I am used to my horse going in a 10/11 foot stride, I am pretty sure I have encouraged it by being (afraid) tense and handsy if he ever got into a longer stride than that. Having said that, I am aware of my ways and I am working on this! I want to incorporate some stride lengthening work into our rides… as a hunter we/he needs a 12 foot stride - currently we chip a lot, and also add a lot. When we get it right its beautiful though… What are your best tools for lengthening? And re: confidence, any advice on how to get used to the feeling of the 12 foot stride - which I know is not faster, just more forward… but it’s still not natural to me and feels HUGE. Also, he is not lame, I have had him checked many times to make sure his shorter stride isn’t a lameness issue. Thanks for the help - 
Set two poles 72/84/96 feet apart on the long side and practice getting 5/6/7 strides between them. Or use markers on the wall.
I set poles like come shine does, but I set them shorter. They are just poles, and for me, setting them like jumping lines requires running to them.
I have a permanent pair of poles, about 44’ apart, set on the quarter line of my arena. I do this in 3 strides, and keep that canter for my whole ride whether it is flatting or jumping.
If the OP wants to practice a 12 foot stride, the poles need to be on a 12 foot stride.
44 feet would be 11 feet. Setting 2 lines - one at 11 feet and one at 12 - might be helpful in learning the difference and getting comfortable with it.
Are you sure the horse can produce a 12’ stride? Especially in horses bred for other jobs, sometimes the conformation just can’t make a 12’ stride.
On the distance between poles question…with no airtime over an actual jump requiring the horse to stand off to rock back and carry it into the line? It’s a false 12’ stride, and some get rushy. I set mine at no more then 11. Learned that poles are fine for lengthening and shortening exercises and great for polishing the riders skills at that but don’t translate to developing the appropriate kind of even 12’ strides when airtime is added to get down a vertical- oxer line at 2’6" or more.
After the rider and horse master the lengthen and shorten, they need to take that to fences with enough size to create airtime as they will see at shows.
For where the OP is at, I don’t think setting poles on a true 12 foot striding is going to help her overcome the current hurdle. At least, it didn’t for me. Personally, while poles are a great exercise, setting them at 12’ when I was already struggling with the striding was not helpful. As the horse doesn’t typically jump over the pole and into the line, you end up with even more distance to make up and it always felt awful. Its a good end goal and measuring stick, but not something terribly useful as a tool to develop that open stride and comfort-level from the rider’s perspective IME.
I struggled with the ‘add’ this year. I was coming off a nearly year long riding break and transitioning from my previous horse who would largely take me to the fences to a new temporary ride who was PERFECT and OBEDIENT. As in she did exactly as I asked - or more specifically…was perfectly obedient as I asked her to crawl at a snail’s pace around the course. Good pony, but didn’t’ make for winning rounds.
Two things that helped me were (1) lots of single poles/jumps and (2) lots of longish related distances at first.
For the first, the goal is to sharpen up your eye and your horse’s response to your leg. Set up single poles when you school and practice getting a forward canter to a healthy distance. Over and over and over again - every ride. Do it on the long side, do it out of the corner, do it off a ‘long run’ down a diagonal. If you crawl into a line, or consistently find the really deep distance from a slower/smaller canter…you are likely to continue struggling with the striding. Find a good, active, forward distance to a pole consistently and your problem is half-fixed! Do the same thing over single jumps - both verticals and oxers. And don’t forget to practice riding away from the pole. Its helpful to be working with multiple poles but not in related distances. Set up a little course of single poles.
In terms of related distances, what can you comfortably do now? Personally, I started out with the ability to make the distance in long lines but not medium to short ones. If there were 7-8+ strides, I was golden. 6 was where it got iffy. Basically, it was taking me a couple of strides after landing from the ‘in’ to start pushing for the out. I needed to sharpen up my reaction/organization level and move forward (the pole courses also helped with that!).
I ultimately started attacking the problem with an initial goal of making the striding in lines with 6 or more strides, and “chipped” (ha!) away at the problem that way. This was a good approach because if I couldn’t get the count consistently in the 6 stride, I wasn’t going to get it in the 4 stride and magically expecting myself to do so was just setting myself up for failure and frustration. Instead, I built my skills in the 6 strides, and then transferred that to the shorter lines as I rode better/got more confident.
A few things that helped:
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make sure the fences are set at a comfortable height. For me, if I am worried about the size/width of the fence, I am going to struggle with riding forward to the forward distance.
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start pushing forward the instant that you land. As this becomes easier in longer lines, you won’t need to push quite so early…but for right now, push forward as soon as you land from the ‘in’.
