Want to keep that effortless, balanced rhythm throughout your hunter rounds? Start by learning to adjust your horse’s canter stride on the flat.
Here’s an advanced training maneuver from hunter/jumper trainer Greg Prince that will help you lengthen and shorten your horse’s canter stride.
Set up four ground poles evenly around a large circle within your arena, so you can walk a curved line of 60 feet (four strides) from the center to the center of each pole. (If your arena can’t accommodate this size, try a smaller circle of 48 feet, three strides, between the poles.) Trot through this circular grid, the pinwheel, a few times to familiarize your horse with the poles.
Then establish an organized, balanced canter and enter the pinwheel, riding an even four strides between the poles. You’ll have to concentrate on many factors at once to make this exercise work:
This exercise demands that you practice many of the skills you need to ride a hunter course successfully. How many times have you entered the ring with a great canter, but lost the rhythm by the fourth or fifth jump? This is your chance to practice maintaining your horse’s canter stride between each pole, just the way you would through a series of jumps.
But since riding over poles doesn’t stress your horse’s legs at all, you can practice the pinwheel exercise as often as you need. Be patient—you’ll need several days of practice before you’ll be able to successfully negotiate this exercise.
Further Reading
How to Count Strides between Jumps
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View Comments
I'm a beginner in hunt program and saw this article and thought it may help. The only problem is that you lost me after the first paragraph. Pictures of what you are referring to would help greatly. I do like the articles and have printed many of them for reference. I just don't understand what the author is talking about without pictures (no, I'm not a kid, but do need to "see" to understand).
Thank you for your wonderful website!!!
Coming across this article was a prayer answered. For weeks I was stumped as far as finding an efficient way to shorten/lengthen stride in the same manner as one would find in the hunter competition rings. Thank you horsechannel, for giving us (hunter/jumpers) a fabulous exercise.
I enjoy these training articles very much, but diagrams would be really helpful. Thanks.
great article. My horses are not hunters but this is a great article! thanks
Good article
Great article!This will help me as a train my all-rounder who does everything from barrels to halter to jumping!!
interesting
What a great idea.
Good article!