do few canter strides of high quality than to do many canter strides in poor quality. As soon as the quality of the canter decreases, it is therefore a good idea to ask for a down transition, restore balance and then canter again. Since the horse memorizes the motions that he has to execute frequently and he builds the muscles that he is constantly using, it is desirable that he memorizes the correct motions, if possible, and that he develops the correct muscling.

In addition to the preparation of the canter depart the rider has a few more options of influencing and shaping the canter stride with her seat and aids. You can even improve the quality of the natural canter.

The Seat In The Canter

There are certain aspects of the seat that the rider should keep in mind when cantering:

The torso should be held quiet and upright if possible. Large forward and backward rockingmotions disturb the horse’s balance. The up and down movement of the horse’s back is absorbed by the rider’s hip, knee, and ankle joints, as well as by the lumbar spine. This allows the rider’s shoulders to remain quiet. Clearly visible forward-backward motions are usually caused by stiff rider’s hips or stiff hind legs that don’t flex in their upper joints.
The movement of the horse’s back takes the rider’s pelvis forward when the main diagonal (inside hind leg + outside front leg) is on the ground. This can create a forward-backward swinging motion of the rider’s inside leg. At the same time, the rider’s seat usually pushes the horse too much onto the forehand in cases like that, so that the rein contact can become very heavy or the horse curls up. The unwanted swinging of the leg can be prevented by rotating the femur inward in the hip joints and stretching the entire leg back and down when it is being pulled forward by the motion of the canter stride. This allows the inside leg to rest quietly in its proper place. It is helpful from time to time to lift the thighs slightly off the horse for a stride in order to check if you accidentally started gripping with your legs without noticing it.
The rider can reshape the canter stride with her seat by accentuating either the forward motion or the upward motion. If the rider joins the forward motion with her pelvis more, the canter stride becomes longer. If she increases the natural upward motion, the horse will lift his forehand more. If the rider reduces the forward motion with her seat and redirects it in an upward direction, the horse collects: the canter strides become shorter, but taller.

Aids During The Canter Stride

In each beat of the canter stride the rider is able to influence the shape and size of the stride. For each beat there are specific aids that can be applied productively. That does not mean that you should use those aids in every stride, but merely that these aids are available in those specific moments of the stride, in case you need them.

As a general observation, the aids can only accompany the horse’s natural movement and increase or decrease certain aspects of the stride. They therefore have to fit into the biomechanics of the natural gaits. They must not go against the natural footfall sequence. For instance, you can increase the natural upward movement of the withers. You can make the forward movement that you feel in your pelvis larger or smaller. You can increase the downward movement of the forehand. You can make the strides quicker or slower. You can change the weight distribution (front - rear - left - right)

1st Beat- Outside hind leg is grounded, highest point of the stride:

Outside stirrup + outside rein: Horse lifts the forehand higher, the rein stabilizes the base of the neck and prevents the shoulders from falling out.
Outside stirrup + inside rein: Horse lifts the forehand higher, the rein stabilizes the base of the neck and prevents the shoulders from falling in.

2nd Beat - Main diagonal (inside hind leg + outside front leg) is grounded, the rider’s pelvis is pulled forward:

Outside leg: activates the outside hind leg as soon as it lifts off (more jump)
Inside stirrup + inside rein: Flexes and loads the inside hind leg. It can bend against the inside hind leg.
Inside stirrup + outside rein: Transfers the weight of the outside shoulder to the inside hind leg. the rein stabilizes the base of the neck. It can counterbend the horse if necessary.
Outside stirrup + outside rein: Transfers the weight to the outside shoulder. It can reduce the elevation and increase the poll flexion. The rein stabilizes the base of the neck and can bend the horse against the outside front leg.
Outside stirrup + inside rein: Transfers the weight to the outside shoulder. It can reduce the elevation and increase the poll flexion.
Both stirrups: Distributes the weight evenly along the main diagonal.

3rd Beat - Inside front leg is grounded, lowest point of the canter stride:

Inside leg: activates the inside hind leg (more jump)
Inside stirrup + inside rein: Transfers the weight to the inside shoulder. It can reduce the elevation and increase the poll flexion. It can bend against the inside front leg.
Inside stirrup + outside rein: Transfers the weight to the inside shoulder. It can reduce the elevation and increase the poll flexion. The outside rein frames the outside shoulder and stabilizes the base of the neck. It can counterbend, if necessary.

