Counter-Bend to pick up Correct Canter Leads

After reading a few blogposts today, I felt inspired to talk a bit about the counter-bend and it's usefulness in loading the correct shoulder for canter departs.  I find this exercise to be beneficial for the horse as it learns not to always go where his nose is pointing, it helps him correct his own balance and teaches him to canter off the aids rather than off a marker (like a corner). It also has the distinct advantage of teaching canter departs without anticipation and off the rail.

First, I'd like to review the aids for canter:

1. Inside Leg @ The Girth and ON at the girth (not necessarily hard, but the leg must distinctly come onto the horse's inside.
2. Outside Leg slightly back and gently on -  Swinging your outside leg back by 2 feet and squeezing should not be the aid.

And now the aids for Counter-Bend:

 With an inside bend on the first half of a figure eight followed by the second half of the figure 8 while maintaining the bend (and thus counter-bending through the second half of the figure 8).

- Both hands should move in unison and as if you are moving a book over on the shelf. An opening outside rein to encourag the horse to move in counter-bend around the circle and a light inside neck-rein will assist the horse in maintaining the appropriate bend through the counter half of the figure 8.

- Your seat should be weighted in the direction of movement and not in the direction of the bend. This is to ensure that your horse's weight moves underneath of you in the later half of the fig. 8.

Alright, so now that you have your counter-walk and counter-walk circles, your horse is light in his mouth using demi-arrets as necessary and your horse is off your leg, you can begin teaching the canter departs using the counter bend.

Say you start on the right rein with a left inside bend and trot. Go across the short diagonal and DO NOT change your bend. Simply maintain the same bend so that you are in counter bend. Once around the short side go across the diagonal again, maintaining the same bend and asking your horse ever so slightly for counter shoulder-in here. Between X and the rail, ask your horse to canter using the correct aids. Your horse will always pick up the correct canter-lead in this fashion.

Why?

Because a canter stride functions in the following way: Outside hind, inside hind-outside fore, inside fore. If you weight the outside fore in a counter shoulder-in, you have achieved freedom of the inside shoulder AND because of the counter shoulder in and the trailing of the haunch, you have achieved freedom of the outside hind, you have perfectly set-up your horse to pick up the correct canter lead diagonal. As an added bonus, you've also taught your horse the correct aids for canter.

There are many variations of this exercise and you can ask for the canter just about anywhere out of the counter-bending exercise. This exercise works on young horses as well as older horses and stops bucking in transitions as well as anticipation.

Happy Riding!

Smiles,
K