Cross post: Condensing Canter

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

I posted in Eventing as well, but it would be a disservice to ignore the great advice of other dressage riders on this forum.

I have a young green horse at home, we see an instructor monthly when she is able to visit the facility. Horse is W/T/C, we have been working on contact and he goes super at W/T but at the canter will lose connection and go above the bit. He knows leg yields and the turn on haunches and forehand but no lateral movements yet. Laterals are something I want to save for working with my trainer on to make sure my timing is 100%.

I would love some tips on helping me help my guy. He has a very big canter and tends to get strung out and flat, and if left uncorrected will dirtbike in one direction around the steep side of our arena. Our arena is actually an unused pasture, it is not super flat. He does not rush, but his stride is very long and I have a hard time getting him to condense his stride in a way he understands. He is still very green and is learning half-halts, we only just started cantering in October but stopped once it started to snow as we do not have an indoor. I have been doing small sequences of canter between four to five strides and bringing him back to a trot, but this gets repetitive and he starts to anticipate the transitions. If I condense too much he breaks to a trot. I know part of it will get better once he strengthens up. This seems like a balance issue, both his and mine, as I tend to want to lean forward and get out of his face when I know he needs my support every stride.

[Velvet]

I prefer shorten or lengthen, when discussing strides, or compressing (similar to your “condensing” term). First, can you shorten and lengthen the stride, at will, at the trot? This will set you up for having the horse understand what you want when you transfer it to the canter. You need to have the horse bringing his back UP to meet your seat and listening to the difference between when you follow, when you hold with your core, and when you are asking for shorter strides.

If you’ve done your homework at the trot, then at the canter introduce it during the down transitions first. Shorten him up the last few strides before the down transition. Once he gets that, then do it within the gait. Keep the power from behind, keep him on a straight line and ask him to begin shortening for a down transition, then send him (softly) forward. Do this a few times, then do a full down transition. Next go back the canter and DO NOT override the aids. Ask softly (whisper the aids) and send him on again, then repeat the previous exercise.

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

[QUOTE=Velvet;8684353]
I prefer shorten or lengthen, when discussing strides, or compressing (similar to your “condensing” term). First, can you shorten and lengthen the stride, at will, at the trot? This will set you up for having the horse understand what you want when you transfer it to the canter. You need to have the horse bringing his back UP to meet your seat and listening to the difference between when you follow, when you hold with your core, and when you are asking for shorter strides.

If you’ve done your homework at the trot, then at the canter introduce it during the down transitions first. Shorten him up the last few strides before the down transition. Once he gets that, then do it within the gait. Keep the power from behind, keep him on a straight line and ask him to begin shortening for a down transition, then send him (softly) forward. Do this a few times, then do a full down transition. Next go back the canter and DO NOT override the aids. Ask softly (whisper the aids) and send him on again, then repeat the previous exercise.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the term. I was having a hard time articulating what it is I’m struggling with. He tends to go on the forehand and down at the canter. If I try to sit up and ‘contain’ him he gets quick and choppy. It is definitely a balance issue but he is plenty strong enough to maintain a ‘lope’ when we canter in the field! I really like the idea of asking for shortening the stride prior to the transition, I have just been trying to “maintain the rhythm”.

Excellent idea about the trot. I admit I have not been slacking way too much on varying the tempo of the trot. I will try that today. My biggest flaw as a rider is I tend not to be greedy with green horses and that is something my trainer is working on with me, to expect more. Really appreciate the advice!

[Velvet]

BTW, remember it’s not changing the tempo at the trot or canter, it’s changing the length of the stride! Keep that in mind. It will help. Keep the tempo the same. Especially important at the trot. You don’t want quicker and slower, you want shorter and longer. In the transitions you need to think shorter and a bit slower, if he’s really strung out, but then work towards just shorter and then make the down transition happen. You want to keep the hindleg working with power and not flattening out and running–in either gait.

Just an FYI.

[merrygoround]

As Velvet sad. Play with shortening and lengthening the stride from your seat and core, at the walk and trot, transitions within the gait. When you can do that, as well as transitions between the gaits without going to much more than than gently closing your fingers, then it is time to tackle it at the canter.

At first be content with a small reaction, then as you both get stronger, you can ask for more. Trot canter transitions are also useful for strengthening the canter

[Keg-A-Bacchus]

Cavalettis were really helpful on an OTTB I had with a similar issue. I started on the lunge (no rider) with them spaced normally so she could just take them at ease. Slowly shortened them up until she had to sit back and shorten her stride. When she was great at it on the lunge I hopped on and did it under saddle. I gave the “shorten your stride” half-halt/aid right as she was going into them. At first I came right back to the trot but then started to ask her to maintain that more balanced, collected canter for longer and longer. Then I started giving the “shorten-your-stride” half halt/aid without the poles and voila. There is was. Lots of short transitions like you’re doing and hills can help balance a ton.

