Refining the Standardbred’s Canter

Though Cricket was able to canter very early in his under saddle training, it often was 4-beat and when he came back to a trot, he would actually pace a few strides. He also had me trained to run him into the canter, which led to it getting flat and strung out.

I was able to work through these issues to develop a 3-beat canter that often scores well in the dressage arena.

A lot of people believe that standardbreds can’t canter, or if they can they won’t canter well - but I found with a bit of training most standardbreds can canter nicely. Even a horse like Cricket - who didn’t have the best natural canter could learn to develop a beautiful, balanced 3-beat canter. See how I was able to refine the canter: