In This Chapter
- Asking a horse to lope or canter
- Riding the fast gait
- Stopping, turning, and circling your horse at the lope or canter
- Doing some high-speed exercises
For most new riders, the lope
(Western) or canter (English) is one of the most exciting and enjoyable gaits
to ride. Next to an all-out gallop, this smooth gait is the fastest you can go
on a horse. Combining speed with rhythm, the lope or canter makes the wind
ruffle your hair and gives you the sensation of being one with the horse.
The lope or canter is
a three-beat gait. When a horse is cantering or loping on the right lead, his
left hind leg comes down first, followed by his right hind leg and left foreleg
together, and then his right foreleg follows. When a horse is on the left
lead, the legs are reversed.
As the horse moves, he extends
his forelegs while also gathering his hind legs beneath his body. The legs move
rhythmically with each other in the same general direction. In one phase of
this gait, all four hooves are off the ground at the same time (see Chapter Head
to Hoof: The Mind and Mechanics of a Horse for a diagram showing the lope or canter). This gait can be a slow as 10 miles
per hour or as fast as 20 miles per hour.
In this chapter, I tell you what
you need to know to ask the horse to lope or canter. You find out how to ride
the lope or canter in the Western and English disciplines, as well as how to
make the horse stop, turn, and circle at this gait. At the end of the chapter,
you find exercises that can help build your riding skills. (I don’t discuss the
gallop, a four-beat gait, because it’s best attempted by experienced riders.
After you’ve learned to ride, your instructor can help you ride the fastest
gait.)
Remember
When riding the lope or canter, maintaining correct body position as well as correct leg and hand position are key. The proper position keeps you balanced as the horse races forward.
Cueing the Horse to Lope or Canter
Horses typically go from the walk
(see Chapter Enjoying
the Walk) or jog or trot (see Chapter Bumping
Up Your Skills with the Jog or Trot) into the lope or canter. Most
beginning riders move their horses into a lope or canter from the walk, so this
chapter describes moving from the slowest gait to the fastest one I cover in
this book. As you find out in the following sections, the way you cue the horse
to lope or canter depends on your riding discipline.
Tip
Ask the horse quietly first and increase the intensity of the cue if you don’t get a response.
Western: Telling your horse you want to lope
When riding Western, you ask a
horse to lope by moving the hand holding the reins forward to create more slack
and by squeezing the horse forward with the calf of your outside leg (in an
arena, the leg closest to the rail). Maintain this pressure until the horse
steps into a lope. After you feel the horse respond, relax your calf. Keep your
body position in mind as the horse starts to move forward (I describe body
position at the lope later in this chapter).
Tip
If the horse doesn’t respond at first and starts to jog, don’t chase him into the lope by leaning forward and trying to make him go faster. Instead, bring him back to a walk and ask for the lope again, this time with greater pressure from your outside leg until you get a response. You may need to use your voice to encourage the horse — for many horses, a kissing sound is the cue to lope.
English: Requesting a canter
When riding hunt seat or
dressage, ask a horse to canter by moving the inside rein (the rein closest to
the center of the arena) slightly up, back, and out, all at the same time. In
hunt seat, your outside rein (the rein closest to the rail) should be slightly
slack and the inside rein should be slightly taut.
As you move the inside rein,
squeeze the horse with the calf of your outside leg, and maintain this pressure
until the horse begins cantering. After the horse responds, relax your leg. You
want to maintain some contact with your legs, so don’t take your legs
completely off the horse.
Protocol
In hunt seat riding — but not in dressage — you can also use your voice to encourage the horse to canter if you don’t get an immediate response to your leg. You do so by making a kissing noise.
Riding the Lope in Western
In Western riding, the lope is a
slow, collected gait (well, it’s slow compared to a faster English canter or a
gallop, but it’s still the second-fastest gait). In highly trained Western
pleasure horses, the lope is almost as slow as a jog.
In the show ring, the lope is
used in pleasure and horsemanship classes (see Chapter Show
Off: Riding in Competition for info on shows).
It’s also the gait of choice for riders competing in reining classes, where
collection and sensitivity to the rider are paramount.
Figure 15-1 shows riding the lope
in Western. In correct position, riders have relaxed arms and a straight back,
and they sit deep in the saddle. The legs are relaxed as well, and the rider
holds the rein hand just above the withers. Read the following sections to
discover how to position yourself correctly.
