Counter-canter is useful for developing balance, straightness, strength and obedience to the aids. While it also appears as a movement in dressage tests as you progress up the levels (from novice in pure dressage, and in eventing), it’s also very effective for improving the overall canter quality and self-carriage.
However, when you first introduce your horse to counter-canter, like any new move, it’s best to take baby steps.
This teardrop shaped is handy for teaching a few strides of counter-canter in an unpressurised, simple way, so your horse can gain strength and understand of the aids before progressing to more demanding flatwork exercises.
To achieve a few strides of counter-canter while maintaining straightness and balance.
The setup
No setup required. You can do this exercise in an arena of field, but if using the latter it’s best to mark out an arena with boards or poles to help you stay disciplined regarding straight lines and circle sizes.
(Image credit: Future)
How to ride this exercise
Warm up in walk, trot and canter on both reins, including doing circles of various sizes. This spiral circle exercise can improve engagement and balance on a smaller circle.
Pick up an active canter, and go large on the left rein. At the short end of the arena, ride a 15m half circle.
At the end of the half-circle, take a diagonal line back to the track, thereby changing the rein. Keep control of your horse’s shoulders, and maintain your leg aids for left canter, so that your horse doesn’t drift or anticipate a flying change.
Maintain counter-canter for a few strides on a straight line, making a transition to trot before the corner. The canter should feel of the same quality and balance, not losing rhythm.
Repeat on the other rein.
Next, try the same exercise but with a 10m half-circle. This will require greater collection and rebalance for the smaller circle, and give room for more strides of counter-canter on returning to the track.
Tips and troubleshooting
1. Circle size
If the circle is too tight, your horse may lose balance or fall out through the shoulder. You want to go into counter-canter in good balance and maintain those quality steps, so make the circle size relative to your horse’s suppleness. You can make it tighter as your horse develops.
2. Anticipating the change
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Some horses are so used to changing leads automatically, they may swap as soon as you turn back towards the track. Work on establishing a quality, balanced canter, and maintain your aids for the leading leg.
For example, if starting on the left lead, the rider’s left leg is on the girth, right leg just behind, with poll flexion slightly to the left – which will be slightly to the outside in counter-canter.
3. Level up
If you horse is doing the teardrop easily and confidently, try maintaining counter-canter through the corner, and eventually into a figure-of-eight. However, if your horse breaks into trot, loses rhythm, changes or goes disunited, take it back a step. Re-establish a quality canter, and try again. The priority is canter quality not completing the pattern.
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
