Stride Length! Get to know YOURS!

Canter strides – related distances – stride length

Knowing your horses’ canter stride length has become more and more important. Show jumping tracks have become more and more technical and odd related distances are thrown into the mix even at lower levels of the sport to catch people out. Not to worry! The only thing you need to do is to get to know you horse, and whether you need to lengthen or shorten your canter strides. This may sound easy and whilst some people have the gift of getting out of any situation smoothly, the rest of us need to put in a bit of practise.

To make it this exercise easier I would like to refer to our “Jump Cheat Sheet”, a quick guide to related distances to keep in your pocket for whenever you fancy a jump session with your horse. If you would like to refresh your knowledge on what affects the length of a canter stride I would also like to recommend the article Strides – show jumping distances explained.

Canter stides – get to know yours!

To find out how long the canter strides of your horse or pony are you can try one of the following exercises:

Place two poles at 5 strides distance apart (Jump Cheat Sheet for measurements). For this exercise you can use regular show jumping poles or the new plastic covered foam poles for extra safety. Start the exercise by approaching in trot once just to show the poles, next time approach in your usual canter. Count the strides out aloud. Did you get an even number of strides? Did it feel long or short? How many strides did you get? Now start playing with it!!!!

Shorten

How many strides can you fit in between the poles? Try to collect your horse to squeeze in 2-3 extra strides. Make a note of how many strides you managed to fit in to be able to record progress with your training.

Lengthen

Can you do it in less strides? Record this as well, also note that to be able to cut a stride out you will need to ramp up your canter early to have a good long stride on approach to the first pole.

Play around

Move the poles, use different distances. Try this exercise on a circle or a S bend. Make note on how this affects the distance. You can also try this exercise on different surfaces, for instance grass, outdoor / indoor arena. If your “thing” is eventing you could also try it on sloping ground, uphill / downhill, what’s the difference?

Canter strides – you will get there

This exercise never gets old, continue to do it as you progress. Related distances is one of those things that take a moment to grasp but an entire lifetime to perfectly master. The more you practise the better you will get and the more you will be able to do. When it comes to winning a class, it is often down to who can do the course on less strides and who are able to quickly collect the canter and turn on a sixpence.

Best of Luck! and please look back for more exercises to improve YOUR jumping.

Links

Jump Cheat Sheet

Strides – show jumping distances explained

Disclosures

Bendy bendy

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