Counter Productive

Seriously.

Thanks to CNJ for kickin' this post into full-combat blather gear.

I've meant to take umbrage at the thought that counter canter isn't a useful tool for training horses. It sure as heaven is. It is excellent work for the young horse. Never EVER (initially) on a tight-ish turn, never to make the horse lose his balance, but it's how I always taught/rode/trained flying changes, before and after riding you-know-who. Master Mister Big Bay HisSelf. (Cue the trumpets of honour)

GoLightly - remember him?

As a kid, growing up, I spent a LOT of time being a horse. We all did, I know. I spent long hours trotting, cantering, bucking, kicking, spooking. You know the drill. We all did, right? (Gawd, I hope so.) Cantering was always my favourite. I was so pleased when I finally understood the footfalls in my head, as well as in my body. 1,2,3. Suspend. You know. sigh. ANYway. The canter has a right way, AND, duh, a left way. Totally different. Remember? You do not ride only one side of the horse, but both simultaneously. The horse is still "processing" you separately, you just THINK he's one whole being. He really isn't. He's right, and left. The sooner you can feel the difference, the better. How, you ask??

Well, first, (you knew this was coming) I expect that you're pretty darned solid at the trot. Sitting, posting, able to ask for a faster or slower rhythm. Two-point, standing-straight for practice balance. No stirrups.
You Can't? It's easiest to learn how, about everything, at the trot, with it's metronome beat. (Walk, too.)

The canter is for the orchestration of both sides of you and your horse. It's the start of the big time, is cantering:) Be proud if you can do it! What you will find, at the start, is that you're "thrown" one way. THAT's your lead. The way you're being "thrown". You know how the trot is equally "throwing", yes? Well, the canter is not an equal beat. THREE beats and a hold, three beats and a hold. The hold, that throw, is your lead/direction.
Try not to fall off as you learn this.
:)
That's why if you're on the wrong lead around a corner, it feels pretty horrific. That's not the same as counter-canter. In counter-canter, the horse is balanced. A wrong-leaded horse is unbalanced, often dangerously so.

Okay, anyway, here's the harder part, for the more advanced amongst us. I've mentioned the Master SchoolMaster of all things a few times. GoLightly knew a ton of flatwork, that I'd only mostly read about, and attempted with my own experiments through the years. Hard to know if you're correct, but I seemed to do "okay".

GoLightly had kindly explained many different movements to me, as I explored his vast dictionary of correctness of training. GoLightly was my Encyclopedia Britannica:)

Counter-canter was a funny one. I'd been getting pretty frickin' good at most of our lessons, and both GoLightly and I felt a bit cocky about ourselves. I'd finally figured out how a half-pass was coordinated, how a shoulder-in should feel, how all of these movements had their basis in straightness and suppleness and lightness. I'd done two-tempi changes, and man, I thought I was genius. Always a good time for a trainer to throw down another glove.

Peter, with his usual laconic tone, said "Try working on his counter-canter, Baaaaarb". Why do trainers always drawl, when they're asking for something hard?
I guess to lull you into a sense of "easy enough."

It was interesting. I hadn't seen the expression "Oh,please, do I HAVE to?" from GoLightly since I'd used him for a beginner school horse with his original owner. Aggrieved, to the max, for him. How COULD I ask for such a terrible thing?

GoLightly gave me his first "humpfh", with my first forays into counter-canter with him. Oh, I had ridden many counter canters, asked for by me, the rider. I knew how to ask/ride them, how to try and maintain them. They weren't always pretty. I used them on long sides of arenas, and outdoors mostly, not very much in the way of turning, I'd do simple-changes (canter-trot-canter) to the correct lead around turns.

It hadn't really occurred to me how HARD they were, if the horse is perfect broke, and sensible, and likes to be balanced around his turns. The shoulder-in helps a lot with counter canter. But it doesn't ease the Yowza, that's HARD! factor. You can really start to feel the outside hind reach/WORK/"think", in counter-canter.
(quickie 'splaining. Say I'm going clockwise, but I'm on my left lead, in counter-canter. GoLightly's outside hind, is his RighT hind. It now has to take a much shorter stride, in order to maintain the lead.)
You can start some collection in counter-canter, just by asking for it.
Try it yourself, on all fours, on the floor. Just make sure the curtains are drawn.

But, BUT, be prepared. GoLightly gave me the hairy eye-ball for asking for it, and I was a pretty fair rider at that point. Counter-canter work should only be for those riders that know which lead they are on, without looking. Otherwise, it's way too confusing for the horse.

It was difficult, but it really drove home the point of left vs right riding, for me. Sharpened my timing. Forced me to sit in the correct place, in order to hold the counter-bend. If I did NOT sit it correctly, GoLightly would harumph, and twitch his tail, and even change behind, if he was really pissed off with me. I was asking him around the short ends of a pretty small arena. It was hard work.

Now, I can hear the little race-car QH/Ayrab/Morgan/some TB's horse owners snickering now. You big old draftie types too. Leads/schmeads, to these horses. They are either flat-moving, or have super-dooper (to me, because I am SO controversial) straight hind legs. But it is still entirely possible for these horses to benefit from the exercise. The gangly mare I've posted about really benefited from this work.

So there!
How confused are ya now?

Oh, Thanks so much, you guys, My Da' has amazed the medical profession aGain. What a Guy!!! Your prayers helped, I know they did. That and his "I'll die when I'M ReadY" attitude.

OH, and thanks to BHM. She hath wrought a miracle on the net. It shall be known as the truce, to end all true truces. THANK YOU!!!
Sunshine and Butterflies, heck, can't we all use some of that??
There's plenty of the nasties to go 'round.