[GraceLikeRain]

When you try to compress his stride what aids are you giving?

It is easy to think “compress” and accidentally hold or shut down the energy from behind. I try to think of adding energy and using my core and seat to encourage more lift and jump. The difference is often tiny at first but personally, it helps me stay thinking back to front and not accidentally holding and creating a shortened stride by killing the engine.

[cranky]

I haven’t seen this mentioned yet but, it may also just be that your horse isn’t that strong yet. Carrying himself at a more compressed, shorter canter is hard work. Has your trainer worked with you on transitions? Maybe start with some trot-canter transitions. Keep the canter intervals short, down transition back to trot and ask for an up transition back to canter, once you feel he is in good balance. Rinse and repeat, but don’t drill. Less is more, in the beginning.

[RedHorses]

Pay very close attention to your timing of the half halts in the canter. A half half at the wrong point in the stride will drive the green horse further onto his forehand, making the problem worse.

When you ride the canter (find it before you try to influence it) there is a moment in each stride where the shoulders come up after the front feet leave the ground, and the haunches come down as the hind feet reach forward for the next stride. I think of it as the “up” because this is the moment where the horse is balanced uphill. If you half half on the “up” you can encourage the horse to reach a little further underneath himself with his hind legs, and lift his shoulders a little bit more. This effect comes from the correct ratio of leg to hand. The correct ratio will CHANGE as your horse gets stronger and gains understanding of what you want.

The key to making the half halt on the up work is RELEASING before the first hind foot hits the ground.

That doesn’t mean dropping him, or throwing away the contact - it means apply the aids, and go back to neutral and allow the horse to take the canter stride. Then you can apply the aids again on the next up. In the beginning you will apply the aids on every stride for several strides in a row, asking for a little more, and a little more, and a little more. In the beginning your horse won’t have a clue what you are going for but with repeated aids he will start to respond. The timing of application is going to give you the altered balance, and shortened stride naturally.

Your horse will break to trot when you don’t want him to. That is YOUR fault, not his. You allowed the ratio of leg to hand to get too hand heavy and/or leg light. Or you blew the timing, or kept the aids on too long. Thing about the up is that down almost immediately follows and half halting on the down pushes the horse onto his forehand. If you are paying attention to how he feels in each response to your aids you will learn when he’s about to reach the limit of his balance and strength to hold the uphill, shorter canter, and you can stop asking for shorter, or alter the leg:hand ratio to favour the leg and push him forward in canter (or ask for trot and get a nice, forward, balanced, uphill transition to trot - as long as you don’t drop him ) . Depending on how unbalanced he is you may have to alternate up and forward with every stride.

Find the “up” first. Say “Up.” out loud to yourself on every stride. Then apply the aids simultaneously to you saying “Up.” Keep the aids short and return to neutral. Wait until the next up to apply them again. Play with the ratio of leg to hand and see how your horse responds.

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

The obligatory update, if anyone else ever struggles with what I struggled with:

@BAY WITH CHROME

I just wanted to update with our progress… the canter is unrecognizable. I took some of the advice here and also worked on straight, straight, straight. I also worked on transitions; half a circle canter, half a circle trot, change direction, rinse and repeat. My trainer worked with me as well and pointed out I was letting him get too quick and “dirtbike”, so I worked on downward transitions coming off the circle down the long-side. It was so much work for me too, I definitely noticed some habits I’ve made that are bad. Huge difference in the horse’s canter now, now it’s me that needs fixin’!

So, if anyone comes upon this thread in the distant future:

1. Keeping the rhythm
2. Keeping straightness
3. Transitions O’Plenty
4. More bend to inside, more rider weight to outside
5. Changes of direction and transitions often

[J-Lu]

Thanks! I hope the canter is unrecognizable because it is good? ???

In addition to the great advice you’ve gotten here, I’d comment that if your horse is young like you suggest, he’s not very strong. It takes TIME to build the brain and body.

In addition to the advice you’ve gotten here, I suggest putting out canter poles at 10-12 feet. Once your horse is used to cantering over them, put out two sets, one for a slightly collected canter and one for a slightly lengthened canter. You can do this for trot, too. The point is to make SLIGHT changes for a young horse so they associate your aids with an actual need to shorten or lengthen. Most importantly, let them figure it out themselves and let them make mistakes. They’ll learn.

Also, I suggest putting random poles around your arena. With young horses (esp. those that are smart), I find that aiming for poles, whether straight on or leg-yielding slightly (or not slightly for the experienced horse) at the walk, trot and/or canter helps them visually associate the aids with where they need to be (a visual cue). You can shake up the poles you go over with putting the poles parallel, like a chute. I think these visual aids are great for young horse brains, and give them a reason to accept your aids.