Country Rose Morgans

Mont Saint-Michel, France

There are so many benefits to be found in cantering, for both horse and rider.

If your horse is elderly or may fall, these can be taught a few steps at a time on the lunge, or not at all. If you, yourself, are worried, almost everything be built upon the lunge but please, first consider this.

The leaping action up to the bridle, the coiling of the loin, the transfer of the weight and power to the hind end, the replication of the gathering ‘jump’ stride that really engages the horse, the building of fitness for both of you, the loosening of the hips and lower back for the rider, the release of pent-up stress and emotion, the sheer JOY of this loveliest of gaits…

These should all be enough to convince us. Still, I have learned that cantering (or loping) can be a hard sell, especially as we, ourselves, age.

As Lyric works her way along this journey, I do understand your reticence! The pony’s habit of squirting ahead and fly-bucking before she settles in, is disconcerting.

We see so many breeds, particularly those with generations of carriage driving use deep within their DNA, who are just more at home at the trot. They are not at all convinced by our wish to do all this ‘Hi-Ho Silver’ stuff.

I tend to not push them, trusting that the time and balance to canter calmly always comes.

It is true, however, that these harness types of horses and ponies can benefit from the above-named advantages of cantering, most of all.

Here, Lyric and I are still resolutely working our way through the trot, adding some rein back and basic turns on the forehand, to better understand the meaning of my leg.

I’ll often put a stoic-but-still-green horse or pony—a heavier 'cobby' type—in a little mullen-mouth pelham with a wide leather curb strap, just to see if the understanding and feeling of lightness comes more easily with a bitting change. So many times, it does—like a light bulb, really—but Lyric was neither enlightened, nor inconvenienced, yesterday.

She does, however, grow more confidently forward with every ride… and this is a good thing. In the lower right photo, there is some discord, as I begin to wean her off the ‘open’ inside rein. More and more, I will be guiding her to go exactly where I plan to track—that is, less like a colt—with fewer ‘dropped’ shoulders and cornering shortcuts.

Lyric clearly asks, “What the heck?!”

Photos: Mike McLean.

The Horse Gods

There have been many horse gods throughout cultures and times: the mighty Poseidon of the Greeks, the goddess Epona of the Celts, and many more. I am not sure of the name of the gods I serve, whether they are a higher power, an archetype of the collective unconscious, or a figment of my imagination or dreams.

But I know that I made a deal with them before I was conscious; it is just something that has always been connected to my existence… and maybe yours!

The deal is this…

The horse will inspire within you wonder and intense curiosity; feelings of tremendous purpose and meaning - the greatest experiences for a human being alive. However, you will experience failure, uncertainty, pain, and fear, and frustration many times. The horse gods will strip your human ability to navigate these experiences with words, lies, promises, coercion, threats, or avoidance. You will learn the true meaning of “actions speak louder than words.”

What you wish to be easy will not be easy. You will need to work hard, study, learn patience, let go of your expectations, listen, fall down, rise up, and understand what it means to pay attention. You will face lessons again and again until you accept them and learn the greatest human virtue of all - humility. Your ego has no place when you deal with the horse gods.

Each horse you meet will come with a lesson. If you reject them, the horse gods will just give you another horse that will come with the same lesson. You will not be able to defer, escape, or buy your way out of the lesson.

The horse gods are always there with a lesson.

Sometimes the lessons will be about horses, sometimes they will be about you, and sometimes they will be about loss, acceptance, and heartbreak. The horse you love, you will always have to experience the sorrow of goodbye.

The deal is tough, but you will experience life like no other. You will see tremendous beauty. Through the horse, you will connect with nature. It will heal you. You will understand the world and yourself with greater compassion. You will discover courage and resilience within yourself. Ultimately, you will feel like you have lived a life worthwhile.

This is my deal, and maybe your deal, with the horse gods, and I am honoured to be a guardian of the horse.

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Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff and Golfstrom in 1989 at Aachen in extended canter – before the days of the indoor dressage arena.