#canter work

I have been focusing a lot on transition work when it comes to my lessons at home, and in my warm ups for competition. It is so beneficial not only for building up hind muscle but for using them as a form of putting manners on your horse when needed. I will admit I have been slacking slightly and have been letting Dante away with sloppy downward transitions, but keep reading to find out an exercise that I have done to help not only him but me in fixing this problem.

What I use Transitions For during my training sessions: 

To gain more control before & after fences

To get Dante to work off my leg more efficiently 

Getting Dante to listen & focus

Improving balance

Improve his hind end muscle

If your horse like mine has developed bad habits such as playing-up or taking off after jumps, I say give transition work a go. Using transitions after you land a jump can help you gather your horse, getting them to listen to you instead of taking off on their own accord. This in turn will help not only help with keeping a steady balanced canter after you jump, but in turn will help your horse find his feet and gain a more balanced canter. 

See below a great exercise I have been doing lately, helping me gain control by using my legs and seat over being to “handsy” during some of Dante’s outbursts of energy after jumping! 

How To Ride this Exercise: 

Step 1: Set up your arena as follows, simply two wings and a 2 poles in the center of the arena. If you wish to ride this exercise with a ground pole, that is fine, but I decided to incorporate a vertical to add a bit more of challenge for myself & for Dante.  

Step 2: Picking up canter, approach your fence, sitting still using your seat, legs to control the rhythm. I have been told by my trainer to use less hands, Still a fear of lacking in control that I am getting used to, but basically to keep a light contact into the fence, letting Dante do his job as I guide him in with my legs.

Fact: How I managed to get sprung with this exercise, well Dante was falling into his trot while transitioning down into canter after fences, or should I say me not focusing on the finer detail and letting him do it! 

Step 3: On your approach to the fence, you should preempt the rein you are going to land on so as when you land, two strides afterwards, you start your horse on a 10-15 meter circle keeping them in the canter. Once you come back on the original landing line prepare to bring your horse to a complete halt. This can be quite tricky, as with some horses with bad habits of rushing off, they will need time to adjust & get used to not being able to take control from the rider. 

Tip: Focus on using your legs & seat when asking your horse to come to an immediate halt. Sit back in the saddle, and apply pressure with your heel, if you wish to vocally say the word halt/stop this may help your horse piece that aids together. Remember to drop all aids and release pressure once your horse reacts to what you are asking them to do. This will act as a reward & make it easier for them to learn quicker. 

Step 4: Reward your horse. Reward & praise your horse when he(eventually!!) comes to a halt. repeat the exercise choosing to land on the opposite rein repeating the same steps. If your horse lands on the wrong lead, dont panic, push your horse to keep moving forward. This will help your horse to learn from themselves & learn about what leads they should be landing on. If your horse lands on the wrong lead just increase your landing circle size so that you give them more space. 

Tip: Don’t expect your horse to come to a complete halt on the first go, this will take practice as their muscles get used to what it is your asking them to do. It is best to start with canter to trot/walk transitions. Don’t be too hard on yourself, the first time I tried this with Dante, he tried to rear and take of into a fence!! 

This is also a great exercise to do on a simple 20metre circle, or if you want more of a challenge a 10m circle. Using various points of your circle to work on downward & upward transitions. Be sure to pick different points each time, and to mix the transitions up so that your horse doesn’t anticipate the exercise.

The Benefits & the outcomes

Help with Dante’s balance

Leg changes after fences, he will need to learn to balance himself by changing to the correct lead

Maintain a steady & consitant canter after I jump

Help build up his hind end, increasing his hind power

Relying on my leg aids more efficiently

Will make Darielle’s legs extremely strong (LOL)

Have you any specific transition exercises that you do? This is one I felt quite sceptical about at first especially when it came to posting it here, but look everyone has different ways of doing things. It works for me and that’s all that matters! 

Why not give it a go if you have a horse that rushes around courses, or a horse that you simply want to tell that you are the boss, Let me know in the comments below what you think, and what exercises you do

As always, thank you for reading,

Darielle 

September Monthly Exercise – Pole To Pole

I can’t quite get my head around it being the end of September already, doing our August weekly exercises just seemed to make the month fly by even quicker!

This month, we decided to focus more on some flat work exercises, I came across this exercises over on our Pinterest account, and it is safe to say I loved it.  Have a read below, and be sure to give it a go!

It is definitely one that will be…

The Set Up

Place 4-6 poles in a “zig-zag” shape down the center of your arena, or if you wish out in the field.  Check the diagram to the right. (Minimum 4 poles required)

What Horse is this Exercise Useful For?

This exercise is good for a horse who anticipates there work. The different & tight turns will keep your horse thinking & stop them from guessing where they are going next, therefore they have to stop and listen to you & your aids.

How To Ride The Exercise

This exercise is quite versatile, in a sense that you can do your trot and canter work, as well as doing everything in a walk also if you wish. 

Trying to maintain a consistant rhythm through out this exercise is key. This will all help you when you translate it up into jumping, riding tight canter circles and approaching the poles correctly & smoothly are all the basis of your jumping. 

See the diagram to the left to see how to ride the exercise in trot, focusing on those tight turns and getting your horse bending around your leg. I also use this exercises as a warm up in walk getting Dante moving correctly and working forward from my leg. Below to the right, In canter I rode this exercise, with difficulty at first but as you ride it more frequent your horse has to wait for your aids through out.

As your horse progresses, working on your canter leads throughout this exercise is great, it not only lets you use the poles as a guide, but it doesn’t give your horse much space to rush off in between poles either. 

My biggest problem lately is keeping my body still, at the end of the day they are poles on the ground, I certainly don’t need to be doing any magical jumping positions over them!

Below I have added in 3 additional patterns that you can ride using the zig-zag exercise. If you are riding circles start off by riding large circles, as your horse becomes more familiar with the routine then begin to challenge him by making them smaller. 

  What these exercises helps your horse with

Stops them from Rushing

Helps to maintain a good rhythm  

Helps with flexibility & tight turns

I hope the above exercises helps at least one of you, our readers! If you want us to try out anything for next months exercise make sure to drop us a mail, we will happily be your guinea pigs! 

But for now, enjoy that good weather & get your “zig-zag’s” out!

Darielle

Today’s lesson was all about canter work, and focusing on me being more comfortable at canter... and it was another success! Snicks was such a good lesson mare today, as she always is, and worked well with me. I felt really happy with the outcome of the lesson, and felt like that I am truly progressing as a rider with Snicks, little by little. The exercise started with me picking up trot, doing a circle, and asking for canter in the corner. Once starting the circle, I had to pick up energy in the trot, and just slide my leg back to ask for canter... and canter she did! I cantered around the entire ring, although in jump position. She got a little fast at times, but all it took was some half halts here and there, and she eased up. I did break into trot the first time, and I think it was because my leg wasn’t that much on when I did the half halt, but on the second try, I think I managed to get it. 

Once I got her in a nice canter, my job was to put her on a circle, and to sit the canter, while keeping her in canter. The sitting part was a bit tricky, but I managed to sit for a few strides on the circle, and managed to keep my eyes looking up! Yay!