NOVEMBER 2022 THE RIDER /29


Simple Change Your Way To Better Gaits (Exercise) Step 1 Start on the rail in trot, on the left


rein at V. When you reach A, canter, left


lead. Begin a 3-loop serpentine as you pass A. Because it’s a serpentine, you


should cut the corner instead of go deep into it. You can keep your horse on a mild bend - the same bend you would have if you’re on a 20-m circle. Each of the three loops are half of


a 20-m circle. Once you’ve completed one loop, you reach center line. At this point, transition to trot. You will do a simple change, meaning change the lead through the trot as you cross over the center line. You might need 3-5 strides in trot


By Kathy Farrokhzad.


This one is fast and active and fun! Let’s put together three “simple”


figures to create a challenging exercise that will get you and your horse bending AND going straight while playing with up and down transitions. Our goal is to improve the quality


of the trot and canter through the use of simple changes - canter to trot and then back to canter again. We also want to work on changes


of direction in canter so that we can work both sides of the horse evenly - stretching the outside (and contracting the inside) of the horse’s body as we turn. Keep in mind that you want the horse’s flexion (corner of the eye) to the inside, and a bend through the body on the half-circles. If you need more infor- mation on bend, read about what bend really means and use this exercise to help you establish a beginner bend in the first place.


to give you time to change bend and then go back to canter. Keep these strides straight (no diagonal lines in a serpen- tine!). You might need to transition to trot a little early, before you finish the loop so you have enough space for 3-5 strides of trot. The serpentine is finished once


you pass C. Continue to the corner, still in left lead canter.


So in effect, each gait works different muscle groups of the horse. The canter also requires the horse


to breathe in time with the canter foot- falls. The rib cage can only expand and contract with the movement, so the horse can only breathe in movement. This means that there is a fair amount of aerobic conditioning going on in canter. It also means that if your horse doesn’t regularly canter for long periods of time, you should take it easy with this exercise and give him plenty of breathing breaks in between patterns. If we work the horse in both gaits,


we access all the physical benefits of each gait!


What Are We Looking For? Here are some signs that you’re


Step 3 Finally, our third figure is a


straight line! Don’t be fooled! It takes quite a bit of “forward” and staying “be- tween the legs and the reins” for a horse to canter on a straight line, off the rail. Now you’ll come off the rail on


the 3/4 line, meaning the quarter line past C. Carry on in right lead canter. You do have a choice to canter the


whole line, or add a simple change as you pass the EB line. Or you can canter once, and then do a simple change the next time! Always feel free to change things up as you want, to make things in- teresting and fresh for you and your horse.


A Little Theory Before we go to it, let’s discuss a


little about WHY the simple change can be helpful in quality of movement. It’s great to have a repertoire of exercises to use during a ride, but if we don’t know why we’re doing something, we’ll lose the intentional horse and rider develop- ment that is key to success. At a basic level, the canter helps


Step 2


The second figure is a teardrop. Follow the rail to V, and then as


you pass V, begin a half-circle. I’ve drawn the half-circle as 10-m, but you can choose to make it bigger, to 15 or 20-m if you want. It all depends on you and your horse and where you’re at in your training. After the half-circle, head back to


the rail at H on a diagonal line. Do another simple change over the


diagonal line. You might need to transi- tion to trot fairly early so you have time for a few trot strides before the new can- ter lead, going right. Go deep into this corner, unlike the serpentine.


improve the trot and the trot helps to im- prove the canter! Because of the differ- ence in body movement (biomechanics), each gait requires different work from the horse, especially in his rhythm, breathing and topline. The trot requires the horse to move


diagonally, and allows him to breathe fairly freely in movement. In trot, the horse can breathe within the rhythm of the movement or outside of the rhythm, much like he can at the walk. The canter is a three beat gait (with


suspension), and works the horse’s top line (and abdominals) more effectively than the trot. This is because there’s that up-and-down movement that requires stretching and contracting of the top line muscles that never happens in the trot.


making good progress with this exer- cise: • the trot slows somewhat and becomes more bouncy-bouncy (swing through the back) • the strides get longer in each gait, with- out increased leg speed • the horse “comes under” better with the hind legs, especially the inside hind foot • the horse rounds somewhat through the body, or improves if he usually moves with a flat or hollow back • you get snorts! • your horse generally has a more for- ward, free-moving attitude


If You Like... You don’t have to do any of this in


canter. You can do it all in walk or trot. You can also do a walk/trot ver-


sion where everything is in trot except for where the simple changes occur - in this case, you can transition to walk for those and then back to trot. You can also amp it up and do the


simple changes through walk. This means that you canter to walk to canter. OR, you can also do it all in canter


with flying changes instead of simple changes. The sky is the limit!


One Last Note: IF you end up with a super sensa-


tional, outstanding trot or canter, and it feels GREAT - you don’t have to con- tinue with the pattern. You can abort the pattern, and just go along the rail and allow your horse to feel and maintain that gait for some time. You can always go back to the pattern later! We’re work- ing on the quality of movement, so when you get quality of movement, celebrate! And remember to pet your horse and thank him! Have fun! If you like this sort of pattern


work, take a look at my Practice Ses- sions Premium Membership. The Prac- tice Sessions are a complete program beginning with exercises like the one above, designed to improve specific as- pects of the horse and rider. All set up and ready to go, all you have to do is watch the video, print off the pattern and head to the barn!


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collection, Goal Setting For The Eques- trian: A Personal Workbook, and the creator of the Practice Sessions online program. If you like this sort of pattern work, take a look at her Practice Ses- sions Premium - Online. The Practice Sessions are a complete program begin- ning with exercises like the one above, designed to improve specific aspects of the horse and rider.


In Memoriam: Don Barnes Canada’s dressage community


lost a tireless volunteer and EC dressage judge in October, when Don Barnes passed away after a lengthy battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Don was a rider, judge, volunteer,


show organizer and educator. In fact, it seems there is nothing that he hadn’t done for the sport. He was involved in dressage in Canada since the beginning. In the 1970s, Don rode and gave lessons at Concordia Stables in the Hamilton area. According to former students, his favourite exercise was organizing quadrilles, which often ended in chaos, and no doubt a lot of laughter. While at Concordia, Don travelled to Germany to buy a horse, whom he aptly named Next Exit, because it seemed that the sales barn was always the “next exit” off the Autobahn. Unfortunately, “Tex” never made it to the higher levels of dressage due to navicular. He turned to judging, working


his way through the levels to EC senior dressage judge by the 1990s. Don trav- elled throughout Canada and the US, while holding down a full-time position at Mohawk College as an ESL teacher and department head. Don retired from Mohawk in the early 2000s, but he never retired from judging or volunteering.


Don was president of CADORA


Inc (the national body, which at one time oversaw all dressage competitions in Canada) from the mid 1990s until 2020. He was the editor of the CADORA Om- nibus, the test booklet distributed annu- ally to members, containing the most recent USDF/EC dressage tests. He founded and organized CADORA’s an- nual “Build a Better Dressage Horse” Symposia with FEI 5* Dressage judge


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