Из Маноло Мендез. О галопе
Enemy of a good canter? Contact that Blocks The Horse
We asked:
CANTER, CANTER....
Recently, Manolo was doing a clinic when he was presented with two horses who had serious difficulties in the canter.
One was a Lusitano who fell out of the canter on straight lines again and again and could not canter properly on a circle, spooked constantly and bucked when asked to go forward.
The other was a large and heavy horse who not only would not maintain the canter but would halt and take steps backward.
What would be your suggestions for what to do with either horse? Tomorrow, we will share what Manolo did and why but we would like to know what your training solutions would be.
48 HOURS LATER....
Many of you wrote and made some excellent points about checking for pain and starting the horse again, giving it time off and being aware of the myriad reasons why a horse refuses to canter. They are all valid and when Manolo works with a new horse, he observes it and then checks it with bodywork and in-hand.In doing so, these are all things he considers.
But in his experience as a horse trainer and teacher of people, the one obstacle to a good canter Manolo finds again and again is tight contact and the subsequent postures a horse finds itself in when the reins are short and tight and its spine is blocked from head to tail.
IMAGE ONE CAPTION (white horse)
'When a horse shows difficulties in the canter, breaks into trot constantly, spooks, bucks and is generally resistant, while a rider should check the horse for tack, teeth, feet, and general soudness issues, they should not neglect to look at their riding as the potential source of the problem. In my experience, most horses canter problems are linked intimately to contact. Unyielding and restrictive contact to be more specific. Often the result of a lack of knowledge about alignment, spinal health and good, sound postures and movement require.
While some horses are stoic or can be intimidated into compromising their soundness by gadgets or aggressive riding, some horses are not willing or able to perform while ridden "short". What do I mean by short? I mean with a contact that closes the throat latch causing the jaw bone to press on the jugular vein, reducing blood flow to brain and eyes, locking the spine and preventing it from oscillating and undulation from head to tail, preventing it from allowing energy to travel THROUGH the horse and its legs from moving effortlessly.
How do we get the horse out of the straight jacket we have enclosed him in?
How do we help him experience canter under saddle as a pleasure? Something easy he can offer willingly and participate in confidently? First, the rider has to take an honest look at themselves. Are they afraid to canter without a tight, short rein? Do they trust their horse? If not, it is better to have someone else ride the horse for awhile, and take lessons to learn to ride in balance, in any gait without needing to put the brakes on with the reins while asking for canter with seat and legs - and often spurs and a crop unfortunately. Two actions that contradict each other and take a toll on the horse.
A rider comfortable with a good gallop and able to ride a few bucks without shutting down can encourage the horse forward using its voice and body (pic 1), giving the horse his head and neck and sitting lightly on its back. The rider has to find the fine line between a frantic gallop - not good - and a canter that may be a little on the forehand at times but has a good general balance and rhythm. The rhythm is key because it is what will help the horse relax (pic 2).
When the throat latch is open, softly moving with every stride, the horse will see better and BREATH better. With each stride, he will find staying in canter easier.
At this stage the rider should not care for perfect. The horse may buck a little and the rider can think of it as the horse releasing toxins and getting rid of mental and physical tension. The rider may have to encourage him to lengthen and lower its neck (never curled behind the vertical) with its hand because the horse may be stuck in a frame (pic 3) and we want its body supple and tension free. Some horses neck can feel like concrete after a while but with time and patience, even they can experience free movement.
We want the horse to "click", to discover cantering under saddle is a pleasure, that it can feel good, that is easy for him. We want to build his confidence and rebuild his trust in the rider and his/her aids.
In everything the rider does, they should be balanced, light and careful with the horse's mouth and its back. Riding a horse that is figuring things out is not a free pass to bounce or pull. In your hands, through the reins you hold your horse's emotions. Between your legs, under your seat, like a lover's arms, you are embracing his or her heart and breath. No matter how large a horse is, a horse is very vulnerable, much more vulnerable that a rider will ever be. Good training starts with knowing that vulnerability. Thinking of the horse's heart and spirit first, and treating its body with reverence.
For this horse, in a few minutes, he no longer spooked -as the blood flowed to his brain and eyes, he stayed in canter and his expression changed, softened. He became involved and curious. He stopped bucking.
This is the first step towards a good canter."
IMAGE TWO CAPTION (Bay horse)
"When riding a "heavy" horse, riding in a light seat and keeping the contact soft and feeling so the horse's head and neck is not blocked and he can open his gullet and move his entire body without restrictions is paramount until the horse develops the fitness to carry a rider in a "dressage seat".
It is easy for a large, heavier horse to get discouraged and stop - even start backing up. Make the work EASY and do not be greedy. Avoid figures and small circles, look for long lines and easy turns.
Only you can help your horse be healthy, strong, balanced and willing"
In a nutshell, canter issues when not the result of a soundness problem can be helped tremendously by checking the quality of the contact. It should not be ignored that faulty contact can be a cause of soundness issue in particular creating poll, back, lumbo sacral and stifle issues making it near impossible for a horse to organize its body and push off. How we ride the spine of the horse is everything.
If you have a horse that is nervous about picking up the canter which is another problem large horses can have, or weak horses, Manolo suggest taking it very slowly. Here is feedback from the comment from one of his student:
"Well this was a well-timed post very relevant to myself and my horse, we were with Manolo only a couple of days ago working on the canter and in particular the transition to trot after the canter. I have a Clydie x gelding who is quite nervous and rushes after a canter which can be challenging to correct.
Manolo suggested slowly re-introducing the canter by only cantering once or twice per ride and allowing the horse to canter in his own, individual way without restricting him or forcing him to shorten with too much rein contact.
The next ride after the lessons with Manolo, I've already seen a huge improvement, yesterday he hardly rushed at all and was far more relaxed and comfortable in the canter." (Thank You Maddison)
Rushing horses or frightening them into canter is not the way. We will write about that next.
You are welcome to share this post if you wish.
NOTE: The current rider of this horse did not create the issues we are discussing in the post and trusted that Manolo's method would help them with this challenge. We hope we did and we are grateful for their open-ness in sharing this information so other horses can be helped as well
