The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Cleaner canter transition?

9K views 69 replies 11 participants last post by  Skyseternalangel 
#1 ·
Bailey and I have been working on our canter transitions and I'm wondering how I can get a cleaner canter depart. Sometimes she has to get revved up about five to ten steps to break into the canter which means faster, more strung out trot.

Am I throwing her off with my balance? Once we get there, she's fine and will stay in the canter but maybe my weight should be back more? What am I doing wrong?

Also, how can I encourange more hindend engagement at the canter?

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Just what aids are you using?

Canter aids are vastly different than trot aids and if you are using clear canter aids the horse should not respond with a fast trot.......unless they don't understand the canter aid.

OR

When you ask for the canter the horse was not properly set up for it.
 
#6 ·
I taught a horse to pick up a canter from a walk. What I did was, sat up tall, almost stayed deep in the saddle, squeezed and with my inside leg at first I would have to kick him, or tap him on the butt with a crop...just so he would jump into it. Within 2 months, he was jumping into the canter from a walk, with just light pressure with my inside leg.
 
#7 ·
I taught a horse to pick up a canter from a walk.
I was just discussing this with my dressage trainer last lesson. I worked quite a bit on the trot-canter transitions lately trying to get it as smooth and on contact as possible, and since we were getting there I decided to work on walk-canter.

First, I noticed it's obviously easier for the horse to do and the connection and "smoothness" are easier to keep. Second, my instructor wasn't all that happy that I do it. :) The reason she gave is because different set of muscles works for either transition. She doesn't mind me to do plenty of trot-canter, with some walk-canter on top of it, but not walk-canter only, because it won't really improve trot-canter transition.

I did bring this up, because I'd be curious to hear what other people have to say about it.
 
#9 ·
How much transition work do you do before hand? Are they clean? Does she stay with a nice contact or lengthen out?

If she does, then you need to bring her more on to her hind, and correctly ridden transitions will help loads with this. Walk to trot to halt to trot. Half a dozen on a circle. Get her hind under neath her- the article was very good though.

GL!
 
#18 ·
Tnavas, you are asking for the canter with the inside leg and a seat, the outside leg is used just to prevent the haunches from swinging out. You also don't really have to go to the sitting trot to ask (I do rising one, just seat one stride and ask). :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skyseternalangel
#19 ·
No - the correct aids for canter includes the sitting trot, very important - not just one stride but two or three, these are used by the rider to increase the activity of the hind legs, to rebalance the horse and to place the horse correctly for the canter.

The outside leg asks for the canter as it brings the 1st leg of the sequence through (the outside hind leg), the inside leg then keeps the canter going.
 
#22 ·
Spyder - you really like to complicate things!

There are two schools of thought to obtain canter - simply and for the best result and as taught to me by my instructor - trained at Spanish Riding School - and what I've been teaching for 40+ years, that the outside leg back and used asks for canter and identifies to the horse the leg required to start the sequence of canter.

The inside leg always drives the horse forward and once in canter the inside leg maintains the quality of the canter.

Duffy Duck - sequence of legs is
Outside hind, Inside hind & outside foreleg together, Inside foreleg, period of suspension.
 
#23 ·
Spyder - you really like to complicate things!

There are two schools of thought to obtain canter - simply and for the best result and as taught to me by my instructor - trained at Spanish Riding School - and what I've been teaching for 40+ years, that the outside leg back and used asks for canter and identifies to the horse the leg required to start the sequence of canter.

The inside leg always drives the horse forward and once in canter the inside leg maintains the quality of the canter.
But surely simpler would mean asking for canter and keeping engagement with the inside leg, then when you are asking for things like canter half pass, your outside leg is free to do so?

Just asking as this is the way I have been taught, and how I have taught my youngster. Signal half halt, inside leg on etc, outside leg is there purely for keeping her where I need her and NOT to travers or drift...?
 
#27 ·
I've never found it confusing - nor my horse/horses and canter transitions and changes are very clean.

There definately two schools of thought about how to ask for the canter - once your horse understands what is required then I gues it really doesn't matter.
 
#28 ·
True, but then I suppose its different for what you want to ride too.

If I put my outside leg back and on in walk or trot and impulsion from the inside I am asking my horse to half pass, which is done, as far as I am aware, and trained, in that manner...?

My outside leg in canter is for balance.
My outside leg in half pass is used more for upwards, forwards, sidewards.
 
#29 ·
As I said in an earlier post my instructor was trained at the Spanish Riding School and their horses are the most beautifully trained in the world. Their work is tension free and light.
I'm very classical in my approach to training and have great faith in what I was taught.
 
#35 ·
In canter its used as a little nudge and for lateral work is more held against and pressed. Also the leg is used in not quite the same place. For lateral work my leg is usually further back than for the aid to canter.

Head is also thinking different action.
 
#36 ·
In canter its used as a little nudge and for lateral work is more held against and pressed. .

If you look at the top riders doing lateral/half passes they never hold the outside leg against the body. The rider's leg has to move in motion of the legs/gait motion.

Having a leg in one place all the time results in a horse dead to the aids.
 
#39 ·
All I know is that when I asked my horse to canter, my inside leg was at the girth. My outside leg was a little behind the girth. I squeezed both, and drove with my seat and he picked it up on the correct lead and kept it until I put more weight down in my legs.

Now I don't know if that's necessarily the correct way, but having my outside leg behind that girth helped him to keep his hind end behind him rather than swinging out.. and having my inside leg at the girth served two purposes: driving him forward along with my seat, and keeping him from dumping into the inside.

All I know is that it worked :P!
 
#47 ·
#56 ·
As much as I love it when these things happen (in a friendly manner) I think its only correct to use this::eek:fftopic::eek:fftopic::eek:fftopic:

Tvanas, as you have said to me once before, there are two ways to teach, and perhaps Kitten_Val has been taught canter transition from rising. Now, I was always taught sitting too- because its easier. I tried doing rising trot to canter yesterday on my old horse, M dressage, D lines... I did it, but not very well. So, if you can canter your horse from a rising trot properly, kudos to you :)

I rode a GP horse.

In fact, I wouldn't say I rode, I'll say I sat. You can get on a GP horse, but you might not be able to ride it to that level....
 
#58 ·
Kitten_Val has been taught canter transition from rising. Now, I was always taught sitting too- because its easier. I tried doing rising trot to canter yesterday on my old horse, M dressage, D lines... I did it, but not very well.
Duffy, I was taught both. :wink: And my qh knows both (because again cues from the seat and legs are basically the same, may be from the rising are not so pronounce but she listens/knows them). But I agree, it's all quite OT. :D
 
#59 ·
Hmm...you always want her to be "forward" into contact, so to engage her from behind, hold your hands steady, and add leg. Always add leg first, before hands.

If she isn't responding well to your leg aids, try some small spurs on her, or even try using a dressage whip.
 
#67 ·
The ability to sit correctly balanced and quiet is the key to a good rider - when I worked for Jennie Lorriston-Clarke we had a horse that was used especially for the hot seated riders - those that couldn't sit still. In canter if you so much as moved a seatbone he would do a flying change.

So the primary thing a rider needs to learn is to sit still (not as in rigid but with the movement of the horse)
 
#69 ·
The leg and seat are intricate parts of each other.

Too much movement of the seat affects the leg position, and too much leg movement affects the ability of the seat to do its job.

I don't increase the weigh of importance of either one over the other.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top