Canter Aid Q & A

Your questions about the canter answered, part 1 of 2

by Jane Savoie

Many people are confused about the aid for the canter. What follows are some common questions about the canter, along with my answers.

Question

I know to ask for the canter it is outside leg behind the girth and inside leg at the girth, however, during the canter is your outside leg supposed to stay back or do both legs then become neutral at the girth once the canter is achieved?

Answer

Swing your outside leg back once, and then bring it back to its normal position on the girth. Think of it as a spring-loaded action or a windshield wiper action. If you wait for your horse to answer, he's not listening to your leg aid. If he doesn't canter right away, give him a little bump with your outside leg or tap him with the whip. (Carry your whip in the outside hand for the canter work so you can use it to reinforce your outside leg aid.)

As soon as he does the canter depart, reward him.

You can teach him to canter by holding your outside leg back, but when you start doing half passes in the trot your horse might get confused. He won't know whether to stay in the trot and go sideways for a half pass or pick up the canter. It's easier to teach him to canter from an aid that only means canter depart, rather than to teach him to canter from that aid and then have to reschool him when you get to trot half passes.

Question

Are you saying that the canter depart is achieved with the legs only? Or were you just addressing your reader's concern about her legs? I thought the canter depart was achieved by a slight turn of the wrist on the inside hand, weight on the inside seat bone, and the "windshield wiper" outside leg. Is that correct?

Answer

Yes! I was just addressing her concern about the legs--but you're right about the rest of the aids. I also push that inside seatbone toward the inside ear and support with the outside rein so I don't get too much bend in the neck.

Question

How do I use my hands and seat in the canter depart? What rein aids, if any, should be used? Do I stay centered with my seat or shift my weight to the inside or outside when I cue for a canter depart?

Answer

Your weight is on your inside seatbone. When you ask for the depart, push your inside seatbone toward your horse's inside ear.

Ask for flexion at the poll to the inside with a slight indirect rein aid, but support with the outside rein to keep your horse from over-bending his neck to the inside.

Question

How do I keep the canter depart from being hollow?

Answer

Your horse is perfectly justified in coming off the bit if all you do is give the aid for a transition. To do a transition on the bit, you need to give two sets of aids at once: the transition aid and the aid to tell him to stay on the bit--the connecting half halt. When you give these two sets of aids at once, you're telling your horse to do a transition on the bit.

· Essentially, you'll superimpose the connecting half halt over the aids for a transition. That is, you'll give the connecting half halt before, during, and after the transition.

· In this case, the connecting half halt lasts longer than three seconds. It might even last six, seven, or eight seconds.

· Apply it lightly before, during, and after the transition so that you "bridge" the transition with your connecting half halt.

· Start the connecting half halt before the transition:

o Close both calves as if you're asking for a medium gait.

o Close your outside hand into a fist to capture and recycle the power back to the hind legs.

o Vibrate the inside rein to prevent your horse from bending his neck to the outside.

· Keep giving the half halt while you add the aids for the canter depart.

· Continue giving the connecting half halt for two or three strides into the next gait.

This Q&A with Jane Savoie continues next month with answers to questions such as "What aid do I use to go from canter to trot?" and "I unconsciously lean forward as I ask for the canter. Should I stay upright? Should I lean back?" Don't miss the July issue!