Learning To canter

After I'd mastered rising trot, holding the reins, ensuring my posture was right and i'd got into the rhythm, my teacher had been hinting for a while I'd be learning to canter soon.

I have to say, I was excited yet very nervous about this notion. I know, from reading that the cantering gait is a three leg one that is faster than the trot.

definition of Cantering

a three-beat gait of a horse or other quadruped between a trot and a gallop

[American Oxford dictionary]

The canter is a three-beat gait, meaning that there are three footfalls heard per stride. Each footfall is the "grounding" phase of a leg. The three footfalls are evenly spaced, and followed by the "suspension" phase of the gait, which is when all four legs are off the ground. The three beats and suspension are considered one stride. The movement for one stride is as follows:

• 1 Beat One: the grounding phase of the outside hind leg. There are many riders who think a front leg is the first beat of the canter, which is incorrect. At this time, the other three legs are off the ground.
• 2 Beat Two: the simultaneous grounding phase of the inside hind leg and outside fore leg. The inside fore leg is still off the ground. The outside hind leg (beat one), is still touching the ground, but is about to be lifted off.
• 3 Beat Three: The grounding phase of the inside foreleg. The outside hind leg (beat one), is off the ground. The inside hind leg and outside foreleg are still touching the ground, but are about to be lifted up.
• 4 The inside hind leg and outside foreleg (beat two) are lifted off the ground. The inside foreleg is the only foot supporting the horse's weight.
• 5 The inside foreleg is lifted off the ground.
• 6 Suspension: The horse has all four legs off the ground.

[Wikipedia]

First Try

We switched horses to learn to canter as the horse I had been riding, Bella, was not suitable for learning on for a complete nubi like me. And so in walked Shadow.

Shadow is bigger than any of the horses I've ridden so far. He's white and a gentle giant with a very smooth gait. Some horses are bouncy while others are very smooth when in movement, hence why Shadow was chosen for me to learn on.
I fell into Shadow's rhythm in the trot so easily I knew instantly he'd been a great choice on my teacher's behalf to learn a new stride on.

After I'd done a few successful trots, time to canter had come.

Logistics of the First Canter

as with trotting, initially I learn to hold the saddle and also wove my fingers through a portion of the horse's mane for extra grip. Shoulders back so you're not leaning forward on his shoulders which is a tendency as you go faster. The trick with cantering is to move, like with other gaits, with the horse's rhythm but this stride is at such a speed all what you should be doing does literally fly out of your head.

Safe to say, my first few weeks were a no go whatsoever.

After one session with the owner of the stables where I ride in which she did a technique with me that truly sunk into my wind swept brain, my subsequent weeks have been slightly more successful.

Trick to Adjust

because cantering is about sitting right into your saddle and relaxing your lower half of your body to become one with the horse, it's vital you sit low in the saddle and RELAX! Yes, I know, like anyone else who has learnt to canter, I thought, "Relax? While this huge animal is going at a new speed underneath me, yeah right?" But it's vital to understand this. So my instructor, after another failed attempt did a cool little technique to get me to relax and sit right in my saddle.

Have a clear run where you can achieve a good trot in a straight lIne. Then have your horse stand for a few moments. Take both feet out of your stirrups, picking one up, and placing it gently across the horse's neck. Then, do the same with the other stirrup so they're crossed over each other and your legs are hanging free. Instantly you'll feel lower in the saddle. Then, holding onto the saddle, as you do in a sitting trot, holding the reins in one hand, ask your horse to trot and feel the difference. Your body is forced to sink into the saddle and this is what you need to achieve while in canter.

Following Sessions

After this quick technique, something seemed to click in my rider's head. The following week, my first attempt was haphazard but the second attempt was slightly better, minus the fact Shadow wanted to trot rather than canter. But I felt a little more positive about it.

Then the next week, during a mighty rain storm, I tried the canter again. And to my surprise, my hips moved with the rhythm, I was low in my saddle, legs were not interferinG with what I was needing to do and I was so pleased I finally had found my canter.