Positioning your body for Western
Remember
You get some speed with the lope, but you should still be relaxed. Maintain the following position (and refer back to Figure 15-1), but avoid becoming stiff. If you stiffen up, you may bounce in the saddle instead of moving with the horse (if you really want to bounce, the jog may be your ideal gait — see Chapter Bumping Up Your Skills with the Jog or Trot):
- When riding Western at the lope, sit deep in the saddle while also sitting tall. Your weight should be on your seat bones. Allow your body to rock gently with the movement of the horse.
- Sit up straight but not straight as a ramrod. Your shoulders should be relaxed, but don’t slouch.
- Make sure you aren’t leaning to one side of the horse or another as the horse lopes. Sit squarely in the saddle, using the saddle horn as a guide. The horn should be directly in front of you.
- Keep your elbows relaxed but at your sides. Don’t let your elbows stick out and flap in the wind.
- Because the horse is going faster than he would at the trot, you may find yourself looking at the back of the horse’s head. Doing so affects your balance, so instead get in the habit of looking straight ahead at where you’re going.
Figure 15-1: A Western rider
has a deep seat, relaxed arms, and a straight back.
Holding the reins
At the walk or jog, you hold the
reins about an inch or two over the horse’s withers; however, when loping, you
hold the reins even lower (refer to Figure 15-1). Your rein hand should be just
in front of the pommel. This placement gives the horse’s head the freedom of
movement it needs at the lope.
Regardless of whether you hold
the reins in California or traditional style (see Chapter Enjoying
the Walk for the scoop on
holding reins), keep your other hand on the same-side thigh or hanging
alongside your leg, completely relaxed, as you do at the slower gaits.
Putting your legs in loping position
In Western riding, leg position
is the same at the lope as it is at the walk and jog. When your horse is
loping, have the balls of your feet in the stirrups and your heels down. Point
your toes outward only slightly.
You should have a slight bend in
your knees if your stirrups are set at the correct length (your riding
instructor can help you there), and your legs should go alongside the cinch.
The back part of each calf should fall just behind the cinch. After the horse
responds to your cue and moves into the canter, each leg should have contact with
the horse but not be pressing on him. (Refer back to Figure 15-1 for correct
leg position.)
Tip
Because the lope is a faster gait than the walk or jog, keeping your legs in place as the horse moves forward takes more effort. Imagine that your calves are glued to your horse’s sides so they can’t move. That image can help you keep your legs still.
Moving with the Western horse
The lope is a faster gait than
the jog, but it’s a lot smoother. The rocking motion you feel when you lope is
pleasant and easy to sit. To help yourself move with the horse’s body, stay
relaxed, sit deep in the saddle, and keep your arms loose. Allow your hips to
move with the rhythm of the horse. Your upper body should be able to remain
upright.
Riding the Canter in Hunt Seat
After mastering the trot in hunt
seat (see Chapter Bumping
Up Your Skills with the Jog or Trot for more about riding the trot), you move on to the
canter. The canter is an important working gait in hunt seat, and you’ll do a
lot with your horse at this gait after you advance in your riding. Plus, the
canter is a lot of fun! The speed and rhythm of this gait are a real joy.
When riding the canter in hunt
seat, you lean forward slightly at the hips, your legs are stable, and your
hands are low. Figure 15-2 shows the canter in hunt seat; keep reading for the
full scoop on positioning yourself correctly.
Figure 15-2: Riding the canter
in hunt seat warrants a forward bend at the hips.
Positioning your body for hunt seat
Stick to the following guidelines
for proper body position when you’re riding the canter in hunt seat (refer to
Figure 15-2):
- When the horse is cantering, lean forward from the hips (not the waist), with a greater degree of bend than you’d have at the walk. Refer to Figure 15-2 to get a feel for the correct angle.
- Hold your hands about an inch above the horse’s neck, which is slightly lower than where you’d hold them at the trot. This placement allows the horse to have more freedom of movement through his head and neck.
- When cantering in hunt seat, you should have a slight, natural arch in your lower back, with the rest of your back flat.
- Keep your elbows close to your body.
- Keep your shoulders back and your chin up.
Holding the reins
In hunt seat, you hold the reins
in two hands. The reins go between your thumb and your index finger and come
out between your pinky and ring fingers efore going to the bit.
