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CANTERING
LOPING
   
Western riders say lope.
English
riders say canter.
it is the same thing.
A nice slow smooth consistent three beat gait.
a horse cannot canter properly unless they have gone thru
proper suppling and bending exercises.
A horse must be on either the right lead or the left lead.
Many people have questions about cantering
draft horses.
The horses that I train are broke at about 18-24 months old.
They are ridden
for approx 30 days.
Then they return to pasture for the rest of the year.
It is important
during this first 30-day period to make this experience
as enjoyable and fun as possible for the horse.
During this stage, the young horse is molded
and embedded with traits and characteristics that influence
lifelong behaviors.
This called the ripple effect.
It would be wise to give this
careful thought.
Everyone.
Think carefully about this.
Its another one of the big
ones.
What time of year you break a horse is up to you.
The flies of summer are an annoyance.
When asking your horse to stay completely focused on you.
you must use a lot of fly spray.
Flies
are a distraction away from the rider.
Rarely should you pass when loping in the show ring.
Your
young horse should be relaxed and confidant.
All horses should lope every time they are rode.
even
if it is only for 2 minutes.
Every horse has an un-favorite way of cantering.
Concentrate more
on this direction.
Be careful not to drill it into their heads.
YOU WILL MAKE THEM HATE IT.
Things that make a horse UN-comfortable are a deterrent to learning.
So yes canter more in this unpleasant
direction
but only in short segments.
reverse or change into doing something else.
Praise
the horse extra when they lope in this more difficult direction.
Show that you are aware of
their effort
and you are pleased.
They will be thankful to you and show it.
Young horses should be broke
in a round pen
then removed after the first day or two.
Make sure you encourage the proper lead
when you canter.
The proper lead is always the inside lead.
Only ride horses for 1 day in the round
pen and never ever see it again.
Teach all young horses the difference in speed when cantering.
This is important for many reasons.
Teach them basic voice commands like whoa
. Cluck the
trot. Kiss to canter.
Everyone is a bit different.
Just remember to be consistent with your
voice commands
and you will be fine.
When cantering for the first time,
only canter about
20-30 feet and say whoa.
Back up a step or three,
pet the horse,
and then I depart
off to the canter again.
Repeat this many times during your session.
Every time you stop, pet and
pet and pet the young horse.
Clearly show you are very pleased
& always try hard to create
confidence in abundance.
This is by far the most important tool in your tool belt as a trainer.
Canter
immediately after your 10 minute supping session,
which should be the first thing you do
on your
horse depending on the horses advancement.
Putting 30 days of training on your horse
by a
professional trainer
and taking lessons on your horse
during this time is by far
the
easiest way to navigate this stage of training
once you go thru it
with a pro
and become familiar with all its little tricks,
you can easily do by yourself
click here to buy the complete draft horse training book.
questions...?
sarashalda@aol.com
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