Exercises in canter

[mags]

Really pleased with how our walk and trots doing but our canter still tend to be quite flat and hollow.

He finds it very difficult to engage his hind quarters and round his back, which shows up more in canter. Hoping to sort some lesson shortly now Xmas is out of the way, but any exercises that could help with our canter would be greatfully received

[zannado]

Robin's canter tends to be flat and split ie he doesn't put the diagonal pair down together, and he swings his qaurters in. Exercises I do to help are a little bit of halfpass to bring the shoulders in, much easier than pushing the qaurters out. nothing fancy just a metre or two to striaghten him up. On his worse rein I also do a bit of leg-yield or shoulder fore, which is a teeny shoulder-in in canter, again to straighten him. Other than that i tend to work on transitions using simple changes, as the canter is much better from walk instead of trot. I try to keep the canters reasonably short as he finds it quite hard work when he actually goes properly, and i always start of in a light seat on a 20m circle and encourage him to stretch down and round his back beofre I attempt to sit to the canter which can make him hollow.

Sorry for waffling, don't know if that's any help...

[mags]

Thanks Rosanna, some useful ideas there.

[touchstone]

Plenty of transitions, practice riding a 20m circle, gradually spiralling to make it smaller and larger again, shallow serpentines, simple changes, all on both reins of course!!