Canter Poles

True is now comfortable and relaxed when trotting ground poles one at a time, in successions of four or six, flat or raised a few inches, and in various patterns.

I especially like training with a “sunburst” pattern of trot poles set on a curve. It improves bend and can also be used to teach shortening and lengthening of trot steps. As I mentioned in my previous article, he also knows half-seat and two-point positions at a walk, trot, and canter.

Once a horse is quiet with these activities and can trot to a small crosspole, hop over, and canter out, I start to teach the canter approach.

True starts with a single pole lying on the ground. I approach in a half seat, at a quiet easy canter. I remain fluid in the half seat and well balanced, quiet in my hands and body.

If True arrives at the wrong distance to the pole, I ignore that and remain calm. We just canter slowly back around and try again. As soon as he approaches calmly, crosses the center of the pole from a good distance, and exits equally calmly, I bring him back to a walk, stroking and praising his good behavior.

All approaches, even to a single ground pole, should be surrounded by ample space at this time in a young horse’s training. One of the most common mistakes I see in early jump training is making a sharp turn into the jumping line, then giving a youngster only 30 or 40 feet in approach. You can teach that later.

For now, give babies their best chance at success by allowing them to approach from a long distance with no sharp turns or angles involved. Long approaches also teach babies to relax and wait while moving toward a jump, rather than getting nervous and rushing toward it as it gets closer.

When your horse is successful and relaxed at cantering a single pole, try a succession of two canter poles. The distance between them should be 9 or 10 feet, depending on the length of your horse’s stride.

If you have a horse who is overly enthusiastic, make it easy for her to remain calm by setting the distance a few inches on the shorter side at first. True is now 17.1 hands high (!!), but his most relaxed canter is short, almost a lope, so I started with a 9 foot distance.

Because he is prone to excitement with all his Grand Prix jumper genes, I prioritize calmness over stride at this early point.

Later, I’ll extend the distance between poles and teach Trouper to remain calm jumping two poles set 10 feet apart. But if he was a shorter horse, I would stick to canter poles set at about 9 1/2 feet apart. Have a friend watch to see what separation is most comfortable for your horse if her size or stride is quite different from True’s.

Remember also that ponies (under 14.2 hands) require much shorter distances than horses do. It’s important to set the poles at the correct distance for each horse’s body and stride. Incorrect distances at this point only serve to confuse youngsters and make them nervous.

True trots the two canter poles several times, to learn that the object of this new game is to cross both poles with a step in between. (Every now and then, a beginner will try to jump both poles in one leap on the first canter trial; we don’t want that.)

Then we canter in a half seat, gently, calmly, toward the center of the two poles. I help the horse by keeping my hands and elbows soft.

The first time or two is usually a little awkward—True sort of stumbles through—but that’s OK. We humans don’t learn to run hurdles in a day.

Within a few trials, True is cantering the two poles easily. That’s what I want!

The horse’s mindset is more important in brain-based horsemanship than the upward arc of a jump or the touching of a ground pole. He’ll get all the physical training for roundness in the air and pole clearance later. For now, True just needs to remain quiet, straight, and centered over the two canter poles.

Some might say this is too easy, but I disagree.

Equine brains need success. They need to learn that none of the poles will hurt or scare them, their rider will remain consistent and balanced in the saddle, there’s no need to suck back and approach slowly or to rush forward as if a nervous breakdown is imminent.

Taking the time to teach this now saves many months of training later when the fences are bigger and more difficult but the horse still sucks back or rushes forward.

Related reading:

Brain-Based Horsemanship is a weekly column that chronicles Janet Jones, PhD, and her journey with True, a Dutch Warmblood she trained from age three using neuroscience best practices. Read more about brain-based training in Jones’ award winning book Horse Brain, Human Brain.