Cantering

Cantering is a difficult gait on a horse.  The faster you go, the more things there are to remember at one time-keeping your legs in the right position, keeping your back relaxed, keeping your hands low, ugh.  This gait has been quite a challenge for me as for most other riders.  Just look at what it takes to get a horse into a canter:

• Inside leg at the girth
• Outside leg behind the girth
• Inside rein rhythmically asking the horse to bend
• Outside rein supporting
• Weight on the inside hip 
• Sit back and deep in the seat
• Keep the shoulders back
• Keep the hands low
• Don't pull on the outside rein, but keep supporting contact
• Ask as the horse's inside shoulder is moving back

...did I forget anything?  I know I forget bunches of these when I ask for the canter.  Most of the time it works out anyways, but often you go into a trot instead of a canter or the horse canters on the wrong lead or is all strung out and on and on.  It's quite an art form.  One thing I learned that helps is that the aids to a canter are the same as when you're asking the horse to do a circle.  You are just asking with more energy.  This concept helped my canter transitions significantly.

Here is a good description by Jane Savoie, an amazing dressage rider:

The first exercise is done completely in the walk. It's a great rider coordination exercise. You'll practice positioning your horse alternately for the left lead and then switch to the right lead after a few strides.

Let's say you decided to pick up the left lead:

• Put your weight on your left seat bone.
• Flex your horse to the left by turning your left wrist as if you're unlocking a door. That is, start with your thumb as the highest point of the hand, Turn your thumb to the left, and bring your baby finger very close to the withers but don't cross over the withers. In this moment, your knuckles or fingernails will be pointing up toward your face. Then put your hand back in the original position with your thumb as the highest point of the hand.
• Support with your right rein so your horse doesn't over bend his neck to the left. His face should be one inch to the inside of a neutral position. (Neutral means his head and neck are straight in front of his body so that his chin is directly in front of his "cleavage".)
• Your left leg is on the girth to say, "Go forward to the canter."
• Your right leg is a couple of inches behind the girth because it will signal his right hind leg to strike off into left lead canter. (He has to start cantering with the outside hind leg in order to end up on the correct lead.)

Stay in this "left lead canter" position for a few strides in the walk, and then switch your aids as if asking for right lead canter (Remember, you're doing all of this in the walk). That is:

• Weight on the right seat bone.
• Right rein flexes the horse's head one inch to the right.
• Left rein is like a side rein that prevents too much bend in the neck.
• Right leg on the girth.
• Left leg behind the girth.

Imke Bartels-Schellekens and Sunrise. Picture: Kit Houghton/Rolex

When you get ready to ask for the depart, do the following things:

1. Keep the horse positioned to the inside as you did above.
2. When you ask for the canter depart, push your inside seat bone forward toward your horse's inside ear.
3. Give a little squeeze with your inside leg on the girth to tell your horse to go "forward into the canter".
4. Use your outside leg in a windshield wiper-like action to signal the outside hind to strike-off into the canter.

Check that you're on the correct lead by:

• Keeping your head erect, but peak down at his front legs. If you're on the correct lead, the inside front leg should reach further forward than the outside front leg.
• Make a circle. If you're on the correct lead, the canter will feel balanced. If you're on the wrong lead, the canter will feel unbalanced.

If you end up of the wrong lead, chances are you didn't keep your horse bent through his body and flexed at his poll to the inside during the transition. Your horse will pick up whatever lead he's bent and flexed toward.

Here are two things you can do to help with the bend:

1. Walk on a small circle to bend your horse. Just before you finish the small circle, keep the bend and apply the aids for the canter. Once he canters, arc out onto a larger circle.
2. Walk or trot on a small circle. Leg yield (that is, push your horse sideways) out to the larger circle. Keep your inside leg on the girth as you leg yield to help with the bend. If you're circling to the right, imagine you're pushing his rib cage to the left while his neck and hindquarters stay to the right.

Again,

Put your weight on your inside seat bone.

Flex your horse to the inside by turning your inside wrist as if you're unlocking a door. That is, start with your thumb as the highest point of the hand, Turn your thumb to the inside, and bring your baby finger very close to the withers but don't cross over the withers. In this moment, your knuckles or fingernails will be pointing up toward your face. Then put your hand back in the original position with your thumb as the highest point of the hand.

Support with your outside rein so your horse doesn't over bend his neck to the inside. His face should be one inch to the inside of a neutral position. (Neutral means his head and neck are straight in front of his body so that his chin is directly in front of his "cleavage".)

Your inside leg is on the girth to say, "Go forward to the canter."

Your outside leg is a couple of inches behind the girth because it will signal his outside hind leg to strike off into inside lead canter. (He has to start cantering with the outside hind leg in order to end up on the correct lead.)