Canter hand aids

[CityGirl]

Had adiscussion w/my senior instructor today about asking for the canter. We were talking about asking for the canter & how the correct aids (being VERY general here)are outside leg behind girth, inside leg at girth as support & asking w/inside rein.
Then I mentioned that I had an instructor in the past who taught it as outside leg, outside rein which basically threw the horse onto the lead.
Anyway, my instructor was telling me that the outside-outside while it works is outdated & gives the horse an "ugly" start & that's why its not used anymore .
Just wondering if anyone else had ever come across the outside leg, outside hand aids & if anyone is using them or is truly outdated?
Very funny how you hear such different thinks depending on who teaches you.....

[FreedomStar]

Frankly, I have never heard of the outside outside. I always do it how your instructor said- Inside leg at the girth, outside leg slightly behind, and a bit of contact on the inside rein. Of course, you can always do it simpler by just doing outside leg and inside rein, but I find that the additional inside leg pressure aids in getting the correct lead easier.

[Equitating]

a lot of people around here use the outside-outside aids very strongly, with the result of the inside shoulder being thrust forward. they canter around bent to the outside instead of a slight bend to the inside. Judges never mark down.....

[kedwards]

I was never taught with the outside rein, but I have read elsewhere about it's use, which initially confused me.

It finally made sense to me when I read George Morris's book "Hunter Seat Equitation," where he does a nice job of describing the various aids for a canter depart and their purpose. He wrote that the outside-outside aids are sometimes used for green horses or beginner riders.

[Shmon]

All the information about canter transitions I've read include three different ways to ask for the transition - outside aids, diagonal aids, and inside aids. The methods get progressively more advanced - outside aids are used for green horses/beginner riders, diagonal aids for intermediates (what most people use), and inside aids for advanced riders/well trained horses. The outside aids are what you're asking about - and your instructor was right, it does make the transition uglier as it 'throws' the horse to the correct lead. Diagonal aids (inside rein, outside leg) seems to be the most common. Inside aids (inside leg and rein) tends to be used more for advanced horses and riders - but it does seem to bring about the cleanest transition (or maybe that's just because of the level of the horse and rider!) :)

[Tina J]

If you're "gripping" with your thighs or knees, I think the only way you are going to get the horse into canter is outside outside. I find that most important thing is to have a soft correct bend first (inside leg to outside hand, outside leg controlling degree of bend) and then if you can also "open" your seat to allow the horse forward (hard for beginners in sitting trot) it is easy to swing the horse up into canter with barely a nudge from the inside leg. The smooth transition comes from the horse being relaxed and correctly bent first, and then from having an allowing seat so the horse has a free back for the upward transition. As it is so hard for beginners to learn to swing to sitting trot, I guess that is why using the inside leg to ask for the transition is seen as advanced. Not explaining all that well, but I hope you get what I mean.

[Danae]

Awhile back when I was starting a filly, we used the outside outside cues because she was having problems picking up the right lead. I used the outside outside until she could pick up that lead on her own without the cue and then I worked on smoother transitions. She now can pick up the right lead just as good if not better than the left :) but I usually do cue with the inside outside cue.