Improve canter departs

The other week I was asked how to improve canter departs. Here are some thoughts on the subject.

First of all, improving the canter depart is related to whether the horse has a decent canter or not. In my work as a riding instructor I've met a lot of Icelandic horses and trotters who do not have a decent canter, even when the horse moves freely without a rider. It is not my goal to discuss this issue in this blog entry.

I assume therefore that the horse whose canter depart we seek to improve has a nice canter when, for example, he moves freely in the pasture. The first step then could be to have the horse strike off into canter from trot when given a signal to do so. Some horses can become very stressed when asked to canter in the beginning. One reason for this can be that canter is a gait the horse mainly uses for running away. If this is the case this is very important to deal with right away. But again, this is not an issue I'm going to linger on further here. Thus I assume the horse has a decent canter and does not get overly stressed about cantering.

One way to start building a cue for canter is to have the horse canter when lunging. The horse will only have to deal with its own body and not the rider's also. In the videos I've asked my horse Hagens Yeats to stay on a rather small circle (approx 15 m). If your horse is not used to cantering on the lunge when asked to, you will most likely be better off letting the horse move on a larger circle covering the whole with of the arena. Good footing and an enclosed area is always a good idea when introducing a horse to this kind of work. I've taught Yeats what the voice command “galopp” (Swedish for canter) means by simply asking him to increase the trot until he canters. As he now knows the spoken cue he don't have to speed up and can thus handle the smaller circle. As always you have to work the horse in both directions and on both leads.

As a little bonus, you can see in the first video how I switch direction in trot. I can ask Yeats to do this since I have attached the lunge line under his chin and I'm not using any side reins. A lunging cavesson where you attach the rope on the bridge of the nose would also work well.

When the horse can canter on command when lunging, in both directions of course, you can ask for the same when you ride the horse trotting on a large circle. To teach the horse to strike off in the canter lead you want on a straight line, you can use a broken line to help the horse find the right balance. For the horse to strike off into canter the horse needs to put weight on the outside legs, especially the outside hind leg. One way to put the horse in this balance is to ride a broken line along the long side of the arena. You bring the horse in from the track and as you ask the horse to return to the track (both hands to the track, your weight on the outside) the horse will shift his weight to the outside. This is when you ask for the canter. This exercise teaches the horse to listen to the rider's outside leg (which stays still against the horses side) as well as the rider's inside leg (which gives the impulse for canter by lightening its contact against the horse's side.)

To improve canter departs from walk the horse has to be in self carriage, that is light in the hand, and in proper balance that is elevated enough in the front. When the horse is in self carriage and in good balance you can ask for the canter with an reverse half halt on the inside rein. Reversed half halt means to start a half halt by lifting the hand, then lower it forwards, this will “open the door” for the horse's inside shoulder and the horse can step into the canter.

Reinforce with a light tap on the horse's inside shoulder if your horse needs clarification on what you're asking for when using the reverse half halt. To get the horse to understand a very small reverse half halt as Yeats does in the video, you must first offer such a small signal to the horse and support this small cue with a voice command or the whip on the shoulder as needed. The primary cue, in this case the reverse half halt with the inside hand, should never become large or heavy. Use a secondary supporting cue instead.

I suggest you also let your outside leg stay snugly against the horse's side for two reasons, the horse will recognise this as the preparatory cue for canter from the previous exercise, and as you progress into more advanced canter work like counter canter and two track in canter this snug outside leg will let the horse know which canter to strike off into and also which canter to stay in.

Some exercises that can improve the canter depart:

*) reining back – especially if the horse has a tendency to lean on the bit either in the depart to canter or in the downward transition after canter

*) shoulder in – to prepare the horse for a balanced canter depart from walk by strengthening the hind legs. In shoulder in the horse strengthens one leg a time

*) collected walk – will strengthen both hind legs at the same time

Thanks to Mark Stanton of Horsemanship Magazine for checking my spelling and grammar! All other errors are my own.