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My trainer was a huge help - she encouraged me to make the decision to add when I lacked confidence or felt it was necessary. So, give yourself permission to abort mission occasionally. I dislike the feeling of the unbalanced flyer. Its one of the reasons I struggle with making the striding - I always have a ‘but what if its awkward’ doubts in the back of my mind. As a result, the ‘fit in X number strides no matter what’ mentality doesn’t work for me.
If something goes REALLY WRONG on the ‘in’, I am ok with adding rather than going for the unbalanced long distance just to make the count. As I progressed, my definition of ‘really wrong’ changed and it became much rarer for me to opt for the add. A big part of this, however, is making the decision. You need to reach the point where you are present and accounted for in the line and making a decision - move forward to the count, hold for the add…or eventually hold for the count. It was a pretty great feeling when I started running out of room and had to hold
Before working on lengthening and shortening over fences or poles, ask yourself if you can do it, lengthen and shorten strides keeping the horse ahead of your leg and balanced, reliably on the flat. If you don’t have mastery on the flat, it ain’t going to happen when you add jumps.
One thing I did to encourage forward in my mare was to do some cantering out of the ring. My favorite is to find a nice long gradual hill and encourage the horse forward. For some reason, the uphill makes it seem easier and less scary. Once we were both comfortable with that, started doing more exercises in the ring.
You’ve really hit on something. You’ve got to address the actual stride length and your confidence while riding that stride length. I’ll leave the mechanics to the experts and address the confidence part.
A ‘horse show’ 12’-stride feels much faster than your canter at home. If you want to achieve a 12’ stride, you actually have to go faster.
The first few times I made the strides, I felt like I was galloping like a lunatic. Remember, it always feels faster than it looks.
Here are some things that help me (try not to laugh)…
I grab mane. A lot. Grab mane and just canter around your arena at what you think is a horse show pace. Grabbing mane will make you feel more secure and prevent you from getting ‘handsy’ as you say above.
I have theme songs to create a sense of energy. Listen to really upbeat music on your way to the horse show or your lesson. Find a song with the same tempo you’re trying to create at the canter.
On the approach to the jump, tell yourself GO GET IT! Go get that jump!
Watch other people in your division who ride well. Count out their tempo…one, two, three, four. You’ll probably find that it’s quicker than your tempo. Also watch for others who are adding - is their tempo too slow?
Good luck! And have fun!
I would go out in a big field or a well groomed trail and really gallop. Not bat out of hell gallop but be forward and let him stretch his body out. Remind yourself to keep your hands soft and forward to encourage him. Go back and fourth doing transitions within the gaits so you are both more comfortable Just takes some reprogramming of your brain as to what is “normal”.
Yes…get OUT of the ring to somewhere you can do more then 7 or 8 strides before going around a corner. Get off his back and go, learn to relax with that feeling. Working only in a ring produces backed off horses that never stretch out because there’s a ring fence and corner coming up.
That can be overcome with LEG and incorporating a true hand gallop into transition work but not by riders who aren’t comfortable enough with the extension and increased " speed" to really ask for it. That’s very understandable but a roadblock to many riders who stall out as far as advancing their riding and their horse’s canter at this point.
This is also the point where many riders wishing to advance realize they have outgrown their current trainer. Nothing personal but the trainer might lack the skill set to advance the rider and/or horse any further. They simply don’t have enough teaching and training experience to get the horse to the 12’ step and 3’ fences and should recognize that instead of wasting riders time and money, possibly rattling their confidence. I know…“I love my trainer, she’s my BFF, I’ll stay with them forever”…but if you are are having a consistent problem and not advancing, it’s time to think about it not being all on you.
I wasted a lot of money learning that…
Some of the horses I’ve had that had difficulty really reaching out/lengthening their stride rather than quickening were telling me that their feet or back hurt, but I was too oblivious to listen. I got the biggest change in my real “Bay With Chrome” when he converted to shoes and pads behind… With him I think the lengthening of strides required a lot more push from behind than he was comfortable giving without being shod. It was extraordinary the difference in his sit and push behind when he had hinds on. He was always sound barefoot behind but he was underperforming because he was protecting himself from the odd rock or pebble he’d step on.
Just food for thought. :winkgrin:
Another trick to use when you get all the above done well and are back in the show ring is to use your entrance circle to move past your canter–in length not pace–to make sure the horse is in front of your leg then as you settle back a bit into the canter you want, it should feel/be just right.
In a clinic I took with Bill Moroney a few years ago this is what he recommended for my horse, who has a big easy stride but is perpetually lazy and wants to stay behind the leg.
