In reply to a message, but I didn't
find the author's email :
I don' agree very much on the
assertion that canter is more traumatizing than trot. If you post at the trot
you will quickly notice which is your horse's preferred leg. If you lunge
a horse (at the trot) this will also clearly appears by watching the way the
horse positions his neck.
If horses are told to canter of both
legs, even, balanced, first in an arena, on strait lines, then on large circles,
they will find their balance. Then one has to care for changing the led on a
regular basis. A well trained horse will do that when you reverse your aids (my
3 horses do that easily but they did learned it from the beginning - I remember
I was able to do the same with Steph's Morab (Benji) on the second day
that I rode him, since he started to admit my aids and listen to them).
I remember the WEG in Compiègne in
2000, with Orfeo, we cantered almost all the time except in the hills. The same
in Elvas in 99 for the EC, and also in Dubai in 2000. I
rode the 80miles in Compiègne this year with another horse and we cantered also
75% of the time (he is a young horse, less experienced, less trained so I
allowed several gentle trot periods to allow him to use other muscles).
Leonard
