It is absolutely, 100%, scientifically certified as fact – certain breeds of horse are too lazy to canter and instead they prefer to run faster and faster at the trot instead.
Does this logic sound a bit off to you? It does to me too.
I’ve heard that it is believed by some that certain breeds – in particular stock breeds like Paints – prefer to simply go faster at the trot than to merely pick up a canter and it is due to their breed. I cannot swallow this idea, but I can shed some light on why this has come to be believed as fact.
Any breed of horse can find it difficult to transition from the trot to the canter if they lack a balanced rider, appropriate timing of the aids, and the use of the half-halt. Those breeds which are then built naturally downhill and ridden in a manner that exaggerates this downhill balance will find even more difficulty in jumping from the trot into the canter. The easiest gait for a horse to transition from into the canter is not the trot but rather the walk.
Why? Because the horse not only has to lift the front end and drive himself from behind, he also has to change the arrangement of his legs as he leaps into the canter.
Try this exercise out -
Take off running at a good pace, not quite sprinting but considerably faster than a slow jog. Now, without slowing down change to skipping. This is similar to what happens when you ask the horse to go from trot to canter. Now, while walking move to skipping – much easier. If, however while you are running you pause momentarily (slow down briefly) and then move immediately into skipping it is easier than if you don’t give a pause. This is equivalent to a half-halt’s purpose.
Simply pushing the horse more and more and more while he is trotting in the hopes that he will break into canter is then like us taking off at a full sprint and trying to changing to skipping without slowing down at all – very very difficult.
Our job as equestrians then is to methodically work the horse in a way that makes it easy for him to do what it is we want – utilize the half-halt to make transitions from the trot to canter easier. If you are not proficient with the half-halt it is then easier to practice transitioning from the walk into canter for the horse. Recognize when he is moving too quickly at the trot to transition into the canter without great difficulty. And for those breeds who are naturally built downhill practice riding them more up, forward and open rather than peanut rolling them and expecting a nice light, lofty and easy canter departure.
And in closing, there is no horse I have ever met who is lazy without being accompanied likewise by a lazy rider.
I have worked with horses that have been bred specifically over generations to trot or pace. Even in the pasture they will choose the movement. I tend to leave them to what they have been ingrained to do and spend more time on those horses more physically and mentally inclined to apply themselves to cantering.
I feel that with only so many hours in a day, I have nothing to prove by trying to make a horse (however nicely I do it) perform an activity that is contrary to their breeding and previous training. A standardbred racer that has been used in a cart to pace by placing straps on their legs and drilled for hours and days and months and years, perhaps deserves a life of leisure not retraining. They are often great for trail riding as they have learned to accept many situations at the track.
This idea in no way diminishes my agreement with your methods of balance and aid timing.