Suspension Phase
You can drive with either leg or with both legs together during the suspension phase to create more jump.

Stirrup stepping:

Here are some stirrup stepping exercises that can help you to improve the canter. You apply one stirrup pressure per canter stride in the composite exercises.

Legend:

“IF” means: slight pressure onto the inside stirrup when the inside front leg is grounded, i.e. at the lowest point of the stride.
“OF” means: slight pressure onto the outside stirrup when the outside front leg is grounded, i.e. when your seat is pulled forward.
“OH” means: slight pressure onto the outside stirrup when the outside hind leg is grounded, i.e. at the highest point of the stride.
“IH” means: slight pressure onto the inside stirrup when the inside hind leg is grounded, i.e. when your seat is pulled forward.
“Both” means: slight pressure onto both stirrups when the main diagonal (IH + OF) is grounded, i.e. when your seat is pulled forward.

Exercises:

IF, OH, Both: This emphasises the three beats of the canter stride. It helps to restore the clear three beat rhythm in a canter that has become impure (lateral or four beat), and it can accentuate the vertical aspect of the movement.
OF, OH, OF, IH, IF, IH: This exercise has a straightening and laterally balancing effect. It rocks the weight back and forth between front and hind legs.
OH, Both, OH: This emphasizes the upward motion of the forehand and transfers the weight to the hind legs. The horse feels the weight three times in his outside pair of legs, once in an inside leg. And he feels the weight three times in his hindquarters and once in his forehand.
IF, Both, IH: This takes the weight off the outside shoulder and transfers it to the inside hind leg. The exercise has a straightening effect. The horse feels the weight three times in his inside pair of legs, once in an outside leg. And he feels the weight twice in a front leg and twice in a hind leg. You could add a stirrup pressure into the OH at the end of the sequence to lift the forehand more.
OF, Both, IH: This takes the weight off the outside shoulder and transfers it to the inside hind leg. It also connects the legs of the main diagonal with each other.
Both, IH, OF: This moves the weight along the main diagonal from the center to the inside hind leg and from there to the outside front leg. This creates a gentle rocking motion. This sequence is useful in combination with the next one.
Both, OF, IH: This moves the weight along the main diagonal from the center to the outside front leg and from there to the inside hind leg.
OF, IH, Both: This rocks the weight from the outside front legto the inside hind leg and back to the center. All these diagonal stepping sequences connect the legs of the main diagonal with each other, which can really help with an impure canter rhythm.
IF, (inside leg), OH, (outside leg): This shifts the weight first into the inside front leg. Then you drive with your inside calf when the inside front leg is grounded during the next canter stride. In the third canter stride, you load the outside hind leg, and in the fourth stride you drive with the outside leg when the outside front leg is on the ground. This emphasizes the up and down movement and increases the jump more in the canter.

All these exercises can be changed and adjusted to fit each individual horse, of course. You can also combine them with each other.

Lengthen The Stride
Send the horse forward with your back muscles and both thighs/knees during the 1st beat of the stride, when the outside hind leg is grounded and lifting the forehand.

Collect After Lengthening
If necessary, activate the hindquarters with your legs during the suspension phase. Then half halt with the outside stirrup + outside rein during the 1st beat of the stride, when the outside hind leg is grounded and the forehand is being lifted. You can raise the forehand higher this way, which automatically makes the canter strides shorter and higher.

Down Transition To Trot
Three half halts bring the horse from the canter to the trot. When you apply the aids with the outside stirrup and rein during the 1st beat, the horse stays better balanced during the transition.

Down Transition To The Walk Or Halt
Three half halts bring the horse from the canter to the walk or halt. When you apply the aids with the inside stirrup and outside rein during the 2nd beat (when your seat is pulled forward), you can press the inside hind leg into the footing so that it doesn’t bounce back, and the horse learns to distinguish between a canter-trot transition and a canter-walk or canter-halt transition.

Conclusion:
In the previous blog post, I showed you several possibilities of preparing the canter in such a way that you set yourself and your horse up for success and the canter is as uphill and round as possible. In this newsletter I showed you how to shape or even reshape the canter strides in order to improve the natural canter. Experiment with the various suggestions and try to design your own exercises, keeping in mind the principles I have described.

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Shaping And Reshaping The Canter Stride

Thomas Ritter