At the canter, hold your hands 2
to 3 inches apart from each other about an inch above the horse’s neck and in
front of the withers (toward the horse’s head). Your hands are forward to allow
freedom of movement for the horse’s head, your fingers are closed in a relaxed
fist, and your reins are snug but not tight against the horse’s mouth. (Refer
back to Figure 15-2.)
Putting your legs in cantering position
When riding the canter, your calves
rest just behind the girth. The balls of your feet are in the stirrup, and your
heels are down. Your toes should point slightly outward to help you maintain
light contact with your calves on the horse’s sides. Evenly distribute your
weight through your seat, thighs, and feet. (Refer back to Figure 15-2 for the
best leg position.)
Tip
When the horse is cantering, each knee has light contact with the saddle. Imagine that you’re trying to use your knee to keep a wet sponge against the saddle without squeezing any water out.
At this gait, your calves have
contact with the horse’s sides as they do at the walk and trot, but add
pressure to keep the horse moving at the canter. The
Tip
When cantering, concentrate on keeping your legs still. You don’t want them to rock back and forth independently of the horse’s sides. Pretend your legs are glued to the horse to help keep them stable.
Moving with the hunt seat horse
When the horse is cantering in
hunt seat, lift your body up and slightly out of the saddle. This posture is
called a half seat position. (Note: Your instructor may
not use this method of riding the canter and instead suggest that you sit firmly
in the saddle with a relaxed lower back.) Roll with the motion of the horse as
he canters, finding his rhythm. Your legs should be glued to the horse’s sides
so they don’t move on their own. Your hands should move up and back with the
rhythm of the horse’s head, but be careful not to exaggerate this movement by
pumping your hands back and forth.
Riding the Canter in Dressage
The canter is used at most levels
of competition in dressage (see Chapter Show
Off: Riding in Competition for info on horse shows). If you
intend to compete in dressage in the future and go above the introductory
level, you need to know this gait. Besides, riding the canter can be a blast!
In dressage, you sit deep in the
saddle, relax your lower back, keep your legs still at the horse’s sides, and
hold the reins in both hands. Figure 15-3 depicts the canter in dressage. Read
on for details on proper body position.
Positioning your body for dressage
Remember
Stick to the following guidelines for the best body position when you ride the canter in dressage (refer back to Figure 15-3 for a look):
- Sit deep in the saddle when you’re cantering; let your weight drop down into your rear end, sit on your seat bones, and sink into your hips.
- Your shoulders are open and square yet relaxed.
- Your back is flat — you don’t want any arch.
- Keep your elbows close to your body.
- Your chin is up and your eyes are forward, looking where you’re going.
Figure 15-3: Dressage riders
sit deep in the saddle at the canter.
Holding the reins
In dressage, you hold the reins
in two hands. The reins enter between your thumb and your index finger and exit
between your pinky and ring fingers before heading to the bit.
Hold your hands 2 to 3 inches
apart from each other, about 3 inches above the withers. At the canter, put
your hands closer to your hips than you would at the trot (at the trot, your
hands are forward on the horse’s neck — see Chapter Bumping
Up Your Skills with the Jog or Trot for details). You want
to prepare your horse for the canter in dressage, and you do so in part by
creating more tension on the reins. Keep your fingers closed in a relaxed fist.
(Refer back to Figure 15-3 for hand positioning.)
Putting your legs in position
At the canter in dressage, your
calves stay about 1 inch behind the girth. Your heels are in line with your
hips, and your knees have considerable contact with the saddle without pinching
the horse. (Refer back to Figure 15-3.)
Maintain firm pressure with your
calves to keep the horse moving forward at the canter. The amount of pressure
you apply depends on the horse. Your instructor can help you determine the
right amount of pressure for the horse you’re riding.
Tip
Keep your legs still. Think of them as being glued to your horse’s sides to keep them from moving back and forth independently of the horse.
Moving with the dressage horse
In dressage, you want to sink
into the horse’s canter. Your hips should move with the rhythm of the horse,
causing your rear end to “polish” the saddle as you ride.
Maneuvering the Horse at the Lope or Canter
In the following sections, I
describe several important maneuvers for riding a horse at the lope or canter.
After mastering this gait on the rail, beginning riders discover how to circle
or turn their horses, so you have to know how to ask your horse for this move.
Stopping from this gait is also important (you have to get off the horse eventually),
and it requires more finesse than stopping from the walk or trot.
