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Canter pirouettes are one of the most difficult exercises for a horse to perform and many horses are unable to achieve them. The horse’s forehand moves around their hind quarters as the hind feet mark a small circle, maintaining the same cadence in the canter.
The rider must remain light in their aids, if the hand becomes hard, they block the forehand and hind quarters.
Common faults in the pirouette are listed, but knowing the difficulty of this exercise, the horse should not be overly criticised.
The pictures below show 4 horses in canter pirouettes, what do you think of the movements? It can be easier to see what is happening in a pirouette from a video, have a look at some on the internet to see what you think.
The rider must remain light in their aids, if the hand becomes hard, they block the forehand and hind quarters.
- The horse should have the same cadence throughout the movement, as they come into the pirouette, through the pirouette steps and when they leave the pirouette.
- The horse should maintain a 3-beat canter.
- The horse should be around the rider’s inside leg, bent in the direction of the movement.
- The contact should remain light.
Common faults in the pirouette are listed, but knowing the difficulty of this exercise, the horse should not be overly criticised.
- The head and neck bobs up and down.
- Loss of clear three-beat rhythm creating a 4-beat canter.
- The canter changes when the horse leaves the pirouette from the canter that they had in the pirouette.
- The riders asks with aids that are too strong and the horse is blocked and loses cadence.
- Hind legs jumping together resulting from a loss of collection.
- Quarters slipping out, as the horse avoids taking the weight behind.
- Falling onto the inside shoulder, as the horse avoids taking the weight behind.
The pictures below show 4 horses in canter pirouettes, what do you think of the movements? It can be easier to see what is happening in a pirouette from a video, have a look at some on the internet to see what you think.
©Training Riders, Transforming Horses
