The Skinny on Canter Transitions

One of my students asked me recently what the aids are for a good canter transition.  Of course, the "simple" answer is inside leg at the girth, supple the inside rein, small steady squeeze on the outside rein, outside leg about one hand behind the girth, lift the inside seat bone, and give a squeeze with the lower legs.  But really, this rider already knows all that, and that's what makes her question such a great one.  She's really asking for the next layer of understanding.  She doesn't just want the horse to canter, she wants the horse to canter off in balance, through, and on the aids.

This is the fun part in a rider's education when she starts to focus on transitions as a measure of the real togetherness she can create with her horse.  It is a journey into understanding not just the aids, but the timing of the aids and how they relate to the horse's motion.  In order to become a more helpful partner during the dicey moments of transitions, the rider needs a more thorough understanding of the way a horse moves at those moments.

For a good canter depart we need an understanding of the footfalls of the canter.  The canter begins with the outside hind leg stepping down and lifting the horse and rider into the canter stride.  Then follows the diagonal pair of the inside hind leg and the outside foreleg together. The third beat of the canter is the inside, or leading, foreleg touching down.  These footfalls are then followed by a moment of suspension in which the horse is airborne with no feet on the ground.  Then the outside hind leg swings forward and lands to start the stride all over again.

Because the outside hind leg must initiate the transition by lifting and carrying the combined mass of the horse and rider, it is important that the leg be brought well under his body and that the joints of the leg flex, or engage.  This well engaged hind leg is in a much better position to lift and carry the load into canter than a hind leg that is stiff and/or out behind.

One of the reasons why canter transitions are difficult is that on a curved line horses tend to carry more with the inside hind leg and push more with the outside hind leg.  Also, horses generally have a stronger hind leg that they prefer to carry with and a weaker hind leg they prefer to push with.  That is one of the reasons why they favor one lead over the other.  In order to create good canter departs, the rider needs the horse to have an outside hind leg that steps under and carries.

There are many ways to improve the horse's ability and understanding of engaging his outside hind leg to carry more instead of pushing so much.  Shoulder-in, travers, renvers, and half pass are designed to help balance the strength of the hind legs for carrying as well as pushing.  But a simple exercise that I like can help horses and riders find the feel of bringing the outside hind leg more underneath the center of gravity in preparation for the canter depart.  

On a 20-meter circle line, in the walk or the trot, ride a few steps of leg yield into the circle.  Keep the horse fairly straight for those few strides of leg yield.   Use your outside (the circle) leg to pulse energy through the horse's body at the moment the outside hind is coming off the ground.  Concentrate on feeling the outside hind leg sweep forward and under the horse's body towards the inside (of the circle) shoulder and bit ring. Then flex your horse true again and move back out to your circle line.  After you ride the leg yield a few times, ask for a canter depart when the outside hind leg is stepping forward (and under--think a little leg yield here).  Canter on a few strides and then make a down transition and try it again.  Keep focusing on timing your aids with the outside hind leg until you feel you have your aids coordinated with your horse's step.  Don't worry too much about what his head and neck are doing while you work on this part.  Just consider his head and neck movements as information.  The better you get at timing your aids to help him, the more relaxed he will stay in his neck and contact.  Be sure to keep your seat centered over your horse's center.  If you get pushed to the outside (as is common in the canter), you won't be able to feel or create balance.  If you are having trouble staying centered, think of dismounting on the inside stirrup and pick up your seat and move it a couple of inches to the inside.

When you are riding, spend time working on your ability to feel your horse's footfalls.  As you ride the walk, can you feel all four steps?  Right hind, right fore, left hind left fore.  First concentrate on just feeling the hind legs step.  Your hip will get pushed up when his hind leg on that side is on the ground.  Your hip will slide down from that push-up as his hind hoof comes off the ground.  That is the moment, when his hind hoof comes off the ground, that you can influence that leg to swing more forward and under his center of gravity.  

In the trot, the horse's legs move in diagonal pairs with a moment of suspension between each step.  When you post on the outside foreleg, you stand as the outside foreleg goes forward and up.  That is the moment when the outside foreleg and the inside hind leg are in the air; the inside foreleg and outside hind are on the ground.  To make a good canter depart from the trot, you will need to feel the moment when the outside hind leg is coming off the ground and swinging forward.  If you send that leg well under the horse's body and ask for the canter as it lands, you will be well on your way to a beautiful transition.

In the canter, see if you can identify the four phases of the stride.  Perhaps the easiest to feel is when the leading foreleg lands and the horse's head goes down slightly.  See if you can begin to feel his outside hind swinging forward and stepping down--phase 1.  Then the diagonal pair, phase 2.  Then the leading foreleg, phase 3.  Then that moment of suspension, phase 4.

The more you concentrate on feeling the horse's footfalls, the more precise the timing of your aids will become.  And the better your timing becomes the more balanced, through, and beautiful your transitions will become.  Have a wonderful ride!