Whoa, Nelly! Stopping the horse
Although you’re moving faster at
the lope or canter than you are at the jog or trot, the horse should still stop
for you on command. The cue to stop a horse differs slightly between
disciplines, as you discover in the following sections. The way the horse stops
also depends on the horse’s training.
Stopping a horse from a lope or
canter looks just like stopping a horse from the walk; check out Chapter Enjoying
the Walk for
figures depicting the stopping maneuver.
Western stops
Upon request, horses highly trained in the Western sport of reining can slide to a stop. However, most Western horses — especially those that beginners ride in a lesson program — perform a simple, quick stop without sliding. In most cases, a Western horse will take a couple of steps at a walk before coming to a complete stop from a lope.
To stop a horse from a lope in
Western riding, following these steps:
1. Sink deep into your seat
and prepare to stop.
When preparing to stop from a lope, sit tall with your heels down and head up. Imagine drilling a hole through the seat of your saddle with your tailbone, and sink your body weight into the hole you just drilled.
2. As you sink your body
weight down, take your leg pressure off the horse’s sides, pull the reins
toward your belly button, and say “whoa.” 3. When the horse comes to a stop,
release the tension in the reins.
English stops
In hunt seat and dressage, the
horse trots and then walks a couple of strides before coming to a complete stop
from the canter. Here’s how to stop a horse from the canter in English riding:
1. Sink your weight into the
saddle and increase tension on the reins.
In hunt seat, say “whoa” and put tension on the reins while moving your hands backward; in dressage, where you already have contact (tension) on the reins, increase that tension.
Protocol
In dressage, don’t use your voice. The horse should stop without using this aid.
2. The horse breaks from a
canter to a trot and goes into a walk.
Expect a couple of strides at each of these gaits before you get to a complete stop.
3. When the horse stops
walking, release the tension in the reins.
Tip
Try not to let your weight come forward in a whiplash effect. When you’re sitting deep in the saddle, you’re more likely to hold your position as the horse stops.
Turning in an L-pattern
Unlike with walking or trotting,
a beginning rider at the canter usually isn’t asked to change the horse’s
direction so that he’s going the opposite way; the horse would need to switch
leads (reverse which front leg extends first) to change directions at this
gait, and riders find out how to get the horse to switch leads only at
more-advanced stages of riding.
However, beginning riders can
turn their horses in an L-pattern at the canter without changing directions
(the classic move of the knight in chess — minus the jumping, of course). Take
a look at the directional cues in the following sections for the discipline you
plan to ride. Although executing these cues takes concentration at first, they
can become second nature.
Remember
In an arena, the side of your horse next to the rail is called the outside, and the side away from the rail is the inside.
Western turns
In Western riding, you use neck
reining to turn the horse at a lope. Use your reins and legs in the following
manner to turn your horse either to the left or right (see Figure 15-4):
1. To turn your horse to the
inside of the arena, away from the rail, move the hand holding the reins to the
inside so that the outside rein is lying across the horse’s neck.
Figure 15-4: When turning
the horse in an L-pattern in Western, move the reins to the inside.
2. At the same time, apply
more pressure with your outside leg than you would at the jog.
This leg pressure encourages the horse to turn to the inside while staying at the lope and not breaking into a jog. If the horse doesn’t respond to light pressure, add more until you get a response.
3. When the turn is complete,
move your rein hand back to the center of your horse and release the pressure
from your outside leg.
English turns
In English riding, when you want
your horse to turn to the left or right at the canter, use your reins and legs
in the following manner (see Figure 15-5):
1. To turn your horse to the
inside of the arena, away from the rail, “take a feel” of the inside rein.
In other words, pull the rein out slightly to the inside if you’re riding hunt seat. If you’re riding dressage, pull the rein back slightly.
Figure 15-5: Pull the rein
out slightly to the inside when turning a horse in hunt seat.
2. At the same time, apply
pressure with your outside leg.
Use more pressure here than you would at the trot to encourage the horse to maintain the canter as he turns to the inside. Start with light pressure and increase until you get the response you’re looking for.
3. When the turn is complete,
release the pressure on the inside rein and return it to its normal position;
release the pressure from your outside leg as well.
Circling the horse
As you progress in your riding,
your instructor may ask you to circle your horse at the lope or canter.
Circling helps you build communication with your horse as well as your riding
skills. In the following sections, I explain the cues you use to circle your
horse in a Western lope and an English canter.
