canter leads (plus a little disclaimer)

[Rebekah Simpson]

Hi all!

I first have to say that New Rider is incredible. I love this site!!!!! Thanks so much for you wonderfully helpful people (in particular, galadriel and kedwards - you guys are awesome!)
The other day I was wondering about something and thought,
"well, I'll ask my fellow equestrians on New Rider!"...... he he...
Now that that's said... here's my question:

I don't understand canter leads. Can someone please explain how you ask for the right canter lead? I never can seem to remember.

Also, any advice on steering would be appreciated. Okay, that sounds really weird... but I struggle with cutting off corners A LOT (rectangular arena) which messes up my jumping sometimes. I try to get the horse to move over to the fence, but it doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions? Thanks!!!!!

~Rebekah~

[Nikita88]

i have the same problem with cutting corners, then i really get in trouble when i jump at shows 'cause i cut the corner so sharp. I am actually just starting to go deep in my corners. i guess what my suggestion would be is to walk your horse in the corners it usually cuts over and over untill it knows it has to go deep into it, thats what i did. Then i did it at the trot, when she cut the corner, i would do a circle and take her back....some people may argue that doesnt help at all, but it helped me and my horse :) Also, if you have not learned "Leg yeilding" yet...ask your instructor to teach it to you, it has saved my butt many times in shows!!!! you could also use the leg yeilding to send your horse deep in the corners.

About the cantering, to ask for the right lead you sit your trot and slide your OUTSIDE leg back and squeeze! My horse always picks up the right lead,so im just used to not having to worry about that. She automatically does flying lead changes when we cross the diagnol which is nice! but if you wanna switch leads after crossing the diagnol, trot a couple steps then slide your new outside leg back and squeeze (new leg as in the one that was the inside leg before). Im sure you know how to check your lead too but just incase...its the inside leg should be more forward.

Hope i was of some help to you.

*Jen*

[Bay Mare]

The way that I was taught by a dressage instructor and has worked for me is:

Sit to the trot
Half halt to tell the horse that you want him to do something different
Flex the inside rein so that you have bend to the inside
Outside leg slightly back behind the girth to indicate the strike off
Inside leg on the girth to create bend through the body and to tell them to GO!

You can also go from walk (my preference :D ) and you must make sure that the pace before hand is a good, foreward-going one that is not too lazy or too rushed.

With regards for taking corners! I have just learned something slightly different to which I was originally taught.

Going into a corner your inside leg should be on, outside leg can be slightly behind the girth and the head flexed slightly to the inside (so that the horse is bending in a 'banana' shape). If he starts to fall through the inside shoulder then slightly increase the bend to the inside and slightly relax the pressure on the outside rein. I was always told to maintain the contact on the outside rein but, as the instructor pointed out, if you keep the contact here then you are giving mixed signals .... trying to get him off falling to the inside but not giving him anywhere else to go as you are then restricting him with the outside rein. I tried it on several horses and it was more successful than any other method I've tried (you still have to retain a contact but just not as much as you normally would).

I'm sure that others will have other methods. Try different things and see what works for you.

Good luck

[Mehitabel]

good advice on the aids, but you might also find it helpful to know why we do al lthis.
the leg sequence in canter goes -
outside hind leg
diagonal pair
inside foreleg.

so that's why the horse looks like the inside foreleg is leading.

you use the outside leg further back than normal to ask that outside hind to strike off first. shorten the reins as the head comes up as the horse goes faster, and a steady trot because it;'s hard for the horse to change the leg sequence from a flat out trot. if you wanted to change from running to skipping, then it'd be easier for you to do it from a jog than a sprint.

the trouble with giving with the outside rein though, is that the horse can then bend the neck too much and fall out through the outside shoulder. this isn't likely to happen when the horse has been falling in, so bay mare is right there, but as a general thing...

the horse doesn't have to go where it's head is pointing, but it does have to go where its shoulders are pointing.

[Drummers mum]

I think I could kiss you ES!

Thank you sooo much for just explaining the reason for the leg position aides for canter. Light has dawned.:p

You don't realise how much you don't know until you have your own horse!:eek:

When you learn to ride why don't instructors explain why?

[galadriel]

Originally posted by Drummers mum
When you learn to ride why don't instructors explain why?

Sometimes they don't know; sometimes they feel rushed or like they don't have a chance to explain; sometimes they don't realize that the student actually wants to know.

For keeping a horse from drifting in, the explanations already posted are pretty clear, but there are also some images to go with such explanations here:
http://lorienstable.com/articles/riding/200-staying_on_the_rail/

[Drummers mum]

Sorry Galadriel no offense meant. I am a need to know type person, I understand that in a group lesson it would be hard to explain and you are probably right, alot of people don't give a monkeys as long as it works!

Your web page is great really shows it clearly , great explanation, but with canter I always thought it was your inside leg doing the asking. Now I get it! Just being dim!!:D

[galadriel]

Originally posted by Drummers mum
Sorry Galadriel no offense meant.

Oh, no, absolutely no offense taken; you may occasionally hear me make the same complaint: that instructors often don't really teach riding. I think that nothing should be taught without an explanation, even to the little 4 and 5 yr old students. They may be little, but if you can show them what you mean, they can get it. And if the little kids can get it, then the adolescents and adults certainly can!

We've got some great instructors on NR, though--can you imagine Wally telling someone to yank left to go left, yank right to go right, and give the horse a big wallop with your heels to go forward?

And too, you know, even if someone is an excellent instructor, s/he won't click with all her/his students. Sometimes a student will walk away from a lesson completely clueless as to what was going on, even though the instructor tried to explain it a few times. Which is why it's great that we've got NR--with some many different perspectives, we can almost always find a way to express a concept that eventually makes sense.

[Em 1]

I always ride riding school horses and they are experts at cutting corners! If your horse doesn't respond to your leg and rein aids you could try using the crop. Just rest the stick on the inside shoulder as you approach the corner. Often this is enough but if the horse ignores it, a gentle tap at the same time as using your leg will help. Also, don't look around the corner. Keep looking straight at the end of the school, keep the head and neck straight until you are nearly at the end wall then ask for flexion. This is not the correct way to ride a corner but it does make the horse listen to you. You will probably only need to do it occasionally at the beginning of a few lessons/schooling sessions. Then the horse will get the idea and you can ride correctly again.

[kedwards]

One other thing to consider, if you find that the horse is cutting in, is to make sure that you are sitting evenly. I sometimes catch myself leaning out on a horse that's cutting in, which only throw the horse further off balance. I think I subconsiously do it in a failed attempt to use my leg more strongly as though to "push" him over. Never works:D. When I catch myself, sit back up, and give the leg aid independently (or with a slight pulse of the inside rein), I have much more success.

[Rebekah Simpson]

Thanks everybody! Oooohhh... Kedwards... that's probably a lot of my problem. I know sometimes I do lean some, and in trying to get the horse into the corner I probably do it even more. Thanks.... I'll have to pay attention to that at my next lesson!

All of you that explained the canter leads and corners, etc. - You guys are more help than you might think. I don't know what I would do without NR!!!!!!!!!!

*Rebekah*

[laura jeanne]

oh dear, isn't it your inside leg asking him to go forward and the outside leg just going back once to tell him which leg to strike off on?