30/ NOVEMBER 2020 THE RIDER


Use the “Canter-Trot” to Truly Engage the Hind End


By Kathy Farrokhzad, The word “engage-


ment” is second to none when it comes to horseback riding. All the disciplines ask for hind end engage- ment, from western per- formance to dressage to jumping to endurance riding - there is no other way to move than from the hind end!


We know why we want


engagement: if we can get the horse moving “from the hind end”, the horse can stay sound even while ridden into


old age. With more weight shifted to the hind end, there is less dragging on the fore- hand. There is better weight bearing over the back, and the lighter footfalls save the joints and tendons. Energy from the hind end is the pre- requisite for horse riding heaven and we all know that!


However, we might not


be quite as accomplished when it really comes down to figuring out how we can develop hind end engage- ment. Many riders think that kicking the horse along and


making the legs move faster is the ticket to engagement - but that is nothing further than the truth! So if faster isn’t the an-


swer, then what is? We need to find out


how to ask the horse to reach deeper underneath the body without


throwing their


weight to the forehand, and without speeding up the leg tempo. There are many meth-


ods to teaching engagement but the “canter-trot” is rela- tively easy for both the horse and rider. It also accom-


plishes the main purpose of shifting the weight to the hind end and waking up the horse’s rear engine muscles.


How to “Canter-Trot” 1. Start from any gait (even a reverse) 2. Canter (no more than three strides) 3. Then Trot Before you get insulted


by the seemingly simple in- structions above, please take note: it’s not as easy as it sounds! Possible Errors There might be several


unwanted responses you will have to redirect before you get the desired result.


1. The horse wants to can- ter off into the sunset. Many horses transition


into the canter but then resist breaking back into the trot. There may be many reasons why but invariably, horses have an easier time staying in the canter (and eventually getting heavier and heavier to the forehand). This is be- cause it takes a lot of hind end work to break the mo- mentum of the canter! Remember that this ex-


ercise is not intended to be a canter exercise. It is a can- ter-TROT exercise, so the horse has to break back into the trot within one, two or three canter strides.


2. The horse trots faster. To engage the hind


end, the horse must take a few canter strides. Just mov- ing the legs faster into the trot is completely counter- productive to establishing hind end engagement. If the horse just trots


along faster, half-halt into a slower trot rhythm, and ask for the canter again. Then trot.


3. The horse shows dis- comfort.


There might be ear pin-


ning, tail swishing, teeth grinding, hopping... you name it. Basically, the horse is indicating either physical discomfort or mental stress. First, ensure that there


is nothing wrong with the tack, and there is nothing otherwise physically bother- ing the horse. If the horse is demonstrating confusion or frustration, you are likely taking him out of his com- fort zone (comfortable = rid- ing on the forehand?) and asking him to do something that he honestly finds diffi- cult.


In this case, be gentle,


calm and patient but be firm! Many horses get used to working on a heavy fore- hand and initially resist bearing weight on the hind legs. If this happens to be the case, then teaching the horse hind end engagement is even more essential than you think!


Keep trying for the


canter and when you get it, trot.


What happens after the canter? After the few canter


strides, break back into the trot. This trot should be very different from the trots be- fore the canter. It should feel more active, bouncier and


even slower. If the hind legs are truly reaching farther un- derneath the body, the stride might become longer and more ground-covering. At


this point, you


might want to enjoy the trot you have and move into fur- ther trot work from here. You might want to develop even more engagement and do a few more canter-trots in a row.


Alternately, you might


want to move into a com- pletely new movement that benefits from the deeper en- gagement you just achieved. The key to the canter-


trot is that you can use it anywhere, anytime. If you feel that your horse could use a little more energy, in- stead of kicking, prodding or begging (!!), just canter! And then, trot!


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collec- tion, Goal Setting For The Equestrian: A Personal Workbook, and the creator of the Practice Sessions on- line program. If you liked what you read here, check out her blog at HorseListen- ing.com for many more arti- cles about horses, riding and life in general.


Don’t miss our next issue. Deadline is November 21st


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