Western circling
When circling a horse at the lope
in Western riding, you neck rein, using one hand on the reins. The following
steps take you through a circle at the lope (see Figure 15-6 for a Western rider
circling at the lope):
1. To circle your horse to the
inside of the arena, start along the rail.
2. Move the hand holding the
reins to the inside, away from the rail, so the outside rein is lying across
the horse’s neck; at the same time, apply pressure with your outside
leg.
Apply more pressure than you’d use when circling at the jog. Start with slight pressure and increase until you get a response. The horse moves away from the pressure, encouraging him to turn to the inside while maintaining the lope.
3. Apply pressure with both
legs and continue to maintain the rein and leg pressure as the horse turns.
When the horse is moving into a circle pattern, apply pressure with both legs to guide him through the circle and keep the circles from getting smaller. This pressure also keeps the horse from moving straight and breaking the circle. Use more leg pressure here than you’d use at the jog.
4. When the circle is complete
(when you’re back where you started, on the rail), move your rein hand back to
the center of your horse and lighten the pressure from your legs.
Don’t release the pressure completely or the horse may break into a jog.
Figure 15-6: Hold the reins
to the inside while applying leg pressure when you circle at the lope.
English circling
When circling a horse at the
canter in hunt seat and dressage, you use direct reining, with two hands on the
reins. The following steps take you through a circle (see Figure 15-7 for an
English rider circling at the canter):
1. To circle your horse to the
inside of the arena, away from the rail, “take a feel” of the inside rein.
In other words, if you’re riding hunt seat, pull the rein out slightly away from the horse’s neck; if you’re riding dressage, pull the rein back slightly toward your hip.
2. At the same time, apply
pressure with your outside leg.
Use more pressure than you’d apply when circling at the trot. Start with slight pressure and increase until you get a response. The horse moves away from the pressure, turning to the inside and maintaining the canter.
3. Apply pressure with both
legs and continue to keep rein and leg pressure as the horse turns.
When the horse is moving into a circle pattern, apply pressure with both legs to guide him through the circle and to keep the circle from getting smaller or breaking. Use more leg pressure than you would at the trot. Start with light pressure and increase until you get a response.
4. When the circle’s complete,
move your hands back to the center of your horse.
Remember
Only slightly reduce the amount of pressure from your legs, being sure not to take your legs off the horse completely.
Figure 15-7: Maintain rein
and leg pressure at the canter in English to keep the horse turning in a circle.
Trying a Couple of Balancing Exercises
A good way to develop your riding
skills is to practice circles at the lope or canter on the lunge line. The lunge
line (also called a longe line) is a long rope that attaches to the
horse’s bridle; your instructor or another person familiar with the task holds
the other end of the rope, standing in the center of the circle created by the
horse’s movement. In some cases, the person holding the lunge line also holds a
lunge whip as a visual cue to encourage the horse to move forward in the
circle.
Your riding instructor can help
you with the exercises in the following sections by controlling the horse on
the lunge line as you practice your balance at the lope or canter. That way,
you can focus on what you’re doing with your body and rather than on making the
horse go forward.
Look, Ma, no hands! Western lunge line work
The following exercise (in Figure
15-8) teaches you balance at the lope and discourages you from using the reins
to balance:
1. With the horse on the lunge
line, the instructor asks the horse to pick up the lope.
Figure 15-8: With your instructor holding the lunge line, keep your arms at your sides as the horse lopes.
2. When the horse is loping,
place the reins on his neck or over the pommel of the saddle and allow your
arms to hang loosely at your sides.
Drop the reins completely. Let go!
3. The horse lopes in a circle
around your instructor as you practice balancing without having your hands on
the reins.
One-handed English lunge line work
Tip
A good way for hunt seat and dressage riders to learn balance without depending on the reins is to canter on the lunge line (see Figure 15-9):
1. With the horse on the lunge
line, the instructor asks the horse to pick up the canter.
2. When the horse is cantering,
you place the reins in one hand; rest this hand on the horse’s withers and
extend the other arm outward away from your body.
You can start by extending the arm on the inside of the circle and then switch to the other arm for a continuation of this exercise if your instructor so chooses.
3. The horse canters in a
circle around your instructor as you practice balancing with one arm out and
the other holding loose reins.
Figure 15-9: Extend one arm
away from your body while your instructor controls the horse’s movement.
by Audrey Pavia with Shannon Sand
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