Getting the right one is important. But what is a canter lead and how do you get the right one? What if your horse has difficulty getting the right one?

What is a Canter Lead?

The canter is a three beat gait, and the horse can canter with either the left or right foreleg leading. The footfalls, or way the horse places his foreleg on the ground go in this order………………

Left Foreleg Leading

Right hind, left hind and right fore togther, left foreleg.There are three beats because the diagonal leg hits the ground at the same time. When the left foreleg is the last one to touch the ground, the horse is on the correct leg on the left rein.

Right Foreleg Leading

Left hind, right hind and left fore togther, right foreleg. When the right foreleg is the last one to touch the ground, the horse is on the correct leg on the right rein.

Canter Leads

When you’re cantering on a horse, it can be difficult to tell which leg you’re on. If you look down towards the horse’s shoulders, you should see the horse’s inside fore leg striding out further than the outside fore leg. If you’re on the wrong leg, your horse may find it difficult to canter around corners or in circles.

Cantering on the wrong rein is called a counter canter and it’s something that can be done by dressage horses who have a lot of strength, flexibility and balance. Until you’re a very experienced rider, you need to always aim for the correct lead. If you horse strikes off on the incorrect lead, bring him back to a sitting trot and try again. Cantering on the wrong lead will make things much harder for your horse.

How Do You Get The Correct Canter Lead?

The aids for canter are simple. Put your inside leg on the girth, and outside leg behind the girth and squeeze. Some horses aren’t very well educated, and some will not pick up the correct lead on the first try. Some tips to help you get the correct lead include asking for the canter in a corner of an arena, and simple looking in the direction you’re going. Remember to maintain a gentle, firm contact on your inside rein and always sit to the trot before you ask for a canter.

]]> http://www.horserides.org/blog/2008/09/03/canter-leads/feed/ 0 http://www.horserides.org/blog/2008/05/27/34/ http://www.horserides.org/blog/2008/05/27/34/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 02:53:56 +0000 horserides http://www.horserides.org/blog/?p=34 Sensitive Areas of Horses

Nerve endings in people are more abundant in the mouth, feet and hands. Spots of most sensitivity in horses seem to be in the mouth, feet, flanks, neck and shoulders. The mouth is sensitive to pain rather than light pressure. Bitting should be done with care and reins handled with light hands, or else sensitivity in the mouth is lost and a hard mouth is the result.

Some horses are so sensitive to contact in the flank that they promptly buck when heels are applied there.

Application of the whip requires great reserve and good judgment if the learning situation is to be constructive for the horse. Using the whip on the shoulders of a running horse will tighten the shoulder muscles and shorten its stride. Application near the flank or directly along the ribs may cause a move sideways. Many horses HUMP UP and consequently slow down under heavy use of the whip when they are running.

probably the most pain horses have to bear is from ill-fitting saddles. There are about as many shapes of saddle trees as of shoes, and like feet, the backs of all horses are not the same. We can’t have a saddle for each horse or one for different conditions in which it is used, but most of us can do a better job than we do of fitting saddles to horses.

Horses vary greatly in skin sensitivity. They love to be groomed and have their backs scratched. Selecting mild grooming equipment is necessary for some thin-skinned horses. Currycombs and shedding blades should have fine teeth.

Saddling is a bruising experience for some horses, whereas others seem immune to any feeling when a saddle is thrown on them. If your horse humps up and tries to avoid the saddle, see if it is being hit by flapping cinches and stirrups. Turn these items back over the seat and place the saddle on gently, with both hands.

Communication of rider to horse is accomplished through voice, hands, and legs, in this order of importance. Voice cues for starting and stopping are easily understood by the horse. Rein cues are more complex for both rider and horse, and signify a more complicated maneuvers than simple starts and stops. Leg cues are needed for most complex responses, such as rollbacks. Because of the sensitivity of a horse’s skin, it can react to light pressure of the leg.

Horses are equally sensitive to insecurity or confidence in their riders, and respond accordingly. If the rider lacks assurance, the horse will feel insecure and perform below its capability.

The horse is a srtong, sensitive creature, capable of great speed and quick reactions. It has great ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations. This is why we love horses.

Many of the things we ask them to do are strange to their nature, so try to understand their reaction to these new situations.

Think you know it all when it comes to riding? Think again. Even top competitive riders have regular instruction to help iron out faults and bad habits. In between lessons, read as many instructional books as you can, or visit horse forums for riding hints. If you’ve got a schooling problem, you’ll find heaps of advice online.

2. WORK ON YOUR BALANCE

Regular instruction will help fine tune your balance but you can help it even more by doing regular exercises in the saddle. By far the best is to have an experienced instructor lunge you without reins or stirrups. You’ll ache after the first few lessons but your balance will improve out of sight !. If you can’t have lunge lessons, do lots of bareback riding or riding without stirrups.

3. IMAGINE ………..

Your body is divided into three sections:

From the waist up

From the waist to the knees

From the knees down

Try to absorb as much of the horse’s movement as possible with your middle section, from the waist to the knees while keeping the upper and lower body as still as possible.

4. LIGHTEN UP !

A horse’s mouth is very sensitive so you should always be aware of this and handle with care. Pretend the reins are made of cotton which will snap if you pull too hard. Keep your finger’s soft and your wrists flexible, follow the horse’s natural head movement forwards and backwards with your hands. Avoid jerking the reins at all costs.

