This message is from: beth gerst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
On the subject of cantering. With correct, proper training from the beginning I do believe any horse can learn to canter well and in a balanced correct frame. If we think back to the days where horses actually were free and ran in herds they all GALLOPED with one another which means there is no reason horses cannot learn to canter in a nice frame balancing the weight of the rider and their own body. Some horses will take much longer than others to learn the proper way and the rider must have an abundance of patience to get a well balanced canter done correctly. I do cringe when I see not just Fjords but other horse breeds in the show ring being run into the canter from this crazy fast trot then the horse takes off into a uncontrollable canter that looks like something out of a Thewell cartoon book. If the time is taken to correctly train the horse then the horse will easily produce a beautiful canter for the rider. I do believe that the horses confirmation will dictate how comfortable the canter will be as well as the trot on some horses. But, again correct training and teaching the horse to round his body and to balance himself will only improve all of his gaits not just the canter. The horse should be working from the hind end and not just dragging his rider from the front end which I see happen in this breed a lot. Good luck to all that are schooling the canter.....give it time, patience and above all correct training from the beginning.
Beth and Lex in CT. The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