Future

So in a way, your up to speed. That was my last class so after the next one, we'll see if it's a fluke or if cantering is in my future for sure. I know once I've mastered it holding onto the saddle, holding the reins shall be the next challenge. I'm thoroughly enjoying this adventure and hope you are all enjoying reading about it to.

The one thing I haven't caught you all up with is the stable management side of things but that's for another entry.

thanks for reading.
Marie

Up, down, Up Down

If anyone has learnt to rise trot, bet most of you have heard those words, over and over again.

The rising trot is notoriously hard to master but once its done, you'll wonder what all the frustration was about.

The first time I raised myself out of those stirrups and gripped onto the saddle for dear life, it did cross my mind, what on earth I was doing on the back of such a tall creature, effectively standing up and sitting down at a rhythm.

My Achilles Heel?

At the time, I'd say this was the bane of my existence. I never in a million years thought I'd get the gist of rising trot.

What is it?

As I said last week, the trot is a two gait pace and this doesn't change in rising trot. Only what the rider does adjusts during this way of riding.
The rider has to rise and fall in the saddle, keeping their balance as sitting on the horses' back is too uncomfortable for both horse and rider. So if we rise in a trot, the rider and horse get a much enjoyable ride.

You initially learn to rise, with the reins in one hand and with your hand on the saddle. And once that is mastered, time to let go of the saddle and hold the reins in both hands so you have control over the horse.

Due to an injured foot last summer and a harsh winter followed by a nasty virus, I missed out on a lot of riding last year and earlier this so my rising trot seems to have taken me years to master. I'm not sure how long it has taken but it is one thing I'm glad to achieved.

With the rising trot, you almost feel like you'll never get there and your instructor continually encourages, "Up, down, up, down".

Rising up and down in the saddle with nothing effectively to cling to is rather daunting for someone with no vision, at least that was my experience. But once your over the fear, the riding comes naturally, at least for me.

another one's coming soon. The entries will be slightly different after the next one as I've almost caught you all up to where my learning continues. Two more blogs methinks and we'll be on a regular weekly round up on that day's events.

Thanks as always for reading.
Marie

First Weeks of Trotting

My first few weeks of riding quickly progressed to a sitting trot. This is where the rider stays seated holding the reins in one hand and holding onto the saddle in the other. Trotting is probably the most uncomfortable gait to stay seated, at least that's what I've found.

Trotting

Trotting is a two leg gait where the opposite legs move in sync I.E. front left and back right and vice versa.

My Initial Reaction

I always wanted to ride as I've said in previous posts but once I began, I wanted to succeed more than ever at horse riding. For me, this was something my mum and I finally had in common, we are quite different in regards to our interests so when I finally started riding I felt I had to do well to keep that common interest alive. There was never any pressure from her but it was finally nice to enjoy something that she and I both loved.

Trotting scared me a little at first but Harry, who I was still riding for those first few weeks really helped me to ease into trotting, even sitting. And before long we started on the rising trot.

More on that next time.
Thanks for reading again,
Marie

Harry: My First Time Mounting a Horse

I can vividly remember this day. [by the way, I am not including any pre riding done on a non learning basis here]. It was sunny, relatively warm for spring and a Saturday. Lots of kids were at the stables and I felt a little silly learning to ride alongside youngsters. I'm making myself sound so old right now but twenty-six versus six, I know which I'd rather be.

They didn't have a mounting block as such, just a little step stool a year ago. And this is where I met Harry.

Harry is one of the funniest fellas down at the stable. Since getting to know him, he has some great habits and they all make him who he is. :

Harry's a slower horse and this is why they probably chose him for me to try out. I'm guessing they were as anxious about my first lesson as I was.