5. GIDDY-UP

To increase pace, don’t automatically kick with your heels. Squeeze gently with both legs while pushing forwards with your seat. If the horse doesn’t respond, reinforce your aids by tapping lightly with a crop just behind your leg. If you’re consistent, the horse will soon learn the proper aids.

6. AND WOAH …..

When you want to decrease pace, don’t just haul on the reins. Tighten your fingers and apply gentle pressure to the horse’s mouth, while at the same time restricting movement with your seat and upper body (pretending you’re a sack of spuds !) Your horse will feel the resistance and want to slow down. Experienced riders can decrease pace by using their bodies only, with very little rein contact.

7. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND …..

CHILL OUT !. Horses can sense when you’re feeling on edge and will often play up. If you’re feeling angry or upset, it’s probably best to postpone getting in the saddle until you’re a bit calmer. But for those times you’re feeling nervous (say, just before a show) take a slow, deep breath and hold for three or four seconds before exhaling slowly. Repeat until you’re feeling a little less stressed.

8. RELAX !

Riding is hard work, sit up straight, heels down, elbos in, blah blah blah.

Sometimes riders focus so hard on maintaining the right position, they tense up and the whole thing comes undone. Try to relax as much as possible, it’s hard and requires combination of advice already outlined here.. regular instruction, balance practice, attitude etc.

But hang in there and you’ll find one day it all comes naturally !

When you mount, sit still on your horse and adjust your position so that you feel that you are sitting straight on the horse, and sitting evenly on your seat bone. Keep your head straight and eyes forward, as even a slight tilt of your neck can mean that your balance is too far to one side.

Check that your stirrups are even.Use your warm up as a time to relax your muscles and settle into your saddle. Warming up without stirrups is a great way to stretch your legs right down, and flexing and relaxing your muscles one at a time will loosen up your entire position.

If you take lessons, ask your instructor (or even a knowledgable friend) to lunge you without stirrups or reins which can do wonders for your balance. Riding bareback is also a great idea to improve your balance, and it’s fun, too!

If you’re too scared to ride bareback because you think you’ll fall off there’s the sign that you SHOULD be riding bareback to improve that balance! Take it slow and don’t push yourself just walk if that’s all you feel comfortable doing.

How can you do it?

A horse thinks like a horse. He can’t get excited about the things you love, such as lessons. His priorities are eating and being with his horse friends. Having respect for your differences is a very important part of horse ownership and will teach you to respect. Do you show respect for your horse and treat him like a horse? Or do you expect him to be like a human? It won’t work, and unless you respect the differences, you will both be miserable. Making allowances, however, will ensure you both enjoy life.

Take a deep breath before you lose your temper. Realise that your horse has his own mind, and can only let you know his feelings by saying no sometimes. Having patience means you love your horse and refuse to judge him without trying to find out what is wrong.

How can you do it?

Lose your temper with your horse and you let yourself down. A horse will not always do what you want him to do. He will have ideas of his own. Jumping for ages, for example. If he says no, or objects in some way to your demands, you are being given an opportunity to discover reasons for his behaviour. Patience is a vital life skill. Without it, you will go through life frustrated, angry and someone other people avoid!

A Horse Teaches You

Having your own horse can equip you with skills which will be useful in times to come.

In pre-internet days there wasn’t a lot you could do to find out but now we have access to email and on-line searchable databases, it means the horse industry is literally at our fingertips!

If your horse is a particular breed then you may be in luck, try contacting the breed society in your state and hope something turns up. Your horse might have come with a show name or brand which is registered (or was registered in the past), which may reveal his breeding and a little about his history.

If your horse is an ex-racehorse, then you are definitely in luck in your horse is from Australia. You can visit http://www.studbook.aust.com and do a search on his official racing name. It should reveal his sire and dam, his date of birth, racing history and earnings.

For standardbreds, visit http://www.harness.org.au which will give similar info.

If your horse is branded, then you need a good description of that brand. Letters and numbers are clear enough but symbol brands need to be accurately described, copy the brand down on a piece of paper, or take a clear photo when the horse has his summer coat in, or when the area has been cliped.

Most states have brand registries, including some online searchable databases. You can find a comprehensive listing of brand contacts at:

http://www.horsedirectory.com.au

Click on “Horse Resources” in the left hand menu, then “Horse Branding/Brand Marks Identification” which will direct you where to try next.

You can also contact your local EFA branch in your state and check if your horse has been registered in the past. Another good site is at: http://www.horsecouncil.org.au

They have a comprehensive links section, plus a listing of most breed organizations and societies in Australia.

But Say Your Horse is of no Particular Breed

Where do you start your search?

Your first contact should be your horse’s previous owner, ask them to tell you everything they know including where they got him/her from. Then you might be able to trace him right back through a succession of previous owners and discover a wealth of info. However people move, change phone numbers and seemingly disappear into thin air. What then?.

One idea is to post on some local horse forums, they usually allow you to upload pictures.

You can also try Yahoo horse groups, if you spread the word far and wide, it just might turn something up ! You’ll never know if you don’t at least start digging.

If you bought your horse locally and his previous owner can’t be contacted or shed any light on his/her background, try putting up notices in local feed merchants, saddle shops and veterinary surgeries, or enquire at the nearest Pony Club.

You might strike it lucky !!