I'm riding Ri as he recovers from his abscess, which resolved a few days ago. He is not quite 100% so we are just walking and trotting, but I think in a few days we'll be back to our regularly scheduled boot camp.
Imagine your dream-canter!
It's good to have a goal in your mind, and an image of the canter you want. I have a mental image of a Riley that will be cantering like Don Juan De Hus, the horse in the photo from the last post, in this photo (I don't have permission to post), and in the video below. If for some reason you can't wait through the trot to see the canter, it starts at 2:11. Is it not awesome?
Might as well make it this the goal! Because there is no downside to dreaming it. :-)
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I was blessed to actually ride a horse with a canter like that. Oh my gosh, what a feeling! I know neither of my horses will ever have a lofty, rocking-horse canter to that degree, so occassionally I allow myself to reminisce back to the days I was blessed to ride that gifted canterer. Whoo! That sets the bar! :)
ReplyDelete(P.S. I used to be "FriesianWelshx," but I killed my entire hotmail account because I now have gmail, and it wouldn't let me sign up with the same name for some reason. Just thought you deserved to know with whom you were talking. ;) )
The loft in that canter is insane. It is almost difficult to believe that it is natural. Good image choice!
ReplyDeleteLovely relaxed horse... no thrashing tail. He looks very happy to be working. The stretchy trot circle was gorgeous too. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteHoly cats! What a canter! What an awesome goal for you and Riley!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful canter. I notice he keeps a very low tail carriage for the whole test as though he's going along with his bum tucked in.
ReplyDeleteI think he defines an engaged hind end.
ReplyDeleteI ride a horse that *USED* to have a practically-in-place, rocking horse canter. I will never forget the first time I felt that. It certainly was nothing like the hunter canters I'd felt for the rest of my life! This guy was beautifully dressage-trained (I always guess to about Second Level), but since he's not been ridden dressage now for many, many years he he doesn't offer that canter anymore. Now you get an ordinary, fairly strung-out canter - still comfortable, but definitely NOT the same. And no, neither I or his owner have any idea how to ask him to do the old one! :-) (Doesn't matter, all he does now is W/T on trails - he's also 23 years old)
ReplyDeleteStacey, I think you will be able to get a nice, lofty canter from Ri and I wish you much luck and perseverance!
I would love to see this video with the correct aspect ratio. The fun-house tall thin look is very distracting.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was just me.... ;-)
DeleteWell, you can always view it on youtube :-). I think I just used the embed code straight from their site...
DeleteIt's the same there. Obviously not something YOU did!
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