Welcome back to Learning How to Canter. In Part II of this series, I am going to walk you through beginning to sit the canter, talk about leads, lead changes and how to ask for the correct lead.

SITTING THE CANTER

The most common question I hear from new riders that have started to learn the canter is that they struggle to sit the canter. They feel bouncy and cannot figure out how to follow the motion, so if you feel this way, you are not alone. If you read my last post: Learning to Canter – Part I, you will have noticed that I suggest starting new riders off in a more forward seat, with them hovering over the saddle and all their weight in their stirrups, with the added support of holding the mane or a neck rope. Once the rider has achieved being able to comfortably canter in a two-point or forward position, they should slowly start to sit back and sit deeper in small increments. As the rider becomes more comfortable, they should bend more in their knee, and sink into the saddle while staying forward. Then, once the rider is can follow the motion in this position, they can begin to open their hip angle and sit back some. Every time the rider makes an adjustment and sinks lower into the saddle or opens their hip angle, they should  old this position for as long as they can while following the horse. The minute that they feel unbalanced, or start to lose the motion the should rise back up farther out of the saddle.

Another trick to learn to follow the motion of the horse, is to have the rider “post” at the canter. This is a more controversial method, as there is a lot of critique around posting at the canter, and I am not going to debate that here as I think it’s helpful for new riders. Teaching it as a style of riding is an entirely different topic, which I will tackle one day; maybe as Part IV of the canter series. Posting at the canter is exactly what it sounds like, the rider stands up for a stride, then sits down in the saddle for a stride, then repeat. What this does is allows the rider to learn the rhythm of the canter and not bounce.

Sitting the canter smoothly is something that takes years. If you go to a show, you will see a difference in even some of the upper-level riders and how smoothly they can follow the horse. Its important to stay relaxed and allow all your joints to move freely and independently from each other. Following a horse and being able to sit the canter smoothly requires your arms, legs, and hips to be able to work independently from each other. Just think about how hard it is to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time. This is the same concept.

If you take anything away from this post, it should be to never force sitting at the canter. It will hurt your back, the horse doesn’t like, even if they tolerate it, and it just dose nothing to progress your ability to sit and follow the horse because you’re bracing every step because of the bouncing.  Just remember, it takes years to truly be able to sit and follow a horse.

Don’t do the Following When Learning to Canter

·       Try to sit and just continue to bounce.

·       Make your stirrups super long.

·       Remove your stirrups.

Do the Following When Learning to Canter

·       Ride in a forward seated position.

·       Keep your weight in your stirrups.

·       Stay lose and flexible.

WHAT IS A CANTER LEAD

When cantering, a horse will “lead” the stride with one leg forward. This is something that’s easier to see versus explain in words, I will link a short video clip to show the leads. A balanced horse will lead with their inside front leg. The “inside” should be thought of as the inside of a circle. Most rings are oval but, same idea. If you are cantering to the left, the horse will be on its left lead, leading with its left front leg, and vice a versa to the right. If you were to be cantering in a field going straight, it doesn’t much matter what lead you are on. The lead you are on matters because it helps the horse balance through the turn. A well ridden, well balanced horse can counter canter, which is holding the outside lead through a turn but, even if this skill is mastered by horse and rider, its not a way of riding that is sustained, it is mostly demonstrated in tests when showing in equitation or dressage that the horse and rider are balanced and that the communication between the horse and rider is clear and precise.

After a rider can comfortably keep contact with the saddle without bouncing, and the rider has an independent use of their hands, then they can begin to learn to use their three aids (hand, seat, leg) to ask for the correct lead. To pick up the correct lead, you do the following, I recommend starting from the trot.

·       Get in a position that your comfortable in at the canter.

·       Shorten your reins so you have a light feel of the horse.

·       Slide your outside leg back.

·       Keep your inside leg at the girth.

·       Keep slightly more contact with your outside rein.

·       Add leg pressure when the when the horses pushing off (when its on the ground) with their outside back leg.

Some people will tell you to start to canter through the turn, this helps balance the horse in a way where the horse is encouraged to pick up the correct lead, it also puts the horse in a position where it’s easier to pick up the lead to the inside. This is not full proof by any means, and if you have a green horse, which you should not be riding if your just learning to canter, its less likely to work. If your new to cantering, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be organized and clear enough with your request that the horse is going to pick the canter up fast enough where you will still be in a corner. It’s also more likely your body position will be leaning in through the corner so just start to ask when your ready and comfortable.

CHANGING LEADS

As you progress in your riding, you will begin to feel how uncomfortable it is to counter canter, or be on the outside lead around a circle. Most commonly referred to as “the wrong lead” 😊. You will also learn that in almost every discipline, there are changes in direction required. When changing direction at the canter, you will need to do a lead change.  As a general rule of thumb, the proper time to execute a change order is when you are coming into and are around the turn. Well trained horses will have an “auto change”, which means they automatically change the lead they are on when they change direction. Horses that have an auto change will anticipate the change coming up, and typically will change before being asked. When you execute the lead change matters more when your showing in an equitation, hunter or dressage ring.

There are two ways to change leads at the canter.

1.       Simple Change – This is where the horse and rider break from the canter into the trot, and then immediately pick the canter back-up on the other lead.

2.       Flying Change – When the horse stays in the canter and changes lead. This is another circumstance where you have to see it to truly understand. But the horse essentially does a hop step and switches up their lead. This is very natural for horses, if you watch a horse in the field, they will do a flying change to get on the correct lead for balance.

For beginner riders, a lot of school horses will know they have to change leads and will break to the trot and pick up the correct lead (simple change), or will do an automatic flying change when its most comfortable for them. And, if your lucky, you will have a school horse that’s lazy and counter canters around until the rider recognizes they are on the wrong lead and takes action to correct it. A horse auto correcting itself is nice sometimes, but when it comes to learning, a horse that waits till it is asked is a better teacher.

HOW TO TELL YOUR ON THE WRONG LEAD

1.       Look down, the inside shoulder be the one going more forward or “leading”.

2.       When going around a turn and you feel like the horse is tipping you to the inside, or you feel off balance around the turns.

3.       The horse’s head is turned slightly to the outside.

This is one of those things that take time. Ultimately, you should be able to feel what stride your on but, when learning, it is useful and acceptable to look down.

LEARINING THE COUNTER CANTER

I like to teach my students how to counter canter much sooner then many other trainers. If my students know how to counter canter, it tells me they have better control over their aids and balance. It also proves that they understand and can control what they are asking for, especially if they are on a school master that does all the right things without being asked. The counter canter should be taught before a flying lead change and after a simple change. Executing the simple change forces the rider to change aids at the trot, but allows for more error in what they ask, and when to ask it. It also allows the rider to begin to figure out their balance through the turn and learn to shift their balance and change their aids at a slower pace. Learning the counter canter requires the ability to ask for a different lead correctly, and teaches the student the feeling of opposite aids, required when doing a lead change.

To pickup the counter canter, do the following:

1.       At the walk, ask for a counter bend, and switch your aids up. Practice asking for a counter bend at the walk and trot.

2.       Ask for the counter lead on the straight away/long wall, using the same aids you would ask for the correct lead (inside leg at the girth, outside leg back behind the girth). I recommend doing this from the sitting trot. Doing this from the sitting trot seems easier for most.  

Hopefully this article gets you to a more advanced stage in learning to canter. In Part III, I talk about all the “different seats” and how to use them.

Thanks for reading, please leave any questions or comments below.