Cari Swanson

Difficulty Holding Canter on a Circle

A reader writes; I have been working with my TB (off the track). He has progressed quite well except for his right lead canter. He is sound, however, he seems weak stepping under to pick up the correct lead. When he picks up the lead correctly, he cannot sustain it for more than a few strides. I have been using spiraling, shoulder-in and haunches-in to try to strenghten him and/or restore some flexibility. Is there any other exercises I can do with him. He generally has no problem on the straight line, just the circle.

There are many other excercises you can do to help strengthen and build up the correct muscles for your horse to canter right. Horses off the track tend to be very one sided on the left as a result of running in that direction. The first thing to do is check for any unsoundness which sounds like you have already done. Next, check you positon and make sure you are riding balanced and light.

Since he can canter on the straight line, I would introduce counter canter which is an excellent excercise to balance your horse. Start with counter canter on the long side of the arena, transition to trot on the short side, counter canter the next long side and repeat. Remember you have to be patient and slowly build up his confidence and strength so that he can maintain the right lead canter.

Next introduce shallow loops from true canter toward X and back to the wall, eventually cantering all the way to X and back to the track at the end of the long side.

You may have introduced the spiralling excercise too soon, your horse must be able to maintain counter canter all the way around the arena several times before beginning this excercise. Continue with shoulder in and haunches in at the walk and trot. If you have the opportunity, canter up hills on the both leads several times a week to help build up new muscles.

Another easy excercise is to leg yield right from the long side to X, 10 meter half circle right from X to the long side, ask for canter as you hit the track. Riding relaxed and balanced, continue cantering until your horse breaks. Repeat on the other side. Your goal should be to add a few strides each time. Be patient while your horse is finding new muscles.

After working with these excercises for a few weeks let me know the progress or any problems if they appear.

Controlling the Hindquarters

This is an excellent excercise to teach your horse feel. Once mastered, this simple excercise will supple and relax your horse, lightening his forehand and preparing him to perform all of his movements with ease.

While mounted, take your leg back an inch or so and apply pressure to ask him to move his inside hind across and in front of the outside hind while keeping his front feet in the same place. Once he responds to your leg pressure, release the leg contact as a reward. Remember, you are only asking for one step at a time, take the time to show your horse what you want and be patient while he is learning.

Take care to check your position, sit up straight and balanced, do not lean to one side, your heels are down, your legs relaxed, you are lifting your upper body, head and neck relaxed. Maintain light contact with the bit.

Ultimately you want him to drop his head, thus raising his back, but the first attempts may not result in that. So the first goal is for him to step his leg over. Once he understands this, supple his neck and show him the way to lengthening his neck downward and outward.

Remember, be quite clear about what you are asking. You must always be balanced and relaxed.

Do this excercise in both directions several times each day until you achieve an immediate response with very little pressure.

Some common problems:

The horse does not respond to the leg pressure, he just stands still.

Simply ask quietly and if he does not shift his weight in response to your leg, reinforce what you are asking with a quick tap from the whip. Then try again asking from the leg pressure only. He should understand what you want with one correction. If not, tap him again to help explain what you want.

The horse moves forward away from the pressure, not sideways.

If you find him walking forward, use a wall or fence to stop him. Once you master the excercise facing a wall, find a place in the center of arena to test your aids.

Learning to Feel Your Horse

There are many horse trainers, however, there are very few true horseman. The sign of a genuine horseman is one who feels his horse. They shine like stars among the average trainers because their horses are happy and obedient. Becoming a true horseman should be the goal of anyone wanting to work with horses. There is no magic involved, simply patience and understanding the nature of the horse will allow you to achieve greater success with few problems. First of all you must listen to your horse, recognizing when he is paying attention to you. This is essential for clear communication. Once you have his undivided attention, be very clear about what you are asking him to do. Always remember to prepare him for the question, setting him up for success. The first thing to focus on is where your horses feet are. Learn to move with your horse, influencing each footfall so that the timing of the aids achieves an immediate result. Spend time with your horse observing when each foot is on the ground in each gait. This will take patience and practice, ultimately becoming highly rewarding when you successfully influence his movements. Remember, horses want to please, and it is up to us to understand how to communicate clearly. Problems almost always result from lack of preperation or understanding, not because the horse wants to misbehave. Each horse is an individual and a great teacher, so all you need to do is learn to listen and feel your horse.

Rules of Engagement

What exactly is engagement? Your trainer or dressage judge is constantly telling you to engage your horse, what does she mean? Engagement is the increased flexion of the lumbosacral joint and the joints of the hind leg during the weight bearing or support phase of the stride. Thus the croup is lower relative to the forehand, in other words lightening the forehand. Carefully observe the withers of your horse raise as he becomes more engaged. Think of engagement as the “carrying power” rather than the “pushing power” which is a prerequisite for upward thrust or impulsion. There are many excercises to achieve engagement such as shoulder in, leg yield, travers, renvers, and transitions. Experiment with these excercises to achieve a greater degree of engagement and enjoy the benefits of a lighter, more supple horse to ride.