cantering the gaited horse

Cantering the Gaited Horse

Tennessee walking horse canter

At what stage of training do you introduce canter to the naturally gaited horse? What are effective cues for the canter depart? How do you correct a cross canter, lateral canter or four beat canter? This post offers some tips and videos.

Cantering the Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

After my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana was established in her flat walk is when I began the canter. I began free lunging Makana in the round pen teaching her the verbal cues to canter and reinforcing the correct lead without a rider. After a couple weeks, I started canter with me riding her in the round pen. Advantages to the round pen are that the horse is on a continual bend and the horse is in a smaller enclosure in case something goes wrong. Adding a rider can offset the balance at the canter and the horse can get rather fast.

Canter departs cues

Then after a few successful canter rides in the round pen, we moved to the large arena. At first, my approach to get the correct canter lead had been to apply a counter bend along the fence. Then in the corner of the arena I’d ask for the canter depart with my outside leg. This is a common method for producing the correct canter lead. Perhaps a good place to start.

Another method with canter departs

After Makana grasped the concept of canter departs and cantering with a rider, I added a bit more finesse to our canter departs. On a 20-meter circle, I applied my inside leg at the girth with my outside leg slightly behind the girth. My inside leg helped the inside bend and the outside leg helped to hold her outside hind leg from falling out. Then I slightly raised and lowered my inside rein to soften the jaw. Then I used my outside leg behind the girth to ask for the canter depart while also saying the word “canter”.

This approach produced the correct lead and a rounder and softer canter that was positioned more along the arc of the circle.

After cantering a few circles, we transitioned to a flat walk which had notably improved. The canter had clearly produced a purer flat walk with longer stride length and a deeper hind leg step under her body mass.

It is common for a horse to favor one lead over the other. For Makana, the left canter depart was easier to achieve than the right canter depart. For the right canter depart, it seemed to help when I switched my dressage whip to the outside and tapped her while using the outside leg and saying “canter.”

Challenges with Canter and the Gaited Horse

If you have a gaited horse that pace canters or cross canters, you don’t practice improving the pace or cross canter, right? No! We want to replace these rough gaits with a true three-beat canter.

So, we start with relaxation, balance, rhythm and forward movement without rushing at the walk, trot on cue, and canter using ground rails.

Watch: Starting the Gaited Horse in Canter under Saddle

How do you start a gaited horse in canter? Lots of naturally gaited horses cross canter, take the wrong lead, or have a lateral pace canter. They blast off into a rough gallop to find balance. I can understand why many people avoid canter and stick with the smooth gait.

If you’re up to giving canter a try, the video above might offer some tips. The video describes the process I took with Lady, my naturally gaited fox trotting mare. First, I focused on establishing a smooth easy gait which is very comfortable. Now we are working on canter. Our progress has paid off. Lady is taking both canter leads without cross cantering or taking the counter lead.

Watch: How to Break Pace and Cross Canter using Trot Rails

Watch: How to Break a Pace Canter or 4 Beat Canter

Watch: How to Start a Gaited Horse over Jumps

Wondering how to start a gaited horse over jumps? Join me and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse on our first jumping lesson. It is a wonderful way to improve canter.

Videos: Canter

Counter Canter

Canter Transitions

Rein back canter halt transitions are great for the gaited horse to improved balance, lightness, and canter quality.

Canter Rollbacks

Riding dressage, I focus on relaxation, rhythm, connection, impulsion, straightness and collection. Quickness isn’t something I practice on a regular basis, and it really shows when we sort cows. Rollbacks have been a great exercise for warming up my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, engaging her hindquarters, and getting her thinking about quickness and responsiveness to keep up with fresh cows.

Ground Rails at a Canter

Thanks for watching!

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