Canter Protocol

-
I do lots of different kinds of rides, with lots of different kinds of riders. But cantering always has me stumped. I have an established checklist of rules, but not everybody shares my view on this. Here is the short version
  • I do not ride on trail with anybody who is not comfortable cantering their horse (at least in an arena). I don't want their first canter experience to be the spook and bolt when their horse sees a deer. I will occasionally make an exception to this rule for very short and controlled trail rides within proximity to the barn.
  • I do not race.
  • The order we start in, must be maintained until the end. No passing. With some of my trail buddies we will canter side by side, and it is glorious!
  • I do not gallop. I have made a few exceptions to this rule with individuals that I trust, and on a trail I know well. The gallop stretch never lasts very long.
  • I do not canter up ravines or anywhere I do not have a long line of sight. Again, I sometimes make exceptions to this on easy sloped ravines with a clear view ahead.
  • I never canter downhill. No exceptions. Soft tissue injuries taught me an important lesson here.
  • I do not canter when the footing isn't perfect. No mud, no rocks, no stumps, no roots, no gravel.
  • I do not canter without fair warning of transitions. If you take off cantering without having told me, I will never ride with you again. Even if my horse wasn't bothered by it.

All this means that my canter stretches are rarely very long (see footing and sight requirements above), nor very fast, and I usually will not canter with a new trail buddy until we have had several successful rides at a walk and trot and I have seen how much control they have.

I am blessed to have had horses that are comfortable walking when the other horses are galloping away, and I have never hesitated to just stop my horse until the yahoos get their yayas out. And then of course I never ride with them again.

Usually I am the trail leader. Often it is because I know the trails better than anyone, and also because I often have a "trail plan". Every once in a while, with buddies T, B or M, I will take a back seat and just follow along. But I have done hundreds of rides with these three and I know what I am signing up for when we go out. T goes fast and short, B goes long and slow, and M goes short and slow. And all three of them are amazing conversationalists.

So last week I took out my new buddy and boarder MJ and halfway into the trail she asked to canter (she was in second position). I wasnt quite "ready" but I knew the trail well, knew she wouldn't be able to pass me on the narrow wooded path, and MJ and her horse had been absolute rockstars up until then. So I said sure, and jumped to a canter. Q was hot and bothered by the dragon behind us (a stout part draft that really pumps the pistons hard at the canter) but he kept his pace reluctantly and give me more "up" than "forward". I guess it wasn't so bad because she asked again an hour later.

It all made me wonder. Maybe Im too strict. But I just feel like things can go wrong so quickly at the canter. And Im just not comfortable cantering in all situations.

Do you canter on the trail? Do you have rules? Are my rules too strict?


Comments

  1. lythaAugust 5, 2020 at 9:42 AM

    I learned a new word today. "Ghosting." It's unfortunate how often I've ghosted people who could have been horsey friends (neighbors). Ladies who, after assuring me we'd go out for a slow ride with my new mare (Mara), they took off cantering. WTH is wrong with people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DAugust 5, 2020 at 10:08 AM

      It becomes a little harder to "ghost" people that are in the same barn ... but I have done it. ;-)

      Sometimes I watch the videos on the facebook group of ASTHE and am aghast at people racing and galloping past each other, with one person asking to stop and everybody else just laughing. I dont see it as a joke.

      Delete
  2. carolAugust 5, 2020 at 12:26 PM

    My trail rules are very similar to your trail rules, except I always offer to take turns letting another horse lead or follow, even when I know the trail best. Being able to follow or lead should be part of a good trail horses experience, and it helps to give the rider and horse courage. I like to change the leader many times during the ride, not just once.
    Happy Trails,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DAugust 11, 2020 at 8:55 AM

      Carol that is an excellent point! I also make a habit of switching the lead horse, going to the middle or the last position. My horse does well in all spots. And I think I shall do that next time my neighbour wants to canter. Hopefully she wont lose me in her dust. ;-)

      Delete
  3. TeresaAAugust 5, 2020 at 1:44 PM

    I like your rules and it would make me feel very comfortable riding with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DAugust 11, 2020 at 8:56 AM

      I like that you like my rules and that would make me feel very comfortable riding with you too! ;-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gotcha Day

-
Image
Four years ago today I made a scary decision of offering to purchase a 3 year old untrained andalusian stallion from Florida, sight unseen. It flew in the face of everything I thought about purchasing a horse. It was all business, and based on the breeders understanding of what I wanted to do with the horse. The breeder had 20 colts and fillies of the same age to sell, and my Q was the least dressage flashy and the most in-your-pocket of the bunch. And his conformation made him well suited for working equitation or western riding. We did fly down to meet Q and the breeder before we had him shipped from Florida to Quebec in the spring. But by then the wire transfers and vet checks were done. It was more like an arranged marriage kind of meeting. It actually turned out to be smart, because once we got there and saw all the other horses, I was in awe of the tremendous beauties also for sale. Had I not already made and executed on my (rational) choice, I might have made a different cho
Read more

Pocketful of mints, aka the slowroll

-
Image
It has been over twenty-five years since I did a solo trail ride bareback. Today was the day. Q was amazing, and gave me the confidence to ride on the buckle most of the way. When we came up to a road crossing, I got nervous because I could hear an unseen car climbing the road and was afraid it was the roadster sans muffler that had been gunning it up and down the road earlier. So I asked Q to trot, and he steadily complied with the smoothest transitions. Comfy and confident! The last time I had done this was with my first QH Rocky that I moved from Canada to Costa Rica (in the winter - bad idea) to live on the Pacific Ocean with me. We would go ride on the beach and in the ocean and bareback was the way to go. It was mostly walking around and I honestly don’t remember galloping bareback since my poney days as a teenager. Of course my new best friends bareback pad is amazing. It provides a little cushion, gives a stickiness to my seat with the suede-like top and adheres to Q
Read more

Bliss in slow motion

-
It was a lovely mild day and I headed out with my pals for two hours of walking and trotting bliss in the forest. I caught this short moment trotting in slow motion. To help Q forget his snorting piaffing ways, we did 30 minutes of lunging, 15 minutes of riding trot in the arena ... and then headed out in leading and following positions on the buckle. Ahhh, nice to get my horse back. ;-)
Read more

Ouch says the ground

-
Image
Zoom, zoom ... ouch. Finally one of the coolest days is here. Sunny, blue skies, low humidity and temps in mid-twenties. Perfect riding weather. Particularly after our surprise storm on Wednesday that left tons of debris and fallen trees and branches on the trails. Surprise storm brewing a few days ago. Within a few minutes, there were huge circular gusts of wind, almost like a Tornado. The next day volunteer crews were out removing the fallen trees. But some trails still have significant debris. I was heading out with trail buddy C and her azteca mare to explore section 5. I told her I needed some media for my summer challenge. She was happy to oblige not quite knowing what other objectives I had in mind. Most of the trail was lovely and I even tackled the jump trail, with a series of cross-country log jumps, for the first time. Q was just simply amazing, leading sometimes or in the back sometimes. The two horses have a trot that is simply in s
Read more

Prague, dark and moody

-
Image
When asked what I thought about Prague I always answered the same thing : dark. My last trip here dates to almost twenty years ago, in a cold November week where I spent most of my time drinking hot mulled wine in the old town square avoiding gypsies. Tales of ghosts, hidden passageways and underground tunnels, the stark period of the iron curtain, torture museums, castle dungeons ... it was all dark. Tyn Church in the iconic town square A view down the Vltava River A view up the Vltava River towards Prague Castle (from Vysehrad Castle) A view down the Vltava River from the Vysehrad Castle. Its a windy sailing day. Fast forward in time and there are some differences but Prague is still moody. Tourists are abundant and things that used to be free are now being charged at every opportunity. We are struggling with all the currency we are handling and their respective conversions (Hungarian forint, Euros, Polish Zlotis, Czech Crowns ... and soon British pounds)
Read more