Thanks for the replies. Interesting read.
It depends on the horse and what I’m trying to get out of the exercise. When I want to work on collection, balance and softness, I treat poles as a flatwork exercise. They are a tool that helps me achieve the collection I’m looking for. Other times, I will use poles to work on my jumping pace and stride either to help my eye or to help the horse’s rideability to jumps. That may also involve collection and adjustability by helping a green horse that finds it easier to leave long learn to add or doing bending lines of poles working on putting indifferent numbers of strides, but overall the canter I’ll be going for is more of the canter and impulsion I’d consider jumping pace, whereas the “flatwork” use of poles would be a canter I would generally not have on a jump course. I’m not sure that made complete sense, but the short version is that poles have a place in flatwork as well as in jumping practice for horse and rider without the stress of actual jumps. I incorporate canter poles into the majority of my rides.
I treat them as flat work. All jumping is is flat work with poles in the way. I don’t look at the poles and canter over them as if they aren’t there, if ridden correctly the poles are apart of the horses natural canter stride.
[QUOTE=cswoodlandfairy;7397577]
I treat them as flat work. All jumping is is flat work with poles in the way. I don’t look at the poles and canter over them as if they aren’t there, if ridden correctly the poles are apart of the horses natural canter stride.[/QUOTE]
This isn’t what I’m asking. I’m asking if your canter is a ‘jumping’ canter, or a ‘flat’ canter, or if your jumping canter or flatting canter are the same thing.
Jumping and flatting canter are the same for me. Much of what I do on the flat is work on adjustability in the canter, which comes into play when I jump. My older guy has suddenly developed another gear, which means we can practically canter in place. This is incredibly useful when we jump and I need him to add a stride or whatever.
It’s so rude to ride Poles regardless of it being on the flat or over jumps! You don’t see them riding you Americans! 
[QUOTE=ElisLove;7397582]
This isn’t what I’m asking. I’m asking if your canter is a ‘jumping’ canter, or a ‘flat’ canter, or if your jumping canter or flatting canter are the same thing.[/QUOTE]
They are the same for me. Being in the Jumper ring, I want a more forward impulsive canter so while on the flat this is what I work on with my horse. So they are the same for me.
