I do agree that at some point you have to canter to improve the canter. But that’s usually more about overall quality due to strength, as opposed to major gait issues like what’s described here. The trot here is not quality (at least in the video) and you can’t get a quality canter out of a low quality trot.
The serpentine exercise can work, as long as the loops are big enough, as that keeps the horse bending, changing bend, forcing some self-rebalancing, which helps strengthen everything.
My favorite exercise is a sitting trot, spiral in, then on a leg yield out, while you have a quality trot ask for the canter. That LY out, at a sitting trot (assuming the back is strong enough for sitting), engages the inside hind, gets the weight off the inside shoulder, has the back lifted and weight shifted back, all things that all but guarantee a good canter departure, which then all but guarantees at least a few quality strides. Then come back, and do it all over again.
Just to clarify again – that video was posted by Tinah; it’s not the horse that I’m asking about. (Sorry Tinah, not dissing your horse – she is lovely!). I would say that my horse is substantially stronger and IS able to have a (fairly) clean depart; can hold the canter until asked to transition down; can pick up the lead asked for, etc. Some of the strides can be really quite lovely, but I’d say the majority still don’t feel right (flat, “stuck” – braced is a good description).
So yeah, the question for me is “do you have to canter to improve the canter”? Normally I think yes – I tend to think most people trot too much and don’t walk or canter enough. I’m just leery to do this if her muscles are damaged by the PSSM.
I do like the LY to canter – I’ve only been picking up the canter on a straight line and this is a good idea! Serpentines are good too
You are right! I’m so sorry, both of you! I wasn’t paying attention to who posted which LOL Sheesh :\
Most of my comments do still hold. Some of work at the canter has to involve simply cantering. But most of it is fixed at the trot and even the walk.
Not knowing the specifics of your horse, one canter exercise to improve that “stuck” feeling you get ( I have a big heavier WB who can get stuck) is to open up into a hand gallop and get GOING, then harness that “excited” energy into being more round and boingy, instead of flatter and stuck. I don’t know if that’s appropriate for your horse at this point, but it’s something to try and just see what happens. And for a while, you may just need to work on the w/t and the transitions, to improve the hind end strength.
haha no worries! Yes, I DO like the idea of the hand-gallop back to canter - before she was symptomatic and we were competing, that was a staple of my dressage warm-up.
These are great suggestions and they are reassuring to me in that they make sense. I’m just being a bit paranoid because of her PSSM – mostly, I’m just approaching the whole thing like normal training/fittening of a green horse. If I didn’t know she had a muscle disorder, at this point I’d be thinking “you have the cardio fitness to be putting in a better effort at the canter” and I’d be getting after her (for example, the hand-gallop exercise you describe). I’m just so worried about hurting those muscles again…
Thanks for the serpentine suggestion – it’s a good one.
Regarding diet: Shes out 24/7 om pasture/hay. Daily she gets:
500g Podium (low NSC; high protein; high fat)
500g ration balancer (low NSC, moderate protein/fat)
ALCAR
Vit E/Selenium
Magnesium (as di-magnesium malate – MagRestore)
MSM
a vit/mineral mix
handful of ground flax
scant handful of salt
about 1/2 cup canola oil.
(Sorry I’m vague about amounts – after I calculated it all out, I just memorized “1 scoop of this; 3 scoops of that”… if you are interested I’m happy to figure out dosages tomorrow!)
It’s a lot of ALCAR and not much fat – I decided to try this route as she’s an easy keeper. The ALCAR had pretty quick results so I’m keeping up with that.
My horse doesn’t have PSSM but has had a variety of issues that for an unknown reason cause him to have difficulty cantering. He does present lame on all 4 legs on occasion but responds in a few days to anti-inflammatories and rest. After 2 trips to the vet with this odd lameness - nothing particular stood out as a problem and he always gets better quickly. Xrays and flexions generally good, soft tissue unremarkable. So, I am doing a very careful build up of dressage work - always with someone on the ground to remind me to not let him get fast. He doesn’t get quick, he just wants to tip forward and run on a bit. So 2 weeks into it we are walking and trotting in the ring for 3 days and trail riding for one or 2 days at the walk. Already seeing a difference in the mechanics of his front legs. He is smart and easy to train. I just have not had the right person on the ground. She swears he is fine but just needs to use himself properly. I suspect it will be months before she says he can canter but if that improves, I will be a believer. This is a really nice, potentially pretty fancy horse. He has struggled with all sorts of things that have put his training on hold. Hoping he stays away from sharp objects and gates for a while!! Good luck with your training!!
Yes, I am well aware that my pony is not packaged up. Like I said, we were just farting around at the end of the ride, and she offered the canter and then freaked out because her back end had gone funny again. When I package her up and make her move, she actually has a flat beautiful transition, but one stride later it falls apart.
That’s actually what led to the rabbit hole of stifles, hocks, back, si, neck, feet, bodywork, saddle fit, different rider, bareback, lunge, liberty, roundpen, in hand, more bodywork, more vet bills, thermal scan. . . . It’s not the first green horse I’ve brought along either, and the only way I can describe it is “aint doing right”. And when her muscles are constantly eating themselves, it’s very hard to get her strong (yes, I understand that’s not what is actually happening, but that’s how I explain it to laypeople).
We do as much as she can handle without tying up, and ride/lunge every single day, without fail. She’s coming along, and now has a left lead on the lunge most of the time, which is a lot of progress for her.
All the usual strengthening stuff, poles, hills, marching along, backing up, little jumps. Cantering is dangerous, and pushing her into a gallop would lead to a fall. She still has times when she will “step on a hole”, although I’ve been told it will continue to improve as she gets fitter, and it has.
I don’t know if we will ever get there, but we’ll work on it until we can’t anymore. She’s already 11, and it seems that pssm is perhaps to some degree degenerative.
Someone asked about diet. She’s on a 12-12 local feed@ %14 nsc, alfalfa, canola oil, mag, copper and zinc, and salt. I’m adding in tri amino next week, to see how much it helps.
She’s not clipped, and has to be blanketed at 40. 4 days off and she’s so crippled up she’s unrideable, and has to be hand walked or ponied for two or three days. And that is when she lives outside 24/7 in a 5 acre pasture.
I keep messing with her because she’s one of the best minded horses I’ve ever had the privilege to swing a leg over, and it’s not her fault her body is broken. When it’s time, I’ll put her down. Nothing out here is allowed to suffer.
oh, yeah, that too. My feed room looks like a pharmacy. I used to know all the dosages, but now it’s simply, “a scoop of that, half a scoop of this bucket, a palm of salt”. . . .etc, that all gets mixed in with her food.