Mounting

I had been on a horse a few times before so I knew that I had to place my left foot in the left stirrup and swing my right over the horse's rump without kicking him. I was still very nervous and once in the saddle the young girl who was going to teach was introduced to me. I had a leader which basically means someone is holding a leading rope attached to the horse's bridle as you ride. And off we all went on a trail walk.

I must say something here that some may agree or disagree with. Where I ride are plenty of fields and farm tracks, we live in a very agricultural, hilly landscape so a flat, controlled arena is not always available. There is a school for jumping and such on the land but actual rides go out through the tracks and fields. Many disagree with this level of learning for a variety of reasons, whether it be muscle control, safety, balance, etc, but so far it's worked a treat for me.

Sitting on the back of a horse has never feared me. Despite having zero sight I trust the people who were leading us and having been a dancer, my balance and movement seems to be rather natural in the walking gait.

Walking Gait

The gait, is how the horse's stride is measured and so the walking Gait is where the animal uses each foot at once to propel its body into movement. I.E. one foot in front of the other. I will talk more about the other Gaits later on, when we come to them.

Walking is the slowest of the gaits unless, you are on a really slow horse then that could be considered as a good old stroll.

I can honestly say I felt so free sitting there, holding the reins in my hand, still with no control over the beautiful horse beneath me but the freedom I felt was overwhelming. I have expressed in my previous post that I felt a little apprehensive about asking for riding lessons but after that first session, I was very much put at ease. All of the girls leading were friendly and the owner and our teacher were very open minded. Needless to say I returned the week after.

So after mounting, riding for a little while, around thirty minutes or so, we had to dismount.

Dismounting

Sitting in the saddle, you drop your reins, remove your feet from both stirrups and holding on to the front of the saddle, [remember I ride English style living in the UK], swing the right leg back over the horse's rump avoiding making contact with the animal and jump down onto the ground. Harry wasn't the biggest horse I've been on, and it would probably feel like a step off compared to some of the horses I've ridden lately.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this entry. I've never written this kind of blog before so if you have any questions you'd like me to answer or points to address in future blogs, please Email Me
Thanks for reading,
see you next time,
Marie

"You ride? And you're Blind?"

When I started riding a little over a year ago, at the grand old age of twenty-six, I looked around online for blogs and articles about blind horse riders and found very little. This didn't stop me continuing of course but I often wonder how others adjust in the saddle. The experience is definitely different for visually impaired riders, not to say they cannot achieve the same enjoyment and competitive achievements but from the moment of sitting in a saddle to walking, trotting and further advancement, the experience, like many others in our daily lives are different.as well as our own adjustments, the attitudes of the rest of the world can vary when you tell people you ride and you are also blind; as you will see in this blog.I have wanted to ride from such a young age. My mum had her own horses growing up and I can vividly remember seeing pictures and books of her horses and about horses and was instantly attracted to them. I wanted to ride so much but because I had a visual impairment, no one wanted to teach me. So I took up theatre instead.Several years ago I had a riding lesson and really loved it but it was a trek getting to the stables so just over a year ago, I was adamant I would learn to ride and decided I'd just go. The day I bought my hat, we asked if there was anyone locally and the girl in the shop informed us of the riding stables I now attend. I called the owner up, filled with anxiety and nervousness. I explained that I was totally blind and would she mind if I could have a trial. She was very friendly and invited me to go for a ride that weekend and see how I went. I've been there ever since.Due to a foot injury last summer, I didn't progress as I would have liked to but because of the time off, we'll say I've been riding for eight months, what with snow fall and illness, it's probably been that long. Three weeks ago I began to learn to canter so you can see how I progressed.I'm passionate about riding. I'm in awe of these amazing animals and I am thankful to the stable owner and the young lady who has taught me every week to mount, walk, sit trot, rise trot, and now onto cantering.I will break down my experiences in individual blogs and I will blog my progress from here on out. I just want people to know, that just because you are totally blind, riding and taking care of horses is so possible to every extent.Hope you enjoy and I look forward to your feedback