The balance, quality and consistency of the horses canter should never be underestimated. Without a good strong canter, your results won’t be as competitive and consistent as you’d like and you’ll soon see problems arise across the disciplines. You’ll be disappointed with your marks in the dressage test, start to have a few poles in the showjumping and as you step up through the levels, your cross country will suffer as well.
 
The result is that you need more consistency, more engagement in the back end and more suppleness through the back. But what is causing all of this?
 
People are not brave enough in the flatwork to ask horses to shorten their stride and sit back on their hocks - it’s a problem with many horses and can actually be solved quickly and easily with lots of transitions.
 
Start by asking for a very steady walk, really slow the pace down so you’re in control. When you have a steady walk that you’re happy with, ask for a very steady trot. The transition should be seamless - the walk shouldn’t get quicker before you trot. Practice those transitions on each rein until you’re happy with them. Then try the same going from a really steady trot into a slow canter. Don’t allow the trot to get quicker before you canter - the horse will automatically want to increase his speed to go up a gait, but just be sure to keep the control.
 
At the same time, learn to improve your horses self-carriage. People struggle with this as they feel they have to hold the horse together with their hands and legs and that if they let go of the contact the horse will get long and unbalanced. The horse will then get lazy and become too reliant on you. They’ll also be unable to support themselves. It’s essential that you make sure you don’t hold the horse together but remind him to stay balanced with the aid of a very good half halt. Keep the impulsion from behind with the use of the leg so that the horse understands that you’re not there to support him all the time but to remind him what needs to be done and how he can do it himself. If you feel he can relax and take control, your riding will improve as you won’t need to be using your legs every stride to keep him going and hold it all together.
 
Working on these exercises will help improve the self-carriage and canter quality and you’ll soon see the difference in marks in your dressage tests. The transitions exercises will help your transitions in the test which will easily gain you more marks - imagine if each transition gained your extra mark! That could be the difference between winning and losing!
 
For more information about Daniele and his riding and coaching yard please do visit his website or his Facebook page

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