Canter lead

[judyh]

She is young but I teach all mine turn on the haunches into canter. This brings the correct hind leg under them. It depends on your experience, you do need to know what you're doing to teach it on the lunge.two or thre strides of canter are enough, it's the transition that creates a more supple horse off the forehand.

[sarahp]

I'm not sure if you have a Welsh Cob or a cob type cob, if you see what I mean. I have experience of the former but not the latter, so the following refers to the Welsh variety, I can't speak for the latter.

You're right, a 4yo D will be immature both physically and mentally, and in addition, many Welsh Ds don't find canter an easy pace to do in the first place, having been bred for their flamboyant trot. Canter on the lunge is far too difficult for one of these until it has muscled up and balanced up a great deal more, and is best taught from on top in an open field or straight up a track or the like rather than on the lunge or in an arena. Then you won't have to worry about the lead anyway, not until the pace itself is more established and the relevant muscles are more developed. They are normally very sensitive and can get fussed if asked to do something they can't do easily, which doesn't help.

When you do get to work on the leads, the basic obedience to the aids should be there, especially individual leg aids on and behind the girth with the difference between them, and clever techniques to get the lead correct, followed by much praise when it comes right is the way to go. I must admit I didn't use turn on the haunches, but can see the point, and would try it if I was still riding. An early schooling exercise for me was riding a square instead of a circle, which leads to sort of turning on the haunches in the corners, so not as difficult and advanced as it might sound. The brilliant trainer I used when schooling my first D had me doing walk to canter and that worked brilliantly as it avoided what can be a difficult trot to canter transition, as they tend to want to run on into full Welsh extended trot instead of cantering given half a chance. Active walk, sit up straight, strong CORRECT canter aids, ie very different from trot aids, and think LIFT into canter. Following on from judyh, learn to feel which hindleg is moving so that ideally you can give the aid when the correct hind leg is underneath, and hopefully bob's your uncle, trans to canter with the correct lead. And give the canter aid at the correct hindleg moment when teaching canter on the lunge too. Another trick for getting the correct lead once the actual pace is OK is to ask from rising trot on the wrong diagonal, yes it does work, hindleg again. The canter pace starts with the inside hindleg and follows from there.

[judyh]

My exercise is from walk to turn on the haunches to a few strides of canter and back to walk.

[sarahp]

I think we're basically singing form the same hymn sheet judyh!

You can do a lot of useful stuff on hacks! I had no arena when I schooled my first one, and tended to use the field instead at times even when I did have one as it was small and I prefer using a bigger area for working babies.

[ponymum]

Try putting 3 trotting poles out in a fan shape on the corner where you ask for the canter lead, it will help your horse to again use its hind leg and encourage the